There is mystery surrounding the people who inhabited the Veracruz region during this period. Neither their ethnic identity nor their language is known. This lack of knowledge may frustrate the historian, but it is not an impediment to the art lover. Though the people and circumstances that inspired the art are an enigma, we can readily appreciate the qualities of human experience that these ancient artists so expertly captured. Most famous are the so-called “laughing faces” that depict the subject grinning from ear to ear in a contagious smile. This rotund figure, squatting with this hands resting on his knees, is just as likely to make us smile with his comical charm.