In San Juan Sacatepéquez, a city in Guatemala, the veneration of the Virgin of the Rosary includes dressing her statue in miniature huipiles. Two extraordinary striped huipiles in the Dallas Museum of Art's collection were probably woven for her (see 1983.210; 1982.158).

Demeter is the Ancient Greek goddess of the harvest. Beyond controlling the Greek's main source of food, she also was believed to oversee the cycle of life and fertility. Demeter is commonly known as the mother of Persephone, whose abduction is the start of the mythical origins of seasons. Persephone, was stolen by Hades, lord of the underworld. When Demeter mourned her daughter, the land withered and died.

Decorated incense burners, sometimes referred to as braziers or incensarios, were used throughout Mesoamerica. Those used exclusively for the burning of incense are known as a censers.  In Mesoamerica, censers were often used to burn rubber or copal (tree resin) as an offering to the gods and possibly to evoke rain clouds. The smoke from the incense would rise into the sky, creating billowing columns of scented black smoke.

Obsidian refers to a dark, shiny glass formed in nature by the rapid cooling of lava. Obsidian is widely distributed and has been used since Paleolithic (before 3500 BCE) times for mirrors, weapons, tools, and jewelry. Obsidian is often black in color but may also be red, brown or green. It produces conchoidal fractures when cleaved. Sources of obsidian include Anatolia, Armenia, Ethiopia, Greece (Milos), Italy (Lipari, Eolie), Iceland, the U.S. (Wyoming), Mexico (Teotihuacan), Guatemala (Tikal), and Peru.