Pumpkins and other squash were staple crops of ancient Mexico. Art imitates life in this ceramic vessel in the form of a pumpkin; some of the world's earliest containers for storing and serving food and drink were hollow, dried gourds. The deep orange, symmetrical body of the vessel perches on three feet in the form of parrots, birds prized for their feathers. Parrots and pumpkins were both associated with fertility and abundance in ancient Colima.