{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.calavera","code":"thing-q2626928","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2626928/","name":"Calavera","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A calavera, in Mexican Day of the Dead material culture, is a representation of a human skull, commonly made as a decorated sugar confection or a non-edible ornamental object.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify a physical calavera, record its material and commemorative meaning, and determine appropriate display, handling, preservation or consumption.","scope":{"in":["Physical skull representations identified as calaveras through documented cultural or maker context","Skull form, construction, materials and applied decoration","Names, dedications and relationships to recipients or commemorated people","Intended use as an offering, decoration, gift or confection","Material condition and evidence supporting handling or consumption decisions"],"out":["Human skeletal remains and anatomical skull models","Literary calaveras, prints and digital skull imagery as independent works","Face painting, costumes and full skeleton figures unless registry evidence establishes their inclusion","Día de Muertos observances and complete ofrendas","Sugar, clay and other constituent materials as substances","Recipes, molds and production processes as independent things"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Represents a skull materially rather than being an actual anatomical skull.","Has documented identification as a calavera or a relevant cultural association; skull shape alone cannot distinguish it from generic skull merchandise.","Is a physical object rather than a satirical poem sharing the name calavera.","A sugar skull is a material subtype, not a sufficient definition of every calavera.","A sugar-based body does not establish that the decorated object is intended or suitable for eating."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"calavera-identity","name":"Calavera identity","description":"Establishes which meaning of calavera applies to the registered physical thing.","layers":[{"id":"physical-referent","name":"Physical referent","description":"Tests the provisional scope against the example being described.","findings":[{"id":"skull-representation","name":"Skull representation","description":"Treat a manufactured skull representation as the working referent, recording evidence before admitting borderline forms.","questions":[{"text":"What physical features identify the represented form as a skull?","id":"skull-representation-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does this example fall within the physical skull scope, or belong to a neighboring model for remains, imagery, costume or skeleton figures?","id":"skull-representation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"cultural-identification","name":"Cultural identification","description":"Separates documented use of the name from visual inference.","findings":[{"id":"attributed-calavera","name":"Attributed calavera","description":"Record who identifies the object as a calavera and in what context. Sugar skulls occur in Día de Muertos altar practice, but that association does not establish the identity of every skull-shaped object. [Smithsonian](https://www.si.edu/stories/5-facts-dia-de-los-muertos-day-dead).","questions":[{"text":"Who identified this object as a calavera, and where is that identification recorded?","id":"attributed-calavera-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What evidence connects this example to a particular celebration, community practice or maker intention?","id":"attributed-calavera-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"skull-body-and-decoration","name":"Skull body and decoration","description":"Describes the material construction beneath and around the skull imagery.","layers":[{"id":"body-construction","name":"Body construction","description":"Records what forms the skull and how its parts hold together.","findings":[{"id":"material-and-cavity","name":"Material and cavity","description":"Identify the body material independently of surface decoration, and record whether the skull is solid, hollow or assembled.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence identifies the skull body material rather than merely its coating?","id":"material-and-cavity-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the skull solid or hollow, and where are its seams, openings or unsupported sections?","id":"material-and-cavity-q02","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are its dimensions and mass?","id":"material-and-cavity-q03","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"applied-features","name":"Applied features","description":"Records decoration as identifiable components.","findings":[{"id":"decoration-map","name":"Decoration map","description":"Distinguish modeled skull features from applied eyes, teeth, lettering, color and embellishments without assuming particular materials or symbolic meanings.","questions":[{"text":"Which facial features and inscriptions are integral to the body, and which are attached or applied?","id":"decoration-map-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What materials and attachment methods are documented for each applied component?","id":"decoration-map-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which decorative components could detach during handling or require separate treatment?","id":"decoration-map-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"dedication-and-offering","name":"Dedication and offering","description":"Connects the individual calavera to its inscriptions, people and placement.","layers":[{"id":"personal-inscription","name":"Personal inscription","description":"Preserves names and dedications without inferring their referents.","findings":[{"id":"name-and-referent","name":"Name and referent","description":"Record any inscription literally and keep its interpretation separate; a name alone does not establish a memorial dedication or the person's living status.","questions":[{"text":"What exactly is written on the calavera, and which characters are uncertain?","id":"name-and-referent-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Who can establish whether the inscription identifies a recipient, commemorated person or something else?","id":"name-and-referent-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"offering-context","name":"Offering context","description":"Records the object's role within a larger arrangement or occasion.","findings":[{"id":"placement-and-role","name":"Placement and role","description":"Own the calavera's relationship to an ofrenda, gift exchange or display; leave the complete arrangement and observance to neighboring models.","questions":[{"text":"Is this calavera an offering, gift, display piece or confection, and who establishes that role?","id":"placement-and-role-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which altar, occasion or recipient is this particular object associated with?","id":"placement-and-role-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Who should determine whether it may be moved, altered, eaten or retired after the occasion?","id":"placement-and-role-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"confection-or-decoration","name":"Confection or decoration","description":"Determines how intended use relates to the body, embellishments and handling history.","layers":[{"id":"edibility-evidence","name":"Edibility evidence","description":"Separates edible ingredients from the status of the assembled object.","findings":[{"id":"whole-object-consumption","name":"Whole-object consumption","description":"Require evidence about the intended use and all components before treating a decorated calavera as a consumable confection.","questions":[{"text":"Does the maker or labeling identify this calavera as intended for consumption or for decoration?","id":"whole-object-consumption-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which body ingredients, colorants, adhesives and embellishments have documented food-use status?","id":"whole-object-consumption-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Are any components explicitly excluded from consumption, and can they be reliably identified?","id":"whole-object-consumption-q03","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"use-history","name":"Use history","description":"Tracks what happened to an intended confection after manufacture.","findings":[{"id":"display-to-consumption","name":"Display-to-consumption decision","description":"Keep the original consumption intention distinct from the object's present condition and documented display history.","questions":[{"text":"What preparation date, storage guidance and ingredient information accompany this calavera?","id":"display-to-consumption-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What is known about unwrapped display, repeated handling or contact with altar materials?","id":"display-to-consumption-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does the available evidence support consumption, or must its consumption status remain unresolved?","id":"display-to-consumption-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"display-and-material-survival","name":"Display and material survival","description":"Relates the skull's construction and decoration to placement, deterioration and retention.","layers":[{"id":"skull-support","name":"Skull support","description":"Locates stable supports and vulnerable decorated surfaces.","findings":[{"id":"support-and-exposure","name":"Support and exposure","description":"Choose handling and display arrangements from the actual skull base, cavities, seams and surface materials.","questions":[{"text":"Which parts can bear the object's weight without loading a fragile jaw, hollow wall or applied decoration?","id":"support-and-exposure-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"What temperature, relative humidity and proximity to candles or liquids characterize its display position?","id":"support-and-exposure-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What material-specific evidence supports changing the position, support or enclosure?","id":"support-and-exposure-q03","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"condition-and-retention","name":"Condition and retention","description":"Records change and the intended endpoint of the object's use.","findings":[{"id":"survival-or-retirement","name":"Survival or retirement","description":"Track cracks, deformation, surface changes and inscription loss, then relate intervention to the owner's or practitioner's intended use.","questions":[{"text":"What changes have occurred in the skull body, seams, lettering and attached decorations since the previous observation?","id":"survival-or-retirement-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is the intended endpoint consumption, temporary display, repeated seasonal use or long-term preservation?","id":"survival-or-retirement-q02","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which intervention or retirement decision respects both the object's condition and its documented dedication?","id":"survival-or-retirement-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Calavera this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain calaveras in the Day of the Dead tradition, including sugar skulls and decorative skulls.","Describe them with respect for the families and communities who make them for their dead."],"mustNot":["Mock or trivialize the remembrance of the dead that calaveras express.","Present decorative, non-edible calaveras as safe to eat.","Sell mass-produced items as handmade by named Mexican artisans without evidence.","Use calaveras as horror or Halloween props while claiming they represent the tradition."],"requiresHuman":["Using calaveras in a public display, product or campaign tied to the tradition."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["The tradition honours the dead; commercial use can strip it of meaning.","Artisans deserve credit and fair pay for traditional work."],"affectedParties":["Mexican families and communities","Artisans","Children who may mistake ornaments for sweets"]},"owners":{"steward":"The family or artisan who makes it; there is no register.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q24517","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.calavera","Wikidata: Q2626928 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2626928)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identification basis: maker identification | community identification | collection attribution | inferred | unresolved","Represented form: complete skull | skull front | stylized skull | other | unresolved","Body and decoration materials: Separate recorded materials for body, coatings, lettering and attachments; unknown allowed","Construction: solid | hollow | assembled sections | unresolved; molded or other documented forming method","Dimensions and mass: height, width and depth in mm; mass in g","Inscription: Exact text, location, legibility and transcription confidence","Dedication or recipient: Documented person or group, relationship type and attribution source; unknown allowed","Intended use: offering | display | gift | consumption | multiple | unknown","Consumption status: intended edible with supporting evidence | decorative only | unresolved","Condition: Record cracks, seam separation, surface tackiness, deformation, decoration loss and contamination separately"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A skull shape, often white, decorated with bright coloured icing, foil or paint.","Names written on the forehead and flowers or patterns around the eyes.","Often placed on home altars alongside marigolds, candles and photographs."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classify an example as a confectionery or durable decorative calavera while retaining uncertain identification.","Transcribe its inscription and link a dedication only where supported.","Select a display position and support suited to its skull geometry and construction.","Determine whether consumption is supported by ingredient, decoration and handling evidence.","Document deterioration and choose between continued display, preservation and retirement with the responsible person.","Compare examples by material, maker practice and decoration without assigning unsupported regional meanings."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Children eating non-edible decorative skulls.","Tooth damage from very hard sugar skulls.","Cultural misappropriation in commercial use."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO, which includes the indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead in Mexico."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Calaveras appear on household and community altars, in markets and in displays associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead.","They commemorate deceased people and express cultural relationships with remembrance and mortality.","Sugar examples may be confections or display objects, while clay examples serve as lasting ornaments."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q2626928: Calavera","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2626928","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Calavera","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calavera","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does the registry's originating record mean a sugar confection specifically, physical calaveras broadly, or another sense of the word?","Does an existing Vercy world model already own this concept, requiring a registry link rather than a separate publication?","Which regional and maker practices substantiate the material variants and construction methods that this entry must cover?","Should masks or full skeleton representations fall within this entry, or remain linked neighboring concepts under the authoritative registry?","What evidence establishes local meanings of inscriptions and appropriate treatment after an offering period, without generalizing across communities?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q2626928/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q2626928/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T08:20:18Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}