Mortuary practices in western Mexico developed in distinct and complex ways. In Nayarit—along with parts of today’s Jalisco, Colima, and southern Zacatecas—certain communities devised a unique method of burying their dead. Known as "shaft tombs", this burial system consisted of underground chambers of various shapes (circular, square, or rectangular) accessible via a vertical shaft or well, whose depth depended on local soil conditions. Some shaft tombs featured a single chamber, while others had several.

The Regional Museum of Nayarit houses two reconstructions featuring the contents of actual shaft tombs: one from Santa Catarina in the municipality of Ixtlán del Río, located in the southeastern valleys, and another from the site of La Playa in the mountainous municipality of La Yesca. The ceramic offerings found in these tombs—clay vessels, pots, bowls, scale models, and anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and phytomorphic figurines—along with obsidian tools, shell bracelets, and beads, provide outstanding examples of craftsmanship and aesthetic quality. These materials have yielded new insights into the archaeology of Nayarit and western Mexico as a whole.