Amate is a type of bark paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the pre-Columbian times. It was used primarily to create codices. Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both communication, records, and ritual during the Triple Alliance, which was all alliance between three powerful tribes in Central Mexico. However, after the Spanish conquest, its production was mostly banned and replaced by European paper. Amate paper production never completely disappeared, nor did the rituals associated with it. It remained strongest in the rugged, remote mountainous areas of northern Puebla and northern Veracruz states. Spiritual leaders in the small village of San Pablito, Puebla were described as producing paper with "magical" properties. Foreign academics began studying this ritual use of amate in the mid-20th century, and the Otomi people of the area began producing the paper commercially. Otomi craftspeople began selling it in cities such as Mexico City, where the paper was revived by Nahua painters in Guerrero to create "new" indigenous craft, which was then promoted by the Mexican government. Amate paper. Colors: white natural, spotty beige natural or brown. Size 40 x 60 cm. The paper is produced from the bark of several trees; wild fig, nettle, and mulberry.