In the 1500s, when Spain's rulers conquered the Aztec empire (most of present-day Mexico), they grew suspicious of Amate paper. Made from the bark of red and white Jonote trees, the paper was an integral medium of communication - used for ritual offerings, registering data, or as a surface for codices written by the Aztecs and the Mayans who called it hunn and amatl, respectively.

This soon evolved into a form of decoration with the amates being used on shrines, burials, and even as gifts for soldiers. It also reflects the merging of two communities; the Otomi people manufacture the bark paper while the Nahua people decorate it. The latter were ceramic painters but soon adapted to painting on amates.