Here is a magnificent stone sculpture of a bird
that truly reflects the high degree of creativity,
sophistication and master craftsmanship that
exemplifies Costa Rican art at its golden age.
Immediately, one appreciates the amount of
effort exerted by the artist in the execution of
this work. The artist here has carefully modeled
every feature of the bird's head and incorporated
it into the functionality of the metate. Generally,
the zoomorphic effigies on these metates may
have been clan symbols or deity representations,
or may have had other symbolic significance.
Many metates show considerable wear from the
grinding of a substance, probably maize, on
their upper surface. Their use, however, was
most likely restricted to ritual occasions. These
objects are considered by some archaeologists to
have been seats or "thrones," because of their
frequent presence, unaccompanied by Manos, in
high-ranking burials, and because of the
representation, in ceramic figurines, of
personages seated on similar artifacts, the
ceramic seats, however, are almost always tetra
pod, and probably depict wooden seats made for
that purpose. Certain elite males might well
have possessed metates for ritual food
preparation; the metates would have been
interred with them, along with other status
items, such as jade pendants and ceremonial
mace heads.
- (PF.4261)
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