Metate; Costa Rica, Guanascaste-Nicoya; AD 800-1200. Volcanic... Lot 35

Metate; Costa Rica, Guanascaste-Nicoya; AD 800-1200. Volcanic stone. It has restorations in fracture lines. Measurements: 18 x 44 x 28 cm. Pre-Columbian stone mortar, known in Latin America as a metate, from Costa Rica. Generally these objects, made of carved stone, are rectangular in shape, although in this case they take the form of a jaguar with a flat back, thanks to the addition of four legs, head and tail. These metates were pieces belonging to the grave goods, ritual and non-utilitarian, but this rare example has been used, as evidenced by the hole in its centre. Metates were used to grind grain, using a cylindrical piece, also made of stone, known as metlapilli, or "son of the metate". It was an instrument of great importance in the Latin American economy until the invention of electric mills, since until then it was the main means of making flour, sauces and grindings. The Great Nicoya is an archaeological region that stretches along the northwest of Costa Rica and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. The Costa Rican sector is known as the Southern or Guanacaste Subregion, and includes the Nicoya Peninsula, the Tempisque River basin and the Guanacaste and Tilarán mountain ranges. Traces of human presence have been found in the area as early as 10000 BC, and in the Orosí period (2000-500 BC) small circular dwellings and hearths were already being built, and manos and metates from this period have also been found, as well as some pottery. From the Tempisque period (500 BC - 300 AD), pottery deposits and ovens have been recovered, as well as funerary offerings of all kinds, including jade pieces. Finally, during the Bagaces period, between 300 and 800 AD, complex chiefdoms were organised and funerary rituals were greatly enriched. This is also the period of polychrome decoration of ceramics, and the motifs are iconographically influenced by Mesoamerican cultures.