Pre-Columbian, Caribbean / Florida, Arawak People, Taino, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A large ceremonial stone pestle, made of a hard, smoothed volcanic rock and shaped like a transformative human figure. The Arawak people carved human or avian images in stone to be used for ceremonial purposes, specifically, for the ritual preparation of Anadenanthera peregrina (cohoba). This is a perennial tree native to their homeland whose seeds and leaves, when ground into a powder for ingestion, are hallucinogenic. The ingestion of cohoba was an important part of religious ritual for the Arawak people. Hunched over, with hands on knees, a very visible spine, and enormous eyes and mouth (as well as well-carved spool earrings), this pestle seems to show someone in the act of ingesting something magical. Size: 4.5" W x 6.45" H (11.4 cm x 16.4 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Private LA County collection

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#117245

Expected age wear with very clear shape and minor archaeological encrustations