Chavin Culture 1200 BC-400 BC

This “stirrup-spout” vessel shows a jaguar modeled in relief on one side of the surface of the bottle. The artist carefully represented the spots of its coat and depicted sharp claws with loving care. The other side of the vessel depicts the jaguar’s environment. It is comprised of curling wave forms, perhaps representing the nearby Pacific Ocean, and several examples of cactus. This probably shows the San Pedro cactus, whose branches contain a hallucinogenic substance. The cactus is used in traditional medicine and religious ritual to this day. The

sacredness or ritual power of the vessel is suggested by the fact that parts of it seem to have been rubbed in ancient times with the red pigment known as cinnabar, a substance that was used in consecration rituals. The “stirrup spout” was one of the most common vessel forms in pre-Columbian Peru and the Andean