Chavin Culture 1200 BC-400 BC

This vessel with incised feline deity, face, body and hands on one side, curvilinear devices on the reverse. The arts of the Chavin is full of imagery of felines (especially jaguars), snakes, and raptors, as well as supernatural beings, often with ferocious-looking fangs. Creatures are often transformational - presented in two states at once - and designed to both confuse and surprise. Images are also very often anatropic - they may be viewed from different directions. Felines of the type depicted on this vessel were important in Chavín art and culture because they were associated with the ruling houses. In nature, such animals are often excellent hunters who occupy the top of the food chain, qualities that were also valued in human rulers. Felines, like jaguars and pumas, were also thought to enjoy great spiritual force; shamans were believed to transform into such creatures.

Chavín ceramic art is known for its complex iconography and its “mythical realism”. There is consistent evidence within all types of art (ceramics, pottery, sculptures, etc.) of human-animal interactions, which was reflective of societal interconnections and how the Chavín people viewed themselves connected with “the other world.”