Basalt Standing Male, 100 CE - 500 CE
Basalt
25.75
PF.3083
This basalt sculpture of a man stands stoutly, holding a weapon-like object and a human head in each hand. It is sculpted in a simple geometric manner with large incision...
This basalt sculpture of a man stands stoutly, holding a weapon-like object and a human head in each hand. It is sculpted in a simple geometric manner with large incision lines. Such simplicity attributes the stone figure with the crucial qualities such as a sense of physical presence and weight. The figure's hair is neatly combed back and his stern face shows the strong determination of a warrior. The weapon and the human head in the hands of this figure reveals that the figure is perhaps a warrior or a person about to make ritual offering to the god. During this period in Costa Rica, people took trophy heads in battles for human sacrifice to please the god and to maintain agricultural fertility. Because of the strong belief in human sacrifice pleasing the god, contests and wars became the fight to obtain victims for human sacrifice. Holding the prized head, the strong man stands proudly, displaying the honor and pride he has earned.