This unique type of carved stone metate was the most important ritual object of this time in Costa Rica. It served as a very special burial object for wealthy, high-status members of society. In every-day life the metate as a utilitarian grinding stone had the power to transform seeds and kernels into flour. When placed in the tomb, the metate symbolized for the deceased the assurance of another type of transformation--a rebirth, the beginning of a new life. This particular metate, carved in the stylized shape of a jaguar, displays yet another symbol of extreme importance. To the Ancient Costa Ricans the jaguar was regarded as the most powerful animal in th world, to be honored and revered; it even had certain divine characteristics. In mythology, the most important God, Maira, became the sun during the day, making the great journey from east to west across the lands. At night, however, Maira assumed the form of a jaguar and stealthily made his way from west back to the east, where in the morning he would rise again in the form of the sun. These two commanding attributes of transformation and power are artistically portrayed in this monumental metate. The sweeping upward curve of the rectangular plate which serves as the jaguar's body, the large and powerful heck and head with exquisitely sculpted openwork carving, the sculpted face with its ferocious visage, all combine to give a potent presence that truly befits this exalted creature. The reverence with which this piece was afforded in antiquity clearly extends into the present as we experience its indomitable spirit and energy today.