Handle

Item number Sf526 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

A round handle surmounted by a sculpture of two anthropomorphized birds with up-thrust beaks and wings spread. The long thick legs and stance are more human-like than avian.

Narrative

Vicus/Moche style, contemporary with Moche 1 and 2; 0-200 C.E. The flattening and slight flaring of the handle above the break suggests this was probaly a chisel, like the one pictured in Jones. Like the knives, chisels sometimes have detailed sculptures on the handles. Such chisels have been found in Moche graves (Huaca de la Luna) and others are given a Vicus provenience.

Iconographic Meaning

Birds and anthropomorphized birds with long beaks appear as subsidiary figures on Moche ceramics depicting the burial theme (Donnan). The birds are often pecking at sacrificed prisoners who have ropes around their necks.