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Museum Collections - Ancient Peru - Inka - Artifact #1

Jar depicting a male face - Inka

WHO: Inka culture

WHERE: Southern highlands, Peru

WHEN: Late Horizon Period, A.D. 1450-1550

WHAT: This Inka aryballos jar depicts a man chewing a wad of coca leaves (shown as a lump in his right cheek). Coca is chewed by many Andean peoples to relieve hunger, fatigue and stress, in the same way that coffee is drunk by North Americans. Coca is also used for religious purposes and is offered to the gods as a sacrifice on many special occasions.

HOW: Made in a two-piece mould; smoke-fired.

MUSEUM: Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. G83.1.189

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