Pedestal Bowl Depicting an Anthropomorphic Saurian Figure Possibly 1100 - 1300

This earthenware bowl was made in Coclé, a pre-Columbian culture of Panama. Imagery of saurians, or lizard-like creatures, were common in the ceramics of ancient Panama. Bowls such as this one were often used for ritualistic purposes and buried with the dead, signaling a belief in the power of animal spirits to accompany and protect people. Although we don't have precise dates for this bowl, the culture of Coclé flourished between 700 and 1100 AD. During this period, the Isthmus of Panama was a melting pot of cultural exchange, with connections to Mesoamerica and the Andes, and we can consider this bowl as an artifact that allows us to explore this history. The interpretation of such artwork involves not only an analysis of its form and iconography but also relies on interdisciplinary research to understand the social, cultural, and religious context in which it was created.