  San Jose, Costa Rica  Central America The Jade Museum

 Ceramic pottery dates way back and for the pre- Columbian times, about 1000 years ago ceramics played an important role in rituals for such things as funerals, giving birth and life events.

Peoples of this era tended to view animals in different ways than we do today. Many animals whether nocturnal or daytime were considered to be shamans, holy creatures with mystical powers.

Many vessels were created to show off these shamans in functional pottery pieces shown here.

Much of the pre- Columbian pottery was used to tell a story or depict events such as funerals or birth.

 Take note of the physical textures of their pottery as well as the 2- D textures.

Animals were sacred to these people. Many mythical stories were told about these animals and how they related to supernatural events. I am guessing here but these events could be weather or celestial things they could not explain by science that we know today. According to Shamanic beliefs, everything in the world had its counterpart, It’s complimentary opposite. Reflecting this some objects depicting animals would show several animal combinations such as winged reptiles or mammal like birds and supernatural animal humans.

 The jade museum did have several displays of musical instruments they made out of clay or stone. All instruments showed some kind of shamanic animal as part of its décor. Because of the small sizes of these objects they were all placed behind glass and this is the only photo I got that did not have a huge reflection in the middle of the image. If you ever get a chance to go to Costa Rica do check out the Jade Museum. It is worth it to see art works like these.