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Standing female figure

1400–1540

Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas, United States

Miniature human and animal figurines were often deposited as offerings, which sometimes accompanied human burials or sacrifices. The male and female figurines were composed of high-value gold, silver, or Spondylus shell. The female hair is often tied behind the back, as in this figure, while the males bear distinguishing headdresses.

Examples found archaeologically are often associated with sacrifices of male and female juveniles preserved at high-altitude sites through a ritual known as capacocha (qhapac hucha). The figurines are often clothed in miniature elite Inca textiles, such as feather headdresses, mantles, and dresses with miniature metal pins (tupu). The small-scale clothing may closely parallel that worn by the juveniles themselves.

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