Jaguar Whistling Pot
Today’s artifact blog takes us to Northern Peru during the Pre-Columbian period (1000 BC - 1000 AD). This horizontal-compound vessel is from the Vicus culture and dates to approximately 100 BC- 600 AD. The Vicus culture and its people lived in Northern Peru along the barrier between what is now modern-day Ecuador and Peru. The cultural production from the Vicus culture that survives shows a distinct resemblance to the material culture from these neighboring territories. [1]
The Jaguar Whistling Pot pictured here is one of two types (fluid type and blown type) of Pre-Columbian whistling pots: fluid type whistling pot. These types of whistling pots are characterized by their double-chambered whistles and the use of fluid flowing throughout the chambers to emit a sound when the pot is titled. [2] While little is known about the context in which whistling pots were used in Ancient Peruvian culture, there is strong evidence to suggest that the production of these pots was widespread across South and Central America. Archaeologists have found whistling pots as far as Mayan territories in Mexico and this was likely the result of contact between Peruvian and Central American cultures via trade routes [3].
Whistling pots underwent significant stylistic developments during the presence of the Vicus culture in northern Peru from 200 BC- 600 AD. The first known whistling pots are characterized by their single-chambered flute and little decorative motifs. However, during the Vicus peoples' inhabitation of Peru, the structural elements and design of whistling pots became more intricate. Double chambered flutes and the use of fluid to produce a warbling, other-worldly sound became popularized.
The use of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic imagery on whistling pots from Central and South America suggests that the animals represented on the Whistling pots may have served cultural or spiritual importance to the people and regions from which the pots originated. The Jaguar Whistling Pot in our collection features geometric designs painted with negative-resist paint. These decorative motifs wrap around the body of the vessels along with white-colored bands around the neck of the pots. The depiction of a Jaguar suggests that this animal may have held some cultural, spiritual, or social importance to the Vicus culture and the sounds emitted from the pot may have been intended to mimic the sound of a jaguar [4].
Blog by Kate Hodgson
References:
Quintanilla, Edgar. “Vicús Culture .” Museo Larco, www.museolarco.org/en/exhibition/permanent-exhibition/online-exhibition/cultures-of-ancient-peru/vicus/.
Ransom, Brian (2000). "The Enigma of Whistling Water Jars in Pre-Columbian Ceramics."
Ransom, 1
Ransom, 2