Warrior

An effigy of a successful warrior, this figure carries an axe in one hand and the prize of his hunt—a severed head—in the other. The pedestal on which the figure stands may have been sunk into a platform, anchoring it securely to the architecture. The warrior wears ornaments that reveal other dimensions of his authority. His conical hat, for example, resembles those worn today by Indigenous religious leaders in Colombia.  

The pendant is reminiscent of gold ornaments cast in the shape of curly-tailed animals, a type introduced to the region around 800 CE. Stone effigies continued to be produced in Costa Rica until the time of the Spanish invasion.