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   Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 April, 2003, 08:49 GMT 09:49 UK
   Email this to a friend Printable version 
   'Oldest religious icon in Americas'

   Photo by Jonathan Hass, Courtesy of the Field Museum
   The 4,000 year-old gourd fragment. (Photo by Jonathan Hass, Courtesy
   of the Field Museum)

   This image of a god or goddess with a fanged mouth and clawed feet may
   be the oldest religious icon in the Americas.

   According to archaeologists, it pushes back the dawn of religion in
   the region by 1,000 years.

   The fragment of a bowl dated to about 4,000 years ago bears the image
   of the Staff God, the main deity in the Andes for thousands of years.

   The figure was found at a looted cemetery on the coast of Peru, 120
   miles north of Lima.

   The area appears to have been the ancestral home of pre-Inca
   civilisation.

   'Icon'

   "Like the cross, the Staff God is a clearly recognisable religious
   icon," said Jonathan Haas, MacArthur curator of North American
   anthropology at The Field Museum, Chicago.

   "This appears to be the oldest identifiable religious icon found in
   the Americas.

   "It indicates that organised religion began in the Andes more than
   1,000 years earlier than previously thought."

   Drawing by Jill Seagard, Courtesy of the Field Museum
   Sketch of the god or goddess. (Drawing by Jill Seagard, Courtesy of
   the Field Museum)

   The icon has been found on many ancient artefacts belonging to several
   Andean cultures.

   It usually has a fanged mouth, and splayed and clawed feet, and holds
   a staff in one or both hands.

   Snakes are often depicted on the figure's headdress or garments.

   The discovery is reported in the latest edition of the journal
   Archaeology.
   Email this to a friend Printable version 
   SEE ALSO:
   Oldest city in the Americas 
   26 Apr 01  |  Science/Nature
   Archaeologists probe lake of mystery 
   17 Oct 00  |  Americas
   RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
   Field Museum, Chicago 
   Archaeology magazine 
   The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
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