Pottery Whistle
Not on view
The production of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic ceramic figures in Central and South America originated about 6,500 years ago in the Andes region of Colombia, then spread along the west coast, from Ecuador to northern Chile and Argentina, and finally farther north into Central America.
Although numerous types of instruments survive from pre-conquest South and Central America, little is known of how they were used. Whistles were often made in animal or human form and probably had ceremonial functions or served as playthings. Smaller whistles in animal shapes, perhaps worn suspended from the neck, frequently have fingerholes that allow variation of pitch. Sometimes, the sound it creates mimics the creature represented.
Description: Reddish-brown, squat, wide-necked container of clay ornamented with monkey mask on rim of vessel, with punctuated and incised features; what appears to be an inclined pouring spout is an independent chamber for the whistle; upper section of spout is solid, with a false opening at the end; whistle played by blowing across a hole in the center of the spout.
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