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Mortar with incised geometric design

Condorhuasi-Alamito

500 BCE–500 CE

Not on view

This rectangular stone receptacle bears incised stepped, concentric geometric designs with recessed areas on the exterior. The principal shape is a 20-sided cruciform motif known as the ANdean cross, an element common in art from the Andes throughout the Precolumbian period.
The Condorhuasi-Alamito peoples were llama pastoralists in the area that is now the Catamarca province of Argentina. They were skilled artisans in a variety of media, including ceramic, metal, and stone. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Condorhuasi-Alamito peoples maintained extensive long-distance contacts with other regions, including the important site of Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca in what is now Bolivia.

Mortar with incised geometric design, Stone, Condorhuasi-Alamito — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Mortar with incised geometric design, Stone, Condorhuasi-Alamito

Mortar with incised geometric design, Stone, Condorhuasi-Alamito

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Title: Mortar with incised geometric design

Date: 500 BCE–500 CE

Geography: Argentina, Northwest Argentina

Culture: Condorhuasi-Alamito

Medium: Stone

Dimensions: 3 × 7 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (7.6 × 19.1 × 16.5 cm)

Classification: Stone-Implements

Credit Line: Gift of Claudia Quentin, 2016

Accession Number: 2016.734.2

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The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.