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Three-Pointed Zemí (Trigonolito)

Taíno

Not on view

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Las esculturas conocidas como trigonolitos tenían una conexión simbólica a la yuca (o mandioca), un tubérculo de cultivo integral en el Caribe. Estas esculturas poseen múltiples funciones y aparecen en varios tamaños, desde portátiles hasta bastante grandes. Es posible que sirvieran como representaciones tangibles del paisaje montañoso. Como objetos rituales, los trigonolitos preservan un significativo espiritual con la diversidad de sus imágenes que incluyen figuras de cemíes antropomorfos y zoomorfos. La mayoría de los ejemplos se encontraron en las Antillas Mayores, pero algunos vienen del sur en las Islas Granadinas.


Sculptures known as three-pointed stones, or trigonolitos, had a symbolic connection to yuca (or cassava), a staple root crop. Appearing in various sizes and featuring humanlike and animallike zemí imagery, they may have served as tangible representations of the mountainous island landscape and may have held some elusive spiritual significance. They are found mostly in the Greater Antilles, but some examples come from as far south as the islands of the Grenadines.

Three-Pointed Zemí (Trigonolito), Stone, Taíno

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National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution