Costa Rica
Indigenous People

Pottery, polychrome
ca. 800-1200 CE
Length: 13.5 in
Membranophones – Struck Membranophones 

A zoomorphic effigy drum from the Nicoya culture of Costa Rica. This mora polychrome – Guabal variety type is executed in the form of a peccary (a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal), has a rattle in the head and stands on four short black painted legs. The legs and body are ceramic and hollow, and the top of the body as well as the end are painted in mora polychrome (brown, cream and red). Ears, eyes, and nose of the animal protrudes, and the body tapers slightly near the end mirroring the neck taper.  Long gone is the membrane skin at the end, where the performer would play/beat the drum by hitting the skinhead with their hand/s.  Its function is still being researched as with many of the buried artifacts of Central America.

The Nicoya region is located on the southern border of Mesoamerica, known as Costa Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region.  This region was once a strong community for the indigenous Chorotega tribe.  The Nicoya Peninsula is named after a Chorotega chief (‘Nicoya’) who ruled the area when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Costa Rica in 1523.  It was a common practice during the Spanish conquest to name the regions after the ruling chief in that area.