Gilded pre-Columbian pendant in the shape of an eagle

This pendant in the form of an eagle (according to Stone & Balser, 1958:25 a vulture or buzzard) is made of tumbago, an alloy of copper and gold that was not used until after 1000 AD, hence the date mentioned above. The pendant is a grave gift, but it is not known whether the deceased continued to wear it during his life or whether it was specially made as a grave gift. It was the privilege of nobles and priests to wear such pendants, thus indicating their status and rank.According to Emmerich, the eagle pendants represent a wide variety of birds. In certain parts of Veraguas grave goods were ritually 'killed', destroyed, in order to liberate the spirit that would then accompany the deceased to the afterlife (1965:109).\Justice Feriz reported the origin of the gold or tumbago jewelry in Linea Vieja, northeastern Costa Rica. It is quite possible that the objects were excavated there, since an important trade route ran through the entire Isthmus with some well-known trading centers. In America there was a widespread belief in the afterlife. Gifts were given to the dead, often utensils such as earthenware pots, weapons and food (corn, peanuts, beans etc.).