Ask the Scholar

These gold figures, known as "tunjos" were made in very large quantities by the Muisca people of Colombia as votive offerings, as they have been found in buried caches and deposited in lakes. There, they could not be seen by human eyes, but would have been perceived by divine entities. These figures are made with little attention to the specifics of the figures shown, except that they are clearly portrayed as male or female, and their headdresses and other finery is shown in greater detail than the rest of the piece. This may mean that these details served to identify the person offering this object to the gods, placing them within a framework of gender and rank. The headdress of this figure seems to identify him as a leader, associated with the sun, while the bundle of darts he holds suggests that he earned his rank through military service. Perhaps the petition he carried was for military victory over enemies.