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There are scholars who maintain that the Wari-Tiwanaku Staff God is the forerunner of the Incan principal gods, Sun, Moon, and
Thunder. It served as the primary religious icon of the entire Peruvian Andes, particularly during the Early Horizon (900-200 BC) and beyond. The worship of Staff Gods spread
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The Staff God has one of the most important iconographical elements in central Andean archaeology and this is prominent in both portable and fixed art using different media such as stone, textile, and ceramic. A form of the staff god, for example, takes a central role in the Sun Gate of the
Tiwanaku
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weather god). However, there is little evidence to support the idea that these front-facing figures do represent deities. Some researchers point to their attributes and spatial organization which seem to indicate that they are ritual practitioners. Some attributes in their hands were identified as
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Colloquium Verlag, 1959, p. 62: The staff in the figure's right hand clearly indicates the spear thrower due to the hook at the top, which - as is often the case with real spear throwers - has the shape of a bird („Der Stab in der rechten Hand der Figur bezeichnet durch den am oberen Ende
50:. The pose shows a front-facing human or human-like figure with vertical attributes, one in each hand. There is no uniform representation of a "Staff God". Dozens of variations of "Staff Gods" exist. Some scholars think that some of these personages are possible depictions of
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The staff god was a basic iconography shared by the cultures of pre-Columbian Peru, particularly those occupying the northern coast and the southern highlands. This is seen in the stylistic uniformity of the icons and representations, which suggested widespread adherence.
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Representations of the southern highland staff god did not only carry motifs but were also presented with accompanying consorts in the form of deities painted on textiles used to decorate temple walls or ceramic vessels.
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culture, a single-stone monolith. Tunics and ceramics from both the
Tiwanaku and Wari cultures of the Middle Horizon period showcase a similar god. Another example is the giant offering jars found at
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shells, which were female and male symbols, respectively. This representation indicated how the Staff-God wielded authority to maintain social harmony and the Andean ideal of
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to the
Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (600-1000 CE) This is supported by excavated Middle Horizon artifacts that resembled the Staff-God.
150:. They were painted with the Staff-God's image, one that bears resemblance to the god's depiction at the back of the Tiwanaku's Ponce Monolith.
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71:. The "rays" radiating or sprouting out of the faces of Tiwanaku front-facing figures appear to have approximately the value of an
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Die
Ruinenstätte von Tiahuanaco im Hochlande des alten Perú: Eine kulturgeschichtliche Studie auf Grund selbständiger Aufnahmen.
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sitzenden Haken, der — wie so oft bei wirklichen
Speerschleudern — die Gestalt eines Vogels hat, deutlich die Speerschleuder.“)
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138:, is perhaps the most popular representation and depicted the Staff-God as a sky or lightning god plunging down to earth.
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There were varying depictions of the Staff-God among these Andean cultures. However, it was often portrayed as a deity in
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The oldest known depiction of a Staff God was found in 2003 on some broken gourd fragments in a burial site in the
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region) and carbon dated to 2250 BCE. This makes it the oldest religious icon to be found in the
Americas.
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pose is a religious icon and a standardized pose reminiscent in its way of the standardized poses in
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Hallucinogens, alcohol and shifting leadership strategies in the ancient
Peruvian Andes.
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Spatial configuration in
Tiwanaku art. A review of stone carved imagery and staff gods.
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Spatial configuration in
Tiwanaku art. A review of stone carved imagery and staff gods.
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tree sprouting from its head whereas the circular elements do represent its seed pods.
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a vessel was found which shows a Staff God in which the "rays" can be interpreted as a
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38:, Bolivia. The figure holds a spearthrower with an avian hook in its right hand.
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In: BoletĂn del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino Vol. 19, No. 2 (2014), p. 22
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In: BoletĂn del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino Vol. 19, No. 2 (2014), p. 15
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Gardner's Art through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives, Thirteenth Edition
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Archaeology magazine article, with photo and illustration of the Staff God
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546:. Los Angeles, CA: The Costen Institute of Archaeology. p. 93.
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680:. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 736.
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The Cord Keepers: Khipus and Cultural Life in a Peruvian Village
443:. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 307.
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Staff God architrave fragment in the Ethnological Museum Berlin
75:. They may represent flows and distribution of energy. At the
471:. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 16.
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496:. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 137.
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Andean Civilization: A Tribute to Michael E. Moseley
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Hiersemann, Leipzig 1892, Second Part, p. 23 (
620:Steele, Paul Richard; Allen, Catherine J. (2004).
494:Funerary Practices and Models in the Ancient Andes
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571:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 674.
323:The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization
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369:Wesen und Ordnung der altperuanischen Kulturen.
705:New Scientist article on the find in Patavilca
542:Marcus, Joyce; Williams, Patrick Ryan (2009).
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134:. Another Early Horizon sculpted stone, the
655:. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. p. 161.
521:. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 78.
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42:In "Southern Andean Iconographic Series" the
676:Silverman, Helaine; Isbell, William (2008).
492:Eeckhout, Peter; Owens, Lawrence S. (2015).
439:Isbell, William; Silverman, Helaine (2008).
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414:"Oldest evidence of Andean religion found"
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626:. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp.
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441:Andean Archaeology III: North and South
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678:Handbook of South American Archaeology
402:Antiquity 96.385 (2022): 142-158, p. 4
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569:The Oxford Companion to Archaeology
291:1491: The Americas Before Columbus.
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67:(used in ceremonial contexts) and
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469:The Course of Andean History
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623:Handbook of Inca Mythology
517:Salomon, Frank L. (2004).
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651:Kleiner, Fred S. (2010).
594:The Ancient Central Andes
592:Quilter, Jeffrey (2013).
398:Matthew E. Biwer, et al:
387:digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de
381:Alfons StĂĽbel, Max Uhle:
730:Norte Chico civilization
349:Mathieu Viau-Courville:
302:Mathieu Viau-Courville:
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262:Norte Chico civilization
247:Staff god figure on the
19:Not to be confused with
85:Anadenanthera colubrina
185:Staff God on a golden
132:gender complementarity
92:Pativilca River Valley
63:(Andean ritual cups),
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426:10.1038/news030414-4
207:Walters Art Museum
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336:978-1-55786-183-2
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65:Snuff trays
719:Categories
637:1576073548
233:Lambayeque
148:Qunchupata
116:apotheosis
81:Conchopata
725:Inca gods
267:Wiracocha
124:Spondylus
52:Viracocha
44:Staff God
21:Staff god
365:Max Uhle
321:(1993).
256:See also
128:Strombus
79:site of
36:Tiwanaku
154:Gallery
73:aureole
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418:Nature
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187:ChavĂn
56:Aymara
273:Notes
189:crown
61:Qirus
682:ISBN
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632:ISBN
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523:ISBN
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473:ISBN
445:ISBN
331:ISBN
126:and
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34:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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