https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/79101/fullSeated figure300 BCE–400 CE[com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@19b2b]com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@19b2bEarthenwareLarge Jama-Coaque male effigy figure seated on a stool with elbows on knees and hands raised holding round and crescent-shaped objects. The figure wears an elaborate headdress of applied birds, long paneled ear ornaments, extremely large lip plug (labret), necklace, ankle rings and loincloth. The figure is partly burnished, with traces of paint. Repaired. El Junco, Manabi _____________ Large ceramic Jama-Coaque male figure seated on a stool with elbows on knees and with hands raised holding a round plate and a crescent-shaped object, probably having the same function as the boomerang form held by figure #60. The figure wears an elaborate headdress of applied birds, presumed to be stuffed, facing forward to form a halo around the face. The long ear ornaments are believed to simulate hammered gold and are similar to designs on cylinder seals. See Valdez and Veintimilla (1992): p. 116 for figures wearing similar earrings and bird headdresses. The figure wears a crescent-shaped nose ornament and an extremely large lip plug (labret) that in some comparable pieces is painted blue, suggesting it was of copper (Valdez & Veintimilla 1992: 125, #95), a broad crescent necklace, beaded ankle rings, and a loincloth, which indicates male gender. The drum-shaped stool, not rendered here with much detail, is the mark of a shaman in the tropical forest cultures in historic times. The figure may be ingesting a hallucinogenic substance from the plate using the crescent, with the birds indicating that he will be taking a spiritual flight. Birds are often symbolic of the spirit flight taken by a shaman or religious specialist during a vision quest. Often aided by hallucinogenic drugs, a shaman's spirit would fly out from his body in search of knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Birds of all sorts are commonly depicted on Pre-Columbian works of art. Some birds, such as the harpy eagle, are said to "possess all the wisdom of the spirits." Brightly-colored feathers were often added to clothing both for decoration and to symbolize shamanic transformation during vision quests and/or chiefly wisdom. com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.Classification@61https://emuseum.cornell.edu/objects/40275/rdf