Ceramic vessels, terrapin whistle and greenstone amulets, the Bay Islands, Cocal Period (1000–1530 AD)

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Ceramic vessels, terrapin whistle and greenstone amulets, the Bay Islands, Cocal Period (1000–1530 AD)
Collection: 
Winchester College Fellows' Library

These artefacts are thought to have been made by Pech people, a group indigenous to north-eastern Honduras. When Columbus first encountered the Bay Islands in July 1502, on his fourth and final journey to the New World, he would have encountered native art forms like these.

The greenstone amulets (Ho 62 and Ho 66) have holes that indicate they were either suspended on a string or worn.

The turtle-like object (Ho 53) is a musical instrument similar to an ocarina.