Greater Nicoya Jade Figurine
2018 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Greater Nicoya Jade Figurine

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This compact jade figure (500 BC–500 AD) reflects the stylized human forms of the Greater Nicoya region. With its abstract face, geometric limbs, and ceremonial pose, it may have symbolized a shaman or ancestor. Jade was revered as a sacred substance linked to life force, fertility, and the divine breath of the earth.