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Digital Object 956
Description:
Pendant in the form of a stylized opossum in ventral view, bringing an object to its mouth. It has supernatural elements, such as two crests and a belt whose ends hang and curl to the sides. The suspension ring is located behind its neck. International style.
The piece is quite worn by use, which attenuates the definition of its features, but it is possible to recognize the figure of a possum: a conical head, large in relation to the body; a snout that gradually diminishes ending in a point; large, round and separated eyes; short, thin paws with an opposable thumb allowing it to grasp objects; and a tail that is thick, prehensile and longer than the body. On the pendant, the upper part of the animal´s body is more detailed in order to represent the action it is performing; while the lower part is strongly stylized and merges with the tail, without marking the lower extremities. The mouth, with pronounced edges, is slightly open and in contact with the seemingly cylindrical shaped object that it grabs with its fingers and introduces into its mouth (possibly a cob of corn). The eyes are very prominent. The ears, which in the animal are very evident due to their membranous and hairless appearance, are here replaced by two ridges that come out from the top of the head, curve outwards and are joined to the face by two parallel bands. The belly is prominent and triangular, perhaps to mark the marsupium, and merges with the thick tail that becomes thinner and curls inward. In spite of the wear of the piece, it is possible to know from other pieces of similar iconography that it has a belt, from which hang laterally two bands that curl inwards.
MG
Date of field recording:
 
18/03/2011
Excavation campaign:
 
2011
Record type:
 
Metal artifacts
Context-based browsing of El Caño repository
Archaeological site:
 
El Caño
Operation:
 
Operation 1
Stratigraphic group:
 
Tomb 6
Stratigraphic unit type:
 
Interment
Stratigraphic unit (finds):
 
125
Individual´s funerary attire:
 
I01
Calibrated Age Range:
 
Cal AD 775 to 790 (Cal BP 1175 to 1160)/Cal AD 800 to 980 (Cal BP 1150 to 970)
Finds-based browsing of El Caño repository
Artifacts
Metal artifacts:
 
Pendant
Measurements
Dimension 1:
 
height mm
=:
 
61
Dimension 2:
 
width mm
=:
 
24
Weight:
 
g
=:
 
31.3
Digital Object 956
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