Moche peoples, Peru
AD 200 – 550 (Early Intermediate Period, Moche III-IV Phases)
slipped earthenware
Reading Public Museum
“The figures on this Moche vessel hold gathering sticks that collect snails depicted in sculpture relief. The snail gathering ritual is taking place on a mountain suggested by the serpentine lines that arc across the top and front of the vessel. The snails absorbed mescaline-based chemicals while feeding on San Pedro cactuses, depicted here as the spiny plants growing on top of and between the mountains. Consuming them would have provided a potent hallucinogenic experience and an entry into the spirit world.”
[Reading Public Museum]
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