Animal-Headed Figure Pendant

The culture area that extends from southern Central America to northern South America is generally referred to as the Intermediate Region because of its location between the two high culture zones of Mesoamerica and the central Andes. Research to date indicates that the pre-Columbian peoples of the Intermediate Region were organized into small, competitive chiefdoms, rather than large-scale states or empires. Despite political competition and warfare, trade in prestige goods such as jade and gold was common. Gold, obtained through panning and mining, was worked by hammering and lost-wax casting to produce intricate and showy personal ornaments.