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Culture
Caddo people
Creation date
1200-1400
Materials
seashell
Dimensions
4 7/8 x 11 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.
Credit line
Gift of Earl C. Townsend, Jr.
Accession number
62.223
Collection
Currently On View In
Michael and Patricia McCrory & Richard and Rebecca Feldman Gallery - K214
This cup was used as a ritual drinking vessel and possibly as a chest pendant for an important individual.
The engraving on the cup represents a winged, horned serpent coiled about three trophy heads.
The trophy heads of sacrificed enemies depicted on this cup have serrated necks with spurting blood indicated by lines.
Seashells were trade items imported hundreds of miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
The Caddo peoples had a sophisticated culture which, from about 900-1700, flourished in present-day Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
