Stela of the cactus-bearer shaman, Stone stele in Chavin de Huantar, Peru
The Stela of the cactus-bearer shaman is a granite monolith at Chavin de Huantar, about 80 centimeters tall and 70 centimeters wide. The stone displays a human figure with serpent hair and fangs carved into it, resembling a mythological being.
The stone was created around 750 BC by Chavin people as part of their religious centers. In 1972, archaeologist Luis Guillermo Lumbreras discovered this monolith during excavations in the northwestern area of the circular plaza.
The figure holds a San Pedro cactus, showing how important this plant was for religious ceremonies among Chavin people. You can see that such sacred objects played a central role in their daily life and spiritual practices.
The monolith sits in the circular plaza within the Chavin de Huantar complex and can be reached through the eastern or western entrances. The location is easy to access and requires no special conditions to view the stone.
Archaeologists found in 2001 a fragment of another stone with a mirrored image of the same figure. This suggests that originally four identical monoliths stood at the four cardinal points of the plaza.
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