#  South America 

 



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   ![Nasca ceramic effigy vase in the shape of an animal figure with stirrup spout, Pre-Columbian Peru, 46-77-30/5369](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/peabody/files/collover_samerica.jpg?itok=I2FHV6Er) 

 

Collections from South America derive primarily from the Andes, but also include small regional collections from other parts of the Continent as well as the Caribbean. The work of nineteenth-century Indigenous artists and makers from Brazil and Colombia, some of which was collected by Louis and Alexander Agassiz in the 1870s and 1880s, is also included in the collections.

Nasca ceramic effigy vase in the shape of an animal figure with stirrup spout, Pre-Columbian Peru, [46-77-30/5369](http://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/284926)



 

##  Interested in learning more about the collections? 

 Check out some highlights below, or search for specific collections in the database

 [Search the Collections Online Database](https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu)



 

##  Highlights from the South American Collections 

   ![Middle Nasca bowl depicting the Harvester, a farmer clutching agricultural plants in his hands, from the southern coast of Peru. Museum Purchase, 32‐30‐30/71](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/60742138.png?itok=_G7Q_xrA) 

 

A large collection of pottery created by Chimu, Nazca, and Moche artists and makers in the Andes and south coast of Peru, including those collected by Harvard archaeologists Samuel Lothrop and Julio Tello in the twentieth century

Middle Nasca bowl depicting the Harvester, a farmer clutching agricultural plants in his hands, from the southern coast of Peru. Museum Purchase, [32-30-30/71](https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/258678)



 

   ![Small gold animal figure from Callao, Peru. Gift of Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, 35‐43‐30/917](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/99480145.png?itok=jO2wl1GW) 

 

 Gold and silver objects created by Inca and Chimu metalsmiths dating between the twelfth to sixteenth centuries

 *Small gold animal figure from Callao, Peru. Gift of Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, 35-43-30/917*

 

   ![Fragment of an embroidered textile border, possibly from the pre-Columbian Paracas Necropolis, Peru.  Museum Purchase, 32‐30‐30/50](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/60742732.png?itok=KZZa_5jS) 

 

 A broad and diverse collection of textiles created by Andean weavers dating back several thousand years from numerous archaeological sites, including Paracas

 *Fragment of an embroidered textile border, possibly from the pre-Columbian Paracas Necropolis, Peru. Museum Purchase, 32‐30‐30/50. 

 

   ![Oil painting by French artist Augustin Brunias entitled ](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/99320191.png?itok=tdT3xHYk) 

 

 Oil paintings of Caribbean women by Italian painter Augustin Brunias

 *Oil painting by French artist* Augustin Brunias entitled *"French Mulatresses of St. Dominica in Their Proper Dress." St. Dominica late 18th century. Gift of Harvard College Library, 975-5-30/9416a 

 

   ![Utifako (feather headdress or crown) used by Siona and Kofan shamans during rituals and ceremonies =, from the Putumayo River Region of Colombia. Museum Purchase, 48‐17‐30/7102](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/99430057.png?itok=AZtxTpPu) 

 

 Nineteenth century ceremonial and domestic objects created by Indigenous makers in the Amazon basin, including the Siona and Kofán people

 *Utifako (feather headdress or crown) used* by Siona and Kofan shamans during rituals and ceremonies, from the *Putumayo River Region of Colombia. Museum Purchase, [48-17130/7102](https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/108304/)*

 

   ![Archaeologists Julian Tello (right) and Samuel Lothrop (left) at the  pre-Columbian pilgrimage site and ceremonial center of Pachacamac, Peru. Gift of Harvard College Library, 2004.1.140.6.94](/sites/g/files/omnuum4921/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/peabody/files/100020178.png?itok=JyhcB8ku) 

 

 Osteological collections from highland and central coast sites in Peru, many associated with Julio Tello and Samuel Lothrop

 *Archaeologists Julian Tello (right) and Samuel Lothrop (left) at the*  pre-Columbian pilgrimage site and ceremonial center of Pachacamac, Peru. Gift of Harvard College Library, [2004.1.140.6.94](https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/454821/).