Zenu Queen, AD 1000, Colombia

A Zenú (Sinú) queen from the warm flood plains of the Colombian Caribbean. She is wearing earrings, done in the technique of false filigree. The forehead ornament and the pectoral are made of tumbaga, a gold-silver-copper alloy, and of emeralds. Typical of the Zenú style are staff tops in the form of humans, animals and supernatural beings like the one which adorns her staff.  Societies of farmers and goldsmiths constructed an extraordinary network of hydraulic drainage canals, which enabled them to control the floods and make use of extensive areas for dwelling, fishing and crop growing. The reconstruction is based on female figures depicted with cloaks and painted or decorated bodies, and on gold ornaments.