Isthmian cultures (Central America)

The North American Isthmus—today, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua

c. 500 B.C.E.–950 C.E.

Isthmian cultures (Central America)

Central American art in context: an origin story of the Bribri people
Central American art in context: an origin story of the Bribri people

A song sung by the Bribri people of Costa Rica and northern Panama tells of the formation of the first humans and how they learned to build a relationship with the earth, and with each other that sustains them

<em>Doe Shaman Effigy</em>
Doe Shaman Effigy

We don’t know what the makers of this figure called her, but we can tell that she is at once human and animal.

Mirror Pendant in the Form of a Bat-Human From Grave 5, Sitio Conte
Mirror Pendant in the Form of a Bat-Human From Grave 5, Sitio Conte

This bat-human hybrid preceded the comic version by over a thousand years—move over, Bruce Wayne.

Selected Contributors