Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pumice Tablet
(Ancient Americas )
The coastal hills and river valleys on Ecuador’s western coast made the land near the Gulf of Guayaquil an ideal spot for early cultural development. This area saw the precocious development of villages, plant domestication, and long-distance trade. Some of the earliest ceramics are associated with the Valdivia culture of Ecuador’s Pacific coast. Also during this period, incised stone tablets were made. Although the meaning of these tablets remains unknown, some argue that they are early systems of writing, while others suggest they have astronomical associations.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Acquired by Pope and Joan Atkins, Annapolis, Maryland, 1965-1966 [1]; given to Walters Art Museum, 2019.
[1] While traveling in Ecuador
Geographies
Ecuador (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall: H: 5 × W: 4 3/4 × D: 2 1/8 in. (12.7 × 12.07 × 5.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Pope and Joan Atkins, 2019
Location in Museum
Charles Street: Second Floor: Latin American Art / Arte Latinoamericano
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
2019.9.8