Raimondi Stele

The Raimondi Stele is a sacred object and significant piece of art of the Chavín culture of the central Andes in present-day Peru.

The Early Horizon came to rise after the spread and domination of Chavín art styles, namely the hanging pendant eye and anthropomorphism/zoomorphism of feline, serpent, and crocodilian creatures.

After not being found in situ (in its original intended position), the stele now is housed in the courtyard of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú in Lima.

[2] Two years later in 1873, Antonio Raimondi, an Italian-Peruvian naturalist, visited Chavín de Huantar and described the structure as a "fortress," taking note of the stele in the ceremonial center.

[5] Spiritual leaders and elite would drink the juice from the San Pedro Cactus that would elicit a hallucinogenic response, allowing them to become closer to the deities that they honored.

As common in Chavin art, there is extreme attention paid to maintaining bilateral symmetry, this naturally creates further contour rivalry in all orientations of the Raimondi Stele.

The main figure in the image on the Raimondi Stele is the Staff God, an anthropomorphic creature that exhibits human, feline, reptilian, and avian characteristics.

[7] These characteristics of strength reflect on what was thought of the Staff God, considering he was the main deity of the Chavín, showing his all-encompassing power and rule.