Hollow phallus statuette

This ceremonial object seems to have been purposely broken - which was a frequent practice in Marajoara society - perhaps to render its reusability unfeasible. With scorpion-shaped eyes, a recurring attribute in anthropomorphic figures and associated with shamans, tall and depilated brow, with the shape of the head suggesting cranial deformation, the statuette was decorated with facial and body painting on red geometric motifs on a white background. Marajoara iconography, as the characteristics of this object attest, indicate that women occupied positions of high social status, which in other cultures are generally reserved for men.