Nicoya peoples carved metates with zoomorphic forms of gods to illustrate their power. This work dating to 500 CE-1000 bears the head of an open-mouthed feline, possibly a jaguar.Jaguars roamed the lands of Costa Rica and Honduras, bordering the Gulf of Nicoya and are prevalent in Mesoamerican creation mythology. The Guanacaste-Nicoya peoples inhabited this area and venerated the jaguar,“Guanacaste or Nicoya Metate.” Vilcek Foundation, 7 July 2021, https://vilcek.org/art/guanacaste-or-nicoya-jaguar-tripod-effigy-metate/. much like indigenous Mexicans worshipped the god Tezcatlipoca.Tezcatlipoca embodies the first of five suns to have risen over the world. After he was knocked out of the sky by his brother Quetzalcoatl, he transformed into a jaguar and devoured the earth’s gigantic inhabitants.Cartwright, Mark. “Tezcatlipoca.” World History Encyclopedia, 27 Mar. 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/Tezcatlipoca/. Jaguars therefore became an omnipotent symbol of creation and destruction lending to this object’s significance.