In this pendant, a jaguar’s rounded front claws cleverly double as rings through which a cord could be threaded. Suspended from the wearer’s neck, perhaps alongside other pendants, the jaguar denoted strength, power, and ferocity. Cast as if the animal were in mid-pounce, the artist’s rendition emphasized its curving spine, raised tail, and oversized teeth. Images of felines, especially the jaguar, appear in the work of nearly all major Mesoamerican cultures, including that of the Diquís, who inhabited the region surrounding the southern delta of Costa Rica.