Diquís Stone Owl with Inverted Head

This stone owl (1000–1550) shows a compact body with folded wings and an inverted human head carved on the chest. It comes from the Diquís region of Costa Rica, where bird figures appeared in ritual and funerary settings. Owls held roles as psychopomps in local belief systems. The combined forms indicate how artisans connected avian imagery with ideas of passage and spiritual transition.