Funerary Staffs 15th-16th century Inca This imposing sculpted board, made from algarrobo wood (Prosopis chilensis), features a plain lower third terminating in a rounded, paddle-like lower edge. The shaft linking the lower section with the figures at the top of the implement was intricately carved to form a hollow three-dimensional lattice or openwork diamond pattern. The shaft is surmounted by a bulbous mound on which stand five figures; the central figure has a hand on head of the two figures flanking him. The flanking figures, in turn, stand with one foot on the backs of crouching figures carved perpendicular to the mound and facing outward. Two pairs of standing figures were carved on either side of the lower end of the shaft, at the top of the paddle. All figures but the one at the top center hold a cup to their chests. The front and back sides of the implement are identical with figures carved back to back. Traces of pigment and small fragments of metal remain in certain regions,