# Bird-Shaped Container

- Date: 500–900
- Medium: wood
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: Overall: 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.)
- Culture: Peru, Wari style (500-900)
- Credit line: Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1989.66)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1989.66/1989.66_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Peruvian Indians today regard coca leaf as a sacred substance that creates communion with deities. The leaves are chewed with powdered lime that in antiquity was stored in containers and scooped with spatulas like those seen here. Aside from its ritual meaning, coca has practical benefits: it is vitamin-rich and, like coffee, induces clear-headedness. The lizard spatula is Nasca; the other two are Wari.