Archaeologists in Venezuela have successfully recovered fragments of palm-fiber textiles adorned with thousands of tiny hammered copper discs. Found in a sealed riverbank tomb, these 'spangled banners' are thought to be the central regalia for a forgotten maize-harvest festival that once united disparate tribes along the Orinoco River.
The reflective quality of the copper discs was intended to mimic the sun's glare on the water, a key element in the spiritual cosmology of the region's early inhabitants. This discovery challenges the notion that complex metallurgical ritual items were restricted to the Andean highlands, showing a sophisticated ceremonial life in the Amazonian lowlands.