Small vessel flute in the shape of a cat of prey, whose tubular tail served as a mouthpiece. The object has seven round openings and an open mouth. It was smoothed, sanded, primed, painted and polished. The primer is partially eroded. The instrument has a white-yellowish base colour, which was painted with black and red lines, ovals and dots. The decoration imitates the fur pattern of a cat of prey. Symbolic meaning: Holmes (1888: 183) and MacCurdy (1911) refer to discs, trapezoids and squares with dots in the centre as scale or alligator motifs. However, the same decorations also occur in other animal groups. According to Holmes 1888: alligator ware. According to Lehmann: Chiriquí style. Cultural significance: Stone (1958: 48) reports that objects of this type were associated with iron objects in a burial. She therefore assumes that these ceramics were still being produced in the Diquís region (Pacífico Sur) after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. (Künne 2004)