The ceramic vessel pictured here is found in the Moche territory of Peru. As the form of a hand, it portrays the mountain peaks around the area where people live. I have climbed a mountain, more than one time and it is awesome to see even more mountains on the other side of the valley below. There is no other place for god to call home if he chooses to live on earth. Man attempts to duplicate the mountain in insignificant, puny churches and cathedrals, but there is nothing that can compare to the majesty of a mountain.
Martin Brennan, author of the book, The Hidden Maya, decided that it was a portrayal of a human sacrifice to invoke the powers of mountain dwelling spirits. I see these people carrying animals, praying, or attempting to catch an animal by running, but I do not see a sacrifice. It might be there as the man lying on his back, but there is no knife or incision. This man appears to be part of the central finger. At the top of that finger is a blue area which I would think indicates the rains on top of the mountain. By inference, it would then indicate that men could die when the rains produced landslides, which does occur in the Andes. I don't know. What I do know is, the hand with the gods as an art form, traveled quite a long way from Peru.
Did the travelers carry the idea to an area where they could use metal instead of ceramic for their votive offering? Or did they create the metal form and carry the image to Peru? One does not expect long distance travelers to be found deep in the interior of the land. One would think that they would be found in merchant settlements along the coast, where boats carried merchandise for sale to the various ports. However, this bronze votive hand was found in a city called Avenches near Murten, a small lake near the Neuenburger Lake in the Alps, deep in the mountains where people would appreciate the gods of the mountains.
Scholars have been looking for evidence of transoceanic travel for many years. Either this is an fine example of such travel, or it is art work that was brought home by a Conquistador of Peru. The pine cone on the thumb indicates Dionysus, the woman, Aphrodite. Mercury (Hermes) is there with his winged hat. The serpent is Gea (the Earth mother), but who is the turtle, also considered to be the earth in other cultures? Then there is the goat and the lizard, who do they represent?
They can not compare with the Moche because each group of "gods," is only relevant to the area in which each piece is found. The similarity is that the people and the animals depicted are created on a hand. This is not the only "idea" that is found both in the Americas and across the sea. However, even the best of scholars cannot compile all the items necessary for this type of transmission. And, because there is no evidence of ancient transoceanic boats to prove such theories, the comparative finds will only confound those attempting to prove it possible.
