Among the many pieces, there's a small anthropomorphic figure in stone (perhaps once a mortar) that stands out from among the others. Apparently, in the Andean period, ancestors could incarnate as sculptures, masks or mortars, that were placed together with the funerary bundles. Another outstanding piece shows a wrapped body, as a mummy. It was most probably placed in the tomb as a "stone double" of the dead. 

Anthropomorphic figure. Aguada. Integración regional 450 – 900 DC

Stone - Argentine Chancery Collection

Condorhuasi Anthropomorphic figure. Formativo  500 AC – 450 AC

Stone - Argentine Chancery Collection

Alamitos masks. Formativo 500 AC – 450 DC

Stone - Argentine Chancery Collection

The pipes were used to smoke cebil (anadenanthera colubrina), a tree that grows between 315 and 2200 mts above sea level. The black beans in its pods were toasted till they bursted, and then crushed into a powder that could be inhaled or smoked.

Ceramic pipes. Integración Regional 450 – 900 DC

Ceramic - Argentine Chancery Collection

The following sculpture, according to the curator, must have been a ritual vessel and represents the "sacrificer", with an ax in one hand and a trophy-head in the other. 

Sacrificer figure. Aguada. Integración regional 450 – 900 DC

Stone - Argentine Chancery Collection

Because of the quality of the pieces on display, this exhibition is a great chance to witness, first hand, the progress of Argentina's Northern cultures. The MNBA has many Pre-Hispanic pieces in its permanent collection, which used to belong to the Di Tella collection, although unfortunately they are not currently on display.