Camelid Sacrum

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine, from Tequixquiac, central Mexico, 14,000-7,000 BCE, bone, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, Mexico

The camelid sacrum is made from bone and carved to look like a dog or another canine (though the bone itself is not from a dog). The bone itself is a sacrum, which is a bone positioned at the base of an animal's spine. 

In ancient times, the sacrum was seen as almost a "second skull," with some cultures even asserting that it was a symbol for a person's soul. So, the sacrum bone was potentially chosen for this work to represent those ideas. However, this sacrum was made before writing, so it is impossible to know exactly why it was chosen. Evidence points to the idea that the sacrum was sacred and important in rituals of resurrection and fire because of its importance in Egypt and India, though it is hard to generalize across such vast differences. 

The camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine was found in 1870 in the Valley of Mexico. Specifically, it was found in Tequixquiac, Mexico. It was found at a depth of 12 meters during a drainage project.