Ear ornament with winged runner, Moche Culture [1200×1114]

Source

This ear ornament, one of a pair, depicts a winged runner clutching a small cloth bag. Although it has been suggested that this figure may represent a human in a bird costume, it is more likely to portray an anthropomorphized bird, perhaps an owl.

The subject matter of these earspools is not well understood. Ritual running—either by a human or a zoomorphic protagonist—is one of the most frequently depicted activities in later Moche ceramics.