For Love, War, and Tribute: Featherwork in the Early Americas

It does not take much to imagine this kind of admiration for birds and their feathers many centuries ago in the early Americas, with objects like the ancient miniature tunic (shown below), part of the William and Inger Ginsberg Collection, looking, after many hundreds of years, as if it were made yesterday. The uscuarecuri brought many large red papagayos and other parrots for their feathers, and people brought to them feathers of herons, and other birds. The warriors also wore feathered shields of many birds, some white ones from herons, that were of the God Curicaveri, other feathers from colored of parrots, and golden and green feathers from other birds.

Source: blogs.loc.gov