Made of hammered sheets of tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), the two house models seen here are extraordinary examples of the skill of ancient metalsmiths as well as the detail and accuracy with which they captured their world in portable objects. Community meeting houses of different cultural groups may be either round or rectangular; although they are different in shape, both forms can encapsulate the cosmos. The diagrams below show Tukano and Yakuna malocas (meeting houses).

Image: Maloca-cosmos diagrams, © Stephen Hugh-Jones