Moche Culture
Moche Culture emerged in the Moche Valley of Peru during the Early Intermediate period, around 200 B.C.E., following influences from earlier civilizations such as the Chavín. This culture is characterized by its advanced irrigation agriculture, which allowed it to expand beyond the Moche River Valley and engage with neighboring river valley polities. The Moche civilization is notable for its monumental architecture, including the prominent temples Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna, which were constructed using adobe bricks by organized labor groups.
The Moche society experienced significant challenges, including environmental events such as flooding and drought, which ultimately led to the relocation of their capital from Cerro Blanco to Pampa Grande. Known for their intricate and diverse pottery, Moche art encompasses various styles, featuring mythological, shamanistic, and political themes, as well as naturalistic representations of daily life. Some of the most remarkable archaeological findings, like the elaborate burial of a warrior-priest at Sipán, reveal insights into the Moche's social structure and ceremonial practices. Overall, the Moche Culture represents a significant chapter in pre-Columbian history, showcasing a complex society with rich artistic traditions and adaptive strategies to environmental challenges.
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Moche Culture
Also known as: Mochica.
Date: 200/100 b.c.e.-600 c.e.
Locale: Moche River Valley, Peru
Moche Culture
Developing from the earlier Caballo de Muerto and other cultures of the Moche Valley in the preceding Early Horizon period (1000 to 300 b.c.e.) associated with the Chavín civilization, Moche developed during the Early Intermediate period, beginning about 200 b.c.e. The Early Intermediate was a time of regionalism in Peru, with a number of river valley polities including the Moche vying for political supremacy.
The first capital of the Moche civilization was at Cerro Blanco and consisted of two main temples, Huaca del Sol (temple of the Sun) and Huaca de la Luna (temple of the Moon), built of adobe bricks on the banks of the Moche River. Distinctive makers’ marks on the bricks indicate the temples were built by village labor parties, a sign of forced labor that marked later civilizations in Peru. The basic pattern of state and empire that were known from the later Chimu and Inca states were set with the Moche. The culture was based on irrigation agriculture and expanded beyond the Moche River Valley to incorporate other river valley states.
The city and culture were devastated by an El Niño event around 550 c.e. that is recorded in the Quelccaya glacier near Cuzco and indicates flooding, erosion, and sand piling on the city. After that event, Cerro Blanco was rebuilt and became more dependent on highland corn and marine resources, turning away from the previous emphasis on irrigation farming. Also recorded in the glacial core is a subsequent drought about 562-594 c.e. that precipitated the abandonment of Cerro Blanco and the relocation of the capital north to Pampa Grande in the Lambeyeque Valley.
One of the most famous Moche sites is Sipan, a temple site where the Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva excavated an elaborate burial of a Moche warrior-priest. The most well-preserved and sumptuous of elite tombs, the burial includes other individuals buried alongside the warrior-priest, as well as gold, feather, and ceramic offerings, many previously known only from artistic depictions on pottery vessels.
Moche art, known mainly from spouted pottery vessels from burials, consists of four styles. Much of the art consists of stylized scenes representing mythological, shamanistic, or political events that are rendered in a two-dimensional painting style, with profile figures. By ethnographic analogy to modern Moche healers, some of the scenes have been interpreted as ritual shamanistic ceremonies. Another group of pottery vessels consists of naturalistic portraits in three dimensions, made by modeling the clay. Many pottery vessels include naturalistic depictions of people, plants, animals, and scenes of everyday life, including a large group of sexually explicit art. Another group of pots display stylized abstract designs.
Bibliography
Donnan, Christopher B. Moche Art and Iconography. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976.
Moseley, Michael E. The Incas and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992.