by Mark Cartwright

published on 20 August 2014

Definition
The Moche civilization (also known as the
Mochica) flourished along the northern
coast and valleys of ancient Peru, in
particular, in the Chicama and Trujillo
Valleys, between 1 CE and 800 CE. The
Moche state spread to eventually cover an
area from the Huarmey Valley in the south
to the Piura Valley in the north, and they
even extended their influence as far afield
as the Chincha Islands. Moche territory was
divided linguistically by two separate but
related languages: Muchic (spoken north of
the Lambayeque Valley) and Quingan. The
two areas also display slightly different
artistic and architectural trends and so the
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Moche Civilization
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THE MOCHE WERE
PERHAPS THE MOST
ACCOMPLISHED
ARTISTS AND
METALWORKERS OF ANY
ANDEAN CIVILIZATION.
Moche state may be better described as a
loose confederacy rather than a single,
unified entity.
The Moche were contemporary with the
Nazca civilization (200 BCE - 600 CE)
further down the coast but, thanks to their
conquest of surrounding territories, they
were able to accumulate the wealth and
power necessary to establish themselves as
one of the most unique and important
early-Andean cultures. The Moche also
expressed themselves in art with such a
high degree of aesthetics that their
naturalistic and vibrant murals, ceramics,
and metalwork are amongst the most
highly regarded in the Americas.
MOCHE
The capital, known simply as Moche and
giving its name to the civilization which
founded it, lies at the foot of the Cerro
Blanco mountain and once covered an area
of 300 hectares. Besides urban housing,
plazas, storehouses, and workshop
buildings, it also has impressive
monuments which include two massive
adobe brick pyramid-like mounds. These
monumental structures, in their original
state, display typical traits of Moche
architecture: multiple levels, access ramps,
and slanted roofing.
The larger 'pyramid' is the Huaca del Sol,
which has four tiers and stands 40 metres
high today. Originally it stood over 50 m
high, covered an area of 340 x 160 m, and
was constructed using over 140 million
bricks, each stamped with a maker's mark.
A ramp on the north side gives access to
the summit, which is a platform in the
form of a cross. The smaller structure,
known as the Huaca de la Luna, stands 500
1 CE - 800 CE
The Moche civilization
flourishes in ancient Peru.
c. 450 CE
The adobe brick pyramids
Huaca del Sol and Huaca de
la Luna are constructed at
Moche, capital of the Moche
civilization.
c. 550 CE
Moche is abandoned as the
capital of the Moche
civilization.
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metres away and was built using some 50
million adobe bricks. It has three tiers and
is decorated with friezes showing Moche
mythology and rituals. The entire
structure was once enclosed within a high
adobe brick wall. Both pyramids were
constructed around 450 CE, were originally
brightly coloured in red, white, yellow, and
black, and were used as an imposing
setting to perform rituals and ceremonies.
The Spanish conquistadors later diverted
the Rio Moche in order to break down the
Huaca del Sol and loot the tombs within,
suggesting that the pyramid was also used
by the Moche for generations as a
mausoleum for important persons.
Buildings excavated between the two
pyramid-mounds include many large
residences with courtyards enclosed by
walls. The fields around the site are laid
out in a regular grid pattern of small
rectangular plots often with a small adobe
viewing platform, which suggests some
sort of state supervision and control by the
elite (Kuraka) class. Moche agriculture
benefitted from an extensive system of
canals, reservoirs, and aqueducts, so that
the land could support a population of
around 25,000.
Other Moche sites include a pilgrimage
centre at Pacatnam, a mountain top site
above the Jequetepeque River and actually
used from the Early Intermediate Period (c.
200 BCE). There were also administrative
centres at Panamarca - where there is
another large adobe brick mound, this time
with a switch-back ramp leading to the top
of the structure - and at Huancaco in the
Viru Valley and Pampa de Los Incas in the
Santa Valley.
MOCHE RELIGION
Moche religion and art were initially
influenced by the earlier Chavin culture (c.
900 - 200 BCE) and in the final stages by
the Chim culture. Knowledge of the Moche
pantheon is sketchy, but we do know of Al
Paec the creator or sky god (or his son)
and Si the moon goddess. Al Paec, typically
depicted in Moche art with ferocious fangs,
a jaguar headdress, and snake earrings,
was considered to dwell in the high
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mountains. Human sacrifices, especially of
war prisoners but also Moche citizens,
were offered to appease him, and their
blood was offered in ritual goblets. Si was
considered the supreme deity, as it was
this goddess that controlled the seasons
and storms that had such an influence on
agriculture and daily life. In addition, the
moon was considered even more powerful
than the sun because Si could be seen
both at night and during the day. It is also
interesting that murals and such finds as
the intact tomb of the priestess known as
La Senora de Cao illustrate that women
could play a prominent role in Moche
religion and ceremony.
Another deity who frequently appears in
Moche art is the half-man, half-jaguar
Decapitator god, so-called because he is
often represented holding a vicious looking
sacrificial knife (tumi) in one hand and the
severed head of a sacrificial victim in the
other. The god may also be depicted as a
gigantic spider figure ready to suck the
life-blood from his victims. That such
scenes mirror real life events is supported
by archaeological finds, such as those at
the foot of the Huaca de la Luna where
skeletons of 40 men under 30 years of age
show evidence that they were mutilated
and thrown from the top of the pyramid.
The bones of these skeletons display cut
marks, limbs were ripped out of their
sockets, and jaw bones are missing from
severed skulls. Interestingly, the bodies lie
above soft ground caused by heavy El Nino
rains, which suggests the sacrifices may
have been offered to the Moche gods in
order to alleviate this environmental
disaster. Ceremonial goblets have also been
discovered which contain traces of human
blood, and tombs have revealed costumed
and be-jewelled individuals almost exactly
like the religious figures depicted in Moche
murals.
MOCHE ART
Many fine examples of Moche art have been
recovered from tombs at Sipn (c. 300
CE), San Jos de Moro (c. 550 CE), and
Huaca Cao Viejo, which are amongst some
of the best preserved burial sites from any
Andean culture. The Moche were gifted
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potters and superb metalworkers, and finds
include exquisite gold headdresses and
chest plates, gold, silver, and turquoise
jewellery (especially ear-spools and nose
ornaments), textiles, tumi knives, and
copper bowls and drinking vessels. Fine
pottery vessels were usually made using
moulds, but each was individually and
distinctively decorated, typically using
cream, reds, and browns. Perhaps the most
famous vessels are the highly realistic
portrait stirrup-spouted pots. These are
considered portraits of real people, and
several examples could be made depicting
the same individual. Indeed one face -
easily identified by his cut lip - appears in
over 40 such pots.
Pottery shapes and decorations did evolve
over time and became more and more
elaborate, although conversely, themes
became less various in later Moche pottery
and art in general. One of the most
distinctive styles created by the Moche
uses silhouette figures embellished with
fine line details very similar to Greek
black-figure pottery. Ceramic effigy
figures are also common, especially of
musicians, priestesses, and captives.
Popular subjects in Moche art - as seen on
wall paintings, friezes, pottery decoration,
and fine metal objects - include humans,
anthropomorphic figures (especially fanged
felines), and animals such as snakes, frogs,
birds (especially owls), fish, and crabs.
Whole scenes are also common, especially
religious ceremonies with Bird and Warrior
Priests, shamans, coca rituals, armoured
warriors, ritual and real warfare with their
resulting captives, hunting episodes, and,
of course, deities - notably scenes showing
night skies across which crescent boats
carry figures such as Si. Many of these
scenes are rendered to capture narratives
and, above all, action; figures are always
doing something in Moche art.
SIPN & PAMPA GRANDE
In c. 550 CE the Moche canal systems and
agricultural fields became covered in sand
(blown inland from the coast where it had
been deposited by erosive flooding from
the valleys), and the population left the
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area, resettling further north in the
Lambayeque Valley, notably at the sites of
Sipn and Pampa Grande. The move may
also have been precipitated by the
expansion of the Huari based in the
highlands of central Peru. At Sipn some of
the best preserved and richest tombs in
the Americas have been discovered,
including the famous 'Warrior Priest' tomb
with its outstanding precious metal objects
such as a gold mask, ear-spools, bracelets,
body armour, sceptre, ingots, and
magnificently crafted silver and gold
peanut necklace.
The site of Pampa Grande covered 600
hectares and included the once 55 metre
high Huaca Fortaleza ritual platform.
Reached by a 290-metre ramp the summit
had a columned structure containing a
mural of felines. However, after 150 years
of occupation the site was also abandoned,
once again, probably due to a combination
of climatic factors such as an extended
period of drought, Huari expansion, and
internal strife as indicated by evidence of
fire damage to many of the buildings.
Written by Mark Cartwright, published on 20
August 2014 under the following license: Creative
Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike . This license lets others remix,
tweak, and build upon this content non-
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terms.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alden Mason, J. The Ancient Civilizations of Peru.
Penguin Books, 1988.
D'Altroy, T.N. The Incas. Blackwell, 2003.
Jones, D.M. Mythology of the Incas. Southwater,
2007.
Jones, D.M. The Complete Illustrated History of
the Inca Empire. Lorenz Books, 2012.
Kubler, G. The Art and Architecture of Ancient
America, Third Edition. Yale University Press,
1984.
Moseley, M.E. The Incas and Their Ancestors.
Thames & Hudson, 2001.
Stone, R.R. Art of the Andesn to Inca. Thames &
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Hudson, 2012.
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