Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 1st April 2004

Gallinazo - Moche interactions at Huaca Santa Clara,

Virú Valley (north coast of Peru)

Jean-François Millaire
Department of Anthropology
McGill University
jean-francois.millaire@mail.mcgill.ca

Introduction
It is traditionally assumed that the Moche created the first expansionist state in the
ancient Andes by a strategy of military conquest over neighbouring valleys. One of the
most often-cited examples of Moche expansionism comes from Virú — a valley
situated some fifty kilometres south of the Moche heartland. Recent archaeological
fieldwork carried out at the site of Huaca Santa Clara has brought about first-hand
information on the nature of the relationships Moche leaders established with their
immediate neighbours, the Gallinazo. After two seasons of excavation, there is yet no
indication of a political overturn at Huaca Santa Clara; rather it seems that the local
elite established diplomatic relations with the Moche, as well as a complex system of
exchange of goods and ideas. These data, coupled with information from other
settlements in this area, call for a re-evaluation of Moche hegemonic strategies in Virú,
and along the north coast in general. In this paper I will briefly outline the result of
early works carried out in Virú and then concentrate on the results of excavations
carried out at Huaca Santa Clara. Finally, Moche artefacts uncovered at this Middle
Gallinazo site will be described in the hope to document a key period in Virú cultural
sequence.

Early work in the Virú Valley

It is now generally agreed that, although originally confined to a core area, the Moche
culture had spread to most of the surrounding valleys by the fourth century A.D. In the
literature, this phenomenon is usually interpreted as the result of Moche political
expansionism. One of the most often-cited examples of Moche hegemony comes from
Virú, where Moche material culture intrudes the local ceramic sequence at a time
when the valley was under Gallinazo control (Figure 1). According to Gordon Willey,
during the Early Intermediate Period Virú was ruled by local lords through an
administrative network composed of at least six major settlements. But evidences
suggested that Moche war leaders challenged this system, taking control of the unified
valley command, and establishing a regional capital at the site of Huancaco.

This thesis was first given support by the work of William Strong and Clifford Evans at
Huaca de la Cruz, which revealed the existence of a building containing several elite
burials with Moche offerings, one of which was believed to have been a local
representative of the Moche power. In the light of these results, it has come to be
generally agreed that the Moche had conquered the valley through military raids, and

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 Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 1st April 2004

established a local administrative authority to consolidate their land hold. More

recently, however, excavations carried out by Steve Bourget at the site of Huancaco
confirmed that it served as a palace for members of a local elite, but it also revealed
that the Moche had never occupied the site. These findings brought me to undertake a
research project at Huaca Santa Clara, an settlement thought to have fallen under
Moche rule.

Huaca Santa Clara

Huaca Santa Clara consists of a series of adobe platforms, built on the flanks of Cerro
Cementerio (Figure 2). On the basis of a surface collection, Willey had originally
classified the site as a Moche settlement. But two field seasons led us to question this
assessment. Indeed, our own excavations showed that this site was the home of a
flourishing Gallinazo community.

On the basis of the generally accepted ceramic sequence, the prehistoric occupation
of Huaca Santa Clara was confidently dated to the Middle Gallinazo period (Figure 3).
Only one small jar closely matched a late shape in the ceramic chronology elaborated
by Heidy Fogel, suggesting that the settlement was used until the Late Gallinazo
period. Six radiocarbon dates are available from the Gallinazo occupation of Huaca
Santa Clara (Figure 4). When calibrated using two standard deviations, the Gallinazo
occupation spans over a relatively long period of time. Indeed, all the dates obtained
felt between the second century BC and the eight-century A.D. These results are
significant as they show that Huaca Santa Clara was occupied prior to the alleged
Moche conquest of Virú, and possibly used until after they had ceased to control the
area.

Huaca Santa Clara consists of four large, interconnected adobe buildings: one atop
the hill, and one on each of three natural terraces. Evidences suggest that the top
building originally stood as the main platform of Huaca Santa Clara. Around its base,
hundreds of fragments of decorative war maces were found (Figure 5). These
architectural ornaments are well known in the art of both Gallinazo and Moche
cultures, where they adorn the roof of important buildings. These decorative maces
were not found elsewhere on the site, indicating that their use was restricted to the top
structure.

Access from the valley floor to the hilltop was only possible via one of the three lower
terraces (Figure 6). On one of these terraces, structures were exceptionally well
preserved. In the southern part of this building, two adjacent rooms appear to have
been part of a complex access network directing those climbing up the hill (Figure 7).
Visitors probably entered the first room via a checked entrance and accessed the
second room by climbing three steps. The elite character of this space was marked by
the presence of a low bench and by a niched wall. A narrow passage in the northeast
corner probably restricted access to even more private areas of the huaca. One such
private quarter was found close-by (Figure 8). It consisted of a large gallery with a
veranda-like design, which probably provided a panoramic view on the valley neck.

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The function of this room may therefore have included the visual control of the eastern
flank of the hill and the surrounding lands.

The administrative nature of the settlement was confirmed after the discovery of a
system of large-scale storage facilities for agricultural products, closely associated
with elite residences. During the excavation process, we came across nearly a
hundred small rectangular chambers organized in honeycombed patterns (Figure 9).
These structures were first puzzling but it soon became clear to us that we were
excavating storage facilities, perched on the hill flanks.

The high status of the local residents was further verified with the discovery of a series
of elite burials inside the architectural complex. In some cases the elite character of
the deceased was particularly manifest. For example, an elderly female was buried
with a small gold nugget in her hand, suggesting that she held a relatively high status
among her collectivity. But the most impressive burial was clearly that of an adult
female whose body was in an excellent state of preservation (Figure 10). Tattoos were
still visible on her face. To the south, the naturally mummified corpse of another
female was found (Figure 11). Evidences suggest that this was no ordinary burial,
however, but the remains of a retainer who was possibly put to death during the burial
of the tattooed woman. Indeed, an analysis of the skeleton by physical anthropologists
Richard Mikulski and Rosa Cortez revealed that her death had been caused by at
least two severe blows to the head — a pattern strongly suggesting sacrifice.

Moche artefacts from Huaca Santa Clara

Throughout the excavation process, several shards were classified as Moche, but only
a few artefacts were complete enough to allow further comparative analyses. The first
was a Moche florero with a rim base (Figure 12). The body is decorated with a white
on red and red on red slip, and the inner rim is adorned with a typical Moche design
featuring a series of stepped motifs. Vessels of this type are highly common in Moche-
IV burial contexts in the Moche-Chicama region. Although it is still unclear whether this
vessel was made in Virú or elsewhere, it clearly indicates direct or indirect contacts
between members of the Gallinazo and Moche cultures during that period of time. Two
other artefacts also dated to the Moche-IV period. The first is a penis–shaped spout
that was probably part of an elaborate sculptural bottle. The other artefact is the neck
of a jar ornamented with a skeleton face in high relief. Vessels of this type are also
well known in Moche art, and they usually date to the Moche-IV phase. But the most
important discovery in this regard was of a Moche-like stirrup-spout bottle (Figure 13)
in a context associated with four Middle Gallinazo vessels, a Late Gallinazo jar, as well
as a kaolin clay bottle with a Recuay flavour. This artefact was found inside the
veranda-like gallery mentioned earlier, a restricted space probably associated with
members of the local elite. In terms of stratigraphy, this vessel predated all Moche-IV
artefacts mentioned earlier, something that seems to be corroborated by its apparently
early style.

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From this brief presentation, it should be remembered that relatively few Moche
artefacts were recovered at Huaca Santa Clara, a situation that calls for a re-
examination of the Moche – Gallinazo relations during the Early Intermediate Period.

The nature of Gallinazo - Moche relationship

If the Moche had conquered the valley, replacing local leaders by their own
administrators, one would have expected to find physical traces of such a takeover on
all centres of political authority in Virú — something that we haven’t documented at
Huaca Santa Clara. As seen earlier, here the local elite seems to have maintained its
control over the surrounding lands and people, throughout the Early Intermediate
Period. Because of their proximity, these two polities may have been in contact with
one another for a long period of time. It is well known that the Gallinazo elite shared a
large part of its artistic conventions and symbolism with the Moche. In this context, one
could explain the presence of Moche artefacts at Huaca Santa Clara in terms of peer-
polity interactions. Taking into account information available from Virú and elsewhere
along the coast, however, everything seem to suggests that the relationship between
Moche and Gallinazo polities was not balanced — but one of dominant versus
dominated. In this context, there are little doubts that the presence of Moche artefacts
at Huaca Santa Clara is related to this society’s hegemonic policy. But it is still unclear
which kind of strategy the Moche put forth to secure their control over Virú.

A re-evaluation of Moche hegemonic strategy

Based on the information available in the literature, scholars commonly describe the
Moche society as the first territorial state in the Andean region — a political system
characterized by the extension of the state’s direct ruler over larger regions, through a
system of local administrative centres and administrators. In other words, the Moche
are seen as having evacuated local leaders from political offices, installed their own
administrators, and taken direct control over the newly conquered resources.

In the light of recent work at Huaca Santa Clara, however, I would question this
reading of Moche hegemonic policy — or more precisely the nature of the strategy
adopted by Moche leaders to exact resources from Virú. At Huaca Santa Clara, all
evidences seem to suggest that the Moche never displaced the local Gallinazo
authorities, leaving them in direct control over the land and people. In doing so, they
would have maintained an in-direct control over the valley, a strategy that they
apparently put forth in valleys north of Moche.

If this were the case, the function of Moche political representatives in Virú could have
been limited to exact tribute payment and maintain diplomatic relations with the local
elite. This would help to explain (1) the absence of a large Moche regional capital in
Virú, (2) the confinement of Moche elite in the relatively small but nevertheless
centrally located village of Huaca de la Cruz, (3) the absence of a political overturn at
Huaca Santa Clara — where local administrators maintained their direct control over
surrounding agricultural lands, and finally (4) the presence of a few Moche artefacts
inside the elite compounds, indicating that Gallinazo and Moche leaders were
engaged in some forms of relations. If the indirect nature of Moche hegemony were to

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be confirmed by future researches in Virú and elsewhere, it would enable north coast
specialists to document one of the first examples of such a complex political
organization in the Andean region, providing all prehistorians with critical data on the
development of early civilizations.

Acknowledgements My research in the Virú Valley was made possible thanks to

a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la Société et la
Culture and to the support of the Département d’Anthropologie of the Université de
Montréal. My special thanks go to Claude Chapdelaine, to the project co-directors,
Estuardo La Torre Calvera and Jeisen Navarro Vega, and to all the team members
from the 2002 and 2003 field seasons.