The Moche civilization (; alternatively, the Moche culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto-Chimú) flourished in northern Peru from about 100 to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. The capital of a Southern Moche polity was near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru, with several other, possibly independent, regions under Moche influence.
Many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state. Rather, they were likely a group of autonomous polities that shared a common culture, as seen in the rich iconography and monumental architecture that survives today.
Background Moche society was agriculturally based, with a significant level of investment in the construction of a sophisticated network of irrigation canals for the diversion of river water to supply their crops. Their artifacts express their lives, with detailed scenes of hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice, sexual encounters, and elaborate ceremonies. Moche ceremonies were commonly associated with movement, but "stasis" and standing still were also very significant. These pauses were shown in "liminal spaces", which were in-between spaces like sunken steps or ramps. The Moche are particularly noted for their elaborately painted ceramics, gold work, monumental constructions (huacas), and irrigation systems.
Moche history may be broadly divided into three periods: the emergence of the Moche culture in Early Moche (100–300 AD), the expansion and flourishing during Middle Moche (300–600 AD), and the urban nucleation and subsequent collapse in Late Moche (500–800 AD).
The Salinar culture reigned on the north coast of Peru from 200 BC–200 AD. According to some scholars, this was a short transition period between the Cupisnique and the Moche cultures.The Salinar Culture Tampere Museum
There are considerable parallels between Moche and Cupisnique iconography and ceramic designs, including the iconography of the "Spider god".
Moche cultural sphere The Moche cultural sphere is centered on several valleys on the north coast of Peru in the regions of La Libertad, Lambayeque, Jequetepeque, Chicama, Moche, Virú, Chao, Santa, and Nepena. It occupied 250 miles of desert coastline and up to 50 miles inland.James E. McClellan III; Harold Dorn (2006). Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. JHU Press. . p. 40.
The Huaca del Sol, a pyramidal adobe structure on the Rio Moche, was the largest pre-Columbian structure in Peru. It was partly destroyed when Spanish Conquistadors looted its graves for gold in the 16th century. The nearby Huaca de la Luna is better preserved, with many of its interior walls still filled with many colorful murals and complex iconography. The site has been under professional archaeological excavation since the early 1990s.
Other major Moche sites include Sipán, Loma Negra, Dos Cabezas, Pacatnamu, the El Brujo complex, Mocollope, Cerro Mayal, Galindo, Huanchaco, and Pañamarka.
Their adobe huacas have been mostly destroyed by looters and natural forces over the last 1,300 years. The surviving ones show that the coloring of their murals was quite vibrant.
Southern and Northern Moche
Two distinct regions of the Moche civilization have been identified, Southern and Northern Moche, with each area probably corresponding to a different political entity. In the past, Moche was thought to be one single culture, region, and state system. The idea of the Moche being two separate regions came to be through studying changes in Moche pottery over time. This concept was proposed by Rafael Larco Hoyle, who is the founder of current Moche studies, and it was so widely accepted that for many years, only a small number of radiocarbon analyses were done for the Moche.
The Southern Moche region, believed to be the heartland of the culture, originally comprised the Chicama and Moche valleys, and was first described by Rafael Larco Hoyle. The Huaca del Sol-Huaca de la Luna site was probably the capital of this region. There is a large mural of warriors and prisoners at the Huaca de La Luna that changes direction when it reaches a building in the plaza called the "recinto 1". When the mural reaches recinto 1, the figure turns 90 degrees and starts moving along a different wall. This is considered a "liminal space". Recinto 1 was a building that sat on a raised platform in the plaza and was decorated very elaborately. The Northern Moche region includes three valley systems:
The upper Piura Valley, around the Vicús culture region The lower Lambayeque Valley system, consisting of three rivers: La Leche, Reque and Zaña The lower Jequetepeque Valley system
The Piura was fully part of the Moche phenomenon only for a short time—during its Early Moche, or Early Moche-Vicús phase—and then developed independently.
It appears that there was a lot of independent development among these various Moche centers (except in the eastern regions). They all likely had ruling dynasties of their own, related to each other. Centralized control of the whole Moche area may have taken place from time to time, but appears infrequent.
Pampa Grande, in the Lambayeque Valley, on the shore of the Chancay River, became one of the largest Moche sites anywhere, and occupied an area of more than 400 hectares. It was prominent in the Moche V period (600–700 AD), and features an abundance of Moche V ceramics.
The site was laid out and built in a short period of time and has an enormous ceremonial complex. It includes Huaca Fortaleza, which is the tallest ceremonial platform in Peru.
San Jose de Moro is another northern site in the Jequetepeque valley. It was prominent in the Middle and Late Moche Periods (400–850 AD). Numerous Moche tombs have been excavated here, including several burials containing high status female individuals. These women were depicted in Moche iconography as the Priestess. Three types of burial can be found at this site. They include boot-shaped tombs, chamber tombs, and simple graves. The chamber tombs were saved for elites, including priestesses and they often held multiple people.
Differences between the Northern Mochicas and the Southern Mochicas The best known differences are:
Northern Mochica Southern Mochica Goldsmithing Huacos portraits Buildings with ramp Larco 5-Phase Ceramic Sequence Great and wide valleys Archaeological heirs Sicanes Chimus
Material culture
Ceramics Moche pottery is some of the most varied in the world. Pottery has been the distinguishing feature of the Moche culture for many reasons. It is known for being highly decorated and standardized and led people to believe the Moche had been part of a corporate state system. The use of mold technology is evident, which would have enabled the mass production of certain forms. But Moche ceramics vary widely in shape and theme, with most important social activities documented in pottery, including war, agriculture, metalwork, weaving, and erotica. Specifically, the architectural vessels, which are pots that resemble buildings. They also include elites and warriors.
Traditional north coast Peruvian ceramic art uses a limited palette, relying primarily on red and white colors, fineline painting, fully modeled clay, veristic figures, and stirrup spouts. Moche ceramics created between 150 and 800 AD epitomize this style. Moche pots have been found not just at major north coast archaeological sites, such as Huaca de la luna, Huaca del sol, and Sipán, but also at small villages and unrecorded burial sites as well. Common types of pottery in Moche burials included floreros, cántaros, stirrup spout bottles, and cancheros. Single and stirrup-spout bottles are not shaped in a practical manner for pouring or filling with liquid. The only confirmed purpose of these ceramics is grave goods.
At least 500 Moche ceramics have sexual themes. The most frequently depicted act is anal sex, with scenes of vaginal penetration being very rare. Most pairs are heterosexual, with carefully carved genitalia to show that the anus, rather than the vagina, is being penetrated. Often an infant is depicted breastfeeding while the couple has sex. Fellatio is sometimes represented, but cunnilingus is absent. Some depict male skeletons masturbating, or being masturbated by living women.
Because irrigation was the source of wealth and foundation of the empire, the Moche culture emphasized the importance of circulation and flow. Expanding upon this, Moche artwork frequently depicted the passage of fluids, particularly life fluids through vulnerable human orifices. There are countless images of defeated warriors losing life fluids through their nose, or helpless victims getting their eyes torn out by birds or captors.
The coloration of Moche pottery is often simple, with yellowish cream and rich red used almost exclusively on elite pieces. White and black are rarely used. The Moche are known for their portraiture pottery. The pottery portraits created by the Moche appear to represent actual individuals. Many of the portraits are of individuals with physical disfigurements or genetic defects. Some pottery represented animals, such as a pot with foxes running up a spiral ramp. The foxes are flat paintings, but the rungs of the spiral ramp are made of small, three-dimensional sculpted snails.
The realistic detail in Moche ceramics may have helped them serve as didactic models. Older generations could pass down general knowledge about reciprocity and embodiment to younger generations through such portrayals. The sex pots could teach about procreation, sexual pleasure, cultural and social norms, a sort of immortality, the transfer of life and souls, transformation, and the relationship between the two cyclical views of nature and life.
Textiles Extreme weather and fragility of garments mean that relatively few examples of Moche textiles exist. However, limited quantities have been found in tombs, especially of higher-status members of society. Many of the remaining garments are incomplete articles, partially broken down. Nevertheless, scholars have been able to gain cultural insights from the remaining Moche textiles. The Moche wove textiles, mostly using cotton and wool from vicuña and alpaca. The relative presence of these fabrics, as well as which patterns were used, varies chronologically throughout Moche culture. Too few relics exist from early Moche culture to draw conclusive findings. Textiles from around 450 AD uniquely include a male head cloth—which is not readily found elsewhere. Twill and gauze weaving is also common among samples from this period, though by the 500-800 AD range, these patterns become much less abundant. It is thought that elite members of Moche society had specialized artisans who manufactured their textiles, whereas lower-ranking typical members of society would manufacture their own clothing. Whorls and needles have proven quite common in excavation of Moche dwellings—pointing to a household level of production. However, more monochrome, homogenized relics suggest mass-production may have become more common by 500-800 AD. Variation in garments likely correlates with different social classes. Sophisticated weaving techniques and bright dyes are more common on elites' clothing, whereas commoners may have had garments that were less sophisticated and lacked dye—and they likely had fewer of them. Complex tapestries developed by artisans are another good associated with high social hierarchy. Several specific items also correlate to gender in Moche culture, such as a head cloth for men and a long tunic for women. Foreigners to the Moche Culture were commonly portrayed wearing Moche clothing that contained details pertaining to both genders or items that were not specific to either. Descendants of Moche people today continue to have strong weaving traditions.
Metalwork