The Worlds of the Moche on the North Coast of Peru

192 Pages·2012·222.28 MB·English

by  Elizabeth P. Benson

The Worlds of the
Moche on the
North Coast of Peru
ElizabEth P. bEnson
Preface and Acknowledgments i
The Worlds of The Moche
on The nor Th c oasT of Peru
ii the worlds of the moche on the north coast of peru
Preface and Acknowledgments iii
The Worlds of the
Moche on the
North Coast of Peru
Elizabeth P. Benson
University of Texas Press
Austin
iv the worlds of the moche on the north coast of peru
on the title page: Guilded copper banner from Sipán. Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán, Lambayeque.
Copyright © 2012 by the University of Texas Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
All rights reserved
Benson, Elizabeth P.
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First edition, 2012
Elizabeth P. Benson.
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1. Mochica Indians—History. 2. Mochica pottery.
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Preface and Acknowledgments v
Dedicated to the memories of
Robert Woods Bliss
and
John Seymour Thacher.

Had it not been for them,
I would never have written this book.
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Preface and Acknowledgments vii
conTenT s
Preface and Acknowledgments ix 8. The Later Gods 73
9. Rulers, Warriors, and Priests 83
1. Approaching the Moche Worlds 1 10. Ritual Life 95
2. Precursors and Neighbors 11 11. The Sea 109
3. The Reality of the Moche Worlds 21 12. Burial and the Afterlife 117
4. The Life of Things 29 13. The End of the Moche Worlds 131
5. Ceremonial Architecture and Murals 37
6. Art and Craft 47 References and Further Reading 141
7. The Snake-Belt God and the Monsters 61 Index 165
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Preface and Acknowledgments ix
Preface and
acknoWledgMenT s
The people known as Moche, or Mochica, the which appear here), are a great contribution, as is the
dominant people of their time on the north coast of Archive of Moche Art, established by Donnan, which
Peru, achieved one of the great pre-Hispanic civiliza- he has now given to Dumbarton Oaks. Many images
tions. When I wrote my first book about them (The have now been put on the Internet, notably by the
Mochica: A Culture of Peru [1972]), Moche archaeol- Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima.
ogy was quite simple. Writing the book was mostly a For years, images on ceramics and other artifacts pro-
matter of describing the environment; summarizing vided most of the working material for Moche studies,
fieldwork (the archaeological literature could be read and interpretation of that imagery is still a major part
in a week); illustrating the visually various ceramic art, of Moche studies. The ceramic iconography and its
collections of which had been known and published changes give clues to developments in Moche history.
for decades; and making some reasonably intelligent This is a general book on the Moche, but it is even
guesses about the meaning of the art in the context of more an adventure of trying to comprehend a fasci-
the environment and the fieldwork. nating ancient culture. With new data emerging—
Since then, the material to consider has grown particularly from excavations—concepts are changing.
enormously; the literature about, and relevant to, Some new excavations confirm old notions; others
the Moche has increased a hundredfold. Ethnohis- offer new findings that challenge old ideas. With more
toric and ethnographic sources are now available for information, there are more questions. We tend to ask
comparison and complementarity, as they were not either/or questions and set up monolithic models, but
in the past. Knowledge about El Niño and other geo- lives and histories are not that simple: there is always
graphic and climatic information has increased our input from causes that we cannot know. We will never
understanding of the physical worlds of the Moche. understand or reconstruct the Moche worlds com-
Most relevant, the last three decades of archaeological pletely or accurately, yet we are compelled to marshal
excavation in a number of sites have literally opened all possible resources to attempt a description of the
up new corridors and vistas, as well as a new corpus life of these complicated people who lived in a com-
of objects and murals, and new evidence for patterns plex environment.
of building. Discoveries in archaeology often explain Those now striving to interpret the Moche culture
material that was previously known only visually. agree generally that the art is, to a large extent, nar-
Walter Alva (2001:242), who has excavated the rich rative; that it provides many realistic depictions; that
site of Sipán, writes: “Time and again, types of items the reality is pervaded by ritual and mythic mean-
found in the tombs at Sipán are represented in the ing; that some portrayals are supernatural; and that
fine-line paintings on Moche vessels.” The late Donna although the images appear to be richly various, only
McClelland’s superb roll-out drawings of complex certain themes are played, replayed, and developed.
Moche ceramic scenes, many of which appear in her Those who decipher Moche iconography, however,
and Christopher Donnan’s publications (and many of have different ways of lumping and splitting, and no