The Art and Archaeology of the Moche: An Ancient Andean Society of the Peruvian North Coast

317 Pages·2008·14.83 MB·English

by  Steve Bourget

the art and archaeology of the moche
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the Art and
Archaeology
of the Moche
An Ancient Andean Society
of the Peruvian North Coast
edited by steve bourget
and kimberly l. jones
University of Texas Press Austin
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the publication of this book was made possible, in part,
by generous support from the potts and sibley foundation.
Copyright © 2008 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2008
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work
should be sent to:
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P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum require-
ments of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of
Paper).
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
The art and archaeology of the Moche : an ancient Andean
society of the Peruvian north coast / edited by Steve Bourget
and Kimberly L. Jones. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Papers originally presented at a symposium at the Depart-
ment of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin
in November 2003.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-292-71867-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Mochica Indians—Antiquities—Congresses. 2. Mochica
art—Congresses. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—Peru—Moche
River Valley—Congresses. 4. Moche River Valley (Peru)—
Antiquities—Congresses. I. Bourget, Steve, 1956– II. Jones,
Kimberly L., 1979–
f3430.1.m6a78 2008
985'.1601—dc22
2008027539
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Dedicated to the memory of Donna McClelland and D. J. Sibley
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Contents

Preface viii 8. Moche Art Style in the Santa Valley:
steve bourget Between being “à la Mode” and Developing
a Provincial Identity 129
Introduction ix claude chapdelaine
steve bourget and kimberly l. jones
9. The Priests of the Bicephalus Arc: Tombs
1. Iconography Meets Archaeology 1 and Effigies Found in Huaca de la Luna
elizabeth p. benson and Their Relation to Moche Rituals 153
santiago uceda
2. Sacrifices and Ceremonial Calendars
in Societies of the Central Andes: 10. The Moche People: Genetic Perspective
A Reconsideration 23 on Their Sociopolitical Composition and
anne marie hocquenghem Organization 179
izumi shimada, ken-ichi shinoda,
3. Ulluchu: An Elusive Fruit 43 walter alva, steve bourget, claude
chapdelaine, and santiago uceda
donna mcclelland
4. Moche Masking Traditions 67 11. Communality and Diversity in
Moche Human Sacrifice 195
christopher b. donnan
john w. verano
5. Convergent Catastrophe and the Demise of
12. Art and Moche Martial Arts 215
Dos Cabezas: Environmental Change and
Regime Change in Ancient Peru 81 jeffrey quilter
michael e. moseley, christopher b.
donnan, and david k. keefer 13. Moche Textile Production on the Peruvian
North Coast: A Contextual Analysis 229
6. Forensic Iconography: The Case jean-françois millaire
of the Moche Giants 93
alana cordy-collins and 14. Spiders and Spider Decapitators in Moche
charles f. merbs Iconography: Identification from the Contexts
of Sipán, Antecedents and Symbolism 247
7. Moche Forms for Shaping Sheet Metal 113 néstor ignacio alva meneses
christopher b. donnan, david a. scott,
and todd bracken 15. The Third Man: Identity and Rulership
in Moche Archaeology and Visual Culture 263
steve bourget
Index 289
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Preface
steve bourget
In November 2003, the Department of Art and Art
History at the University of Texas at Austin hosted the
Fourth D. J. Sibley Family Conference. This three-day
symposium, entitled “The Art, the Arts, and the Archae-
ology of the Moche: An Ancient Andean Society of the
Peruvian North Coast,” brought together a number of
scholars directly involved in Moche studies. In recent
years, these and other specialists have made significant
discoveries, carried out long-term archaeological proj-
ects, and implemented a variety of innovative techniques
that have provided for a recent exponential increase in
our understanding of Moche culture.
The main objective of this symposium was to dis-
cuss how the fields of archaeology and iconography
have increasingly come to enrich and complement one
another in Moche scholarship. A number of the presen-
tations thus incorporated archaeological and icono-
graphic analyses in the discussion of a wide range of sub-
ject matter. The papers further explored other pressing
issues and concerns, such as Moche site chronologies,
cultural identity, distribution of styles, the impact of
ecology on north coast societies, and the visual expres-
sion of social change.
Fifteen papers were delivered at the meeting, and
fourteen of them appear in this book. Christopher Don-
nan, David Scott, and Todd Bracken submitted a chapter
on Moche metallurgy for publication that had not been
presented at the meetings. Thus, the completed volume
has fifteen chapters.
Support for the symposium and preparation of the
book was provided by the Potts and Sibley Foundation, as
well as by the Department of Art and Art History at the
University of Texas at Austin. I would also like to take
this opportunity to thank those who generously assisted
in the organization of the symposium: Amy Bracewell,
Reymundo Chapa, Kimberly Jones, Virginia Portillo,
Fernando Rochaix, and Maline Werness.
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Introduction
steve bourget and kimberly l. jones
T he Moche became known as a distinct cultural the work at Sipán, Moche scholars began initiating long-
entity at the turn of the last century as a result of term archaeological projects at numerous other Moche
Max Uhle’s excavations at the Huacas de Moche site sites, including San José de Moro, Dos Cabezas, El Brujo,
in the Moche Valley. Since that time, Moche monu- and Huacas de Moche. Also, valley-wide surveys have
mental architecture and visual culture have fascinated been undertaken in the Jequetepeque, Chicama, Moche,
scholars and laypeople alike. For more than a century, Chao, and Santa valleys to further define the extent of
Moche art, consisting of thousands of ceramic and Moche occupation and influence.
metallic objects extracted from archaeological contexts, This book is a reflection of the present state of Moche
has been collected and disseminated throughout the research, its advances, and problematics. The chapters
world. As a result, Moche art objects currently grace the in this volume touch upon not only the major sites and
display cases of countless museums and private collec- regions currently under investigation, but also the major
tions. Such objects continue to garner ever-increasing methodologies being explored in the study of Moche cul-
interest in and fascination with this complex culture ture. They demonstrate an authentic range of multidis-
from the Early Intermediate Period (AD 100–800) of ciplinary approaches. While the authors in this volume
Prehispanic Peru. often combine archaeological research with icono-
Some of the first knowledge of Moche culture, in graphic studies in their investigations, they incorporate
fact, derived from increasing interest in the outstanding additional analyses and varied methodological concerns
artistic tradition made visible by such marketed objects. to provide for a rich tableau of scholarly explorations.
Investigators approached the striking realism and visual Elizabeth P. Benson appropriately sets the stage for
complexity of the sculptures and paintings on Moche the remaining volume in the opening chapter. She
fineware ceramics in order to explore the information presents a complex reflection on the nature of objects
they provided with regard to religion, way of life, rituals, depicted in Moche iconography and their material
political institutions, and craft activities of this ancient counterparts recovered from archaeological contexts.
north coast civilization. Such efforts at visual reading Her overriding concern is to delimit the rules of object
and interpretation continue, supplemented by contin- depiction—to examine what she terms Moche visual
ued archaeology by which to contextualize the material. “shorthand.” Benson discusses the presence of such
Following Max Uhle’s departure from the north iconographic shorthand in the nature of sacrificial
coast of Peru in 1899, illicit excavations, archaeological scenes, depictions of architecture, and representations
research, and iconographic analyses in the region contin- of clubs and maces, among other visual themes and
ued throughout the twentieth century at a fairly consis- motifs. By surveying the current expanse of research
tent pace—that is, until the late 1980s. In 1987, the world in Moche studies and the dimensions such research
of Andean archaeology was taken by surprise by the continues to add to analyses of Moche ceramic iconog-
chance discovery of elite tombs at Sipán. The succeeding raphy, Benson exhibits her impressive work in the field
excavations at the site revealed the most elaborate and of Moche studies, to which the 2003 Fourth D. J. Sibley
undisturbed Moche funerary contexts ever found. Their Family Conference was dedicated.
discovery and excavation have since marked the begin- In Chapter 2, Anne Marie Hocquenghem develops
ning of a new era of research in Moche studies. Following more fully her long-term approach to Moche iconog-
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