The Moche Civilization

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The Moche Civilization
Group 1 Amy Boyek Jeanette Lalla Joseph
Mainardi Jason Marino Melissa Stunkel December
05, 2005
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Location of the Moche

• The Moche civilization thrived from about 200 CE
  to 700 CE in three river valleys, the Chicama,
  Moche, and Viru in Northern Peru.
• The Moche civilization was not a single unified
  empire, rather it was smaller river temple
  societies that were linked by their common
  pottery making traditions and their religion.

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Moche Pyramids Huacas

• There were two main Huacas Huaca de la Sol (4
  levels) and Huaca de la Luna (3 levels)
• They were 500 meters apart and in between the two
  Huacas were the villages of the Moche
• Inside each Huaca contained elaborate murals with
  bright colors
• Murals were constantly being refinished and
  repainted

Picture Huaca de la Luna

• Each Huaca contained its own courtyard with a
  ceremonial structure in the center
• The Huacas had different burial chambers
  separated by rank, with the most important
  burials chambers being larger in size. Those of
  higher rank also had human sacrifices placed in
  their chambers

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Huaca de la Luna

• Found the remains of more then 70 people which
  had been dismembered
• All adult males between the ages of 15 - 39
• Bone testing led to the assumption that they were
  warriors (only a select group of people could be
  warriors)
• They would have been killed for human sacrifice

Picture remains found in huaca
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Religion and Human Sacrifice

• The Moche people used human sacrifice as part of
  their religion in order to please their gods
• There was no large scale warfare, during battle
  the Moche tried not to kill their enemies, rather
  they only wanted to stun them so that they could
  keep them for later ritual human sacrifice.
• Moche leaders also sacrificed their prisoners of
  war in an attempt to control the weather.

Picture god, fanged god
Picture showing Moche bringing back prisoners for
sacrifice (from pottery)
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Religion and Gods

• The Moche religion consisted of several gods
  (part human, part animal) that they depicted in
  their pottery.
• They did not believe that their gods had any
  direct interaction with them.
• These gods included a creator god as well as one
  called the decapitator, indicating the practice
  of human sacrifice.
• Moche pottery shows human sacrifice being
  performed on the mountain tops of the area.

Picture mural in a huaca of their god the
decapitator
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• Moche Pottery
• They are mainly characterized by their elaborate
  and extensive pottery collections which covered
  all aspects of their society, from their metal
  work and weaving to war and sex.
• The pottery acted as a way of communication and
  storytelling that made up for their lack of a
  written language.
• They used limited colors in their pottery, using
  mostly white and red.

Picture Moche Pottery
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Moche Pottery

• Important Moche figures had their heads depicted
  in pottery, similar to marble busts of the Greek
  and Roman eras.
• The pottery heads show intricate jewelry, some of
  which was found in the burial chambers.
• The differences in the burial chambers as well as
  the pottery heads indicate definite class
  distinctions, with the lowest people being the
  captured prisoners that were used as human
  sacrifices.

Pictures Moche Pottery
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Moche Metalwork

• The Moche people had the most advanced
  metallurgical industry in Peru.
• They were the first users of the lost-wax
  technique to mold bronze, and they also hammered
  and cut gold and copper.

Picture Moche mask metalwork

• The Moche used metal for many things, including
  adornments for their clothing, ceremonial masks,
  armor and weapons.

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The Collapse of the Moche

• Mega El Niño - Thirty years of rain and floods
  followed by thirty years of drought.
• The weather produced a great unrest with the
  Moche people because they could not explain or
  understand why it was happening
• The terrible conditions and the leaders lack of
  ability to control it led to unrest and fighting
  amongst the different communities.
• This fighting, added to the lack of resources
  such as food and land, led to the slow
  deterioration and eventual destruction of the
  Moche civilization.

Picture El Niño
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Moche Review Questions

• How did the Moche civilization convey their
  thoughts and ideas without the use of a written
  language?
• What led to the collapse of the civilization?
• Was the Moche a unified empire or localized river
  temple societies linked through craft exchange
  and religion?

Pictures Moche Pottery
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Bibliography
Benson, E.P. (1972). The Mochica A Culture of
Peru. New York Praeger Publishers. Davidson,
Nick (2005, March 2). Lost Society Tore Itself
Apart. BBC News. Retrieved October 26, 2005,
from www.bbcnews.com Donnan, D.B. (2004). Moche
Portraits from Ancient Peru. Austin University
of Texas Press. Mochica. (n.d.). The Columbia
Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Retrieved
October 26, 2005, from Answers.com Web site
http//www.answers.com/topic/moche Pillsburg,
Joanne (eds.). (2001). Moche Art and Archaeology
in Ancient Peru. New Haven and London Yale
University Press. Shimada, Izumi (1994). Pampa
Grande and the Mochica Culture. Austin
University of Texas Press.