Recent Advances in Moche Archaeology

Abstract

The discovery of the royal tombs at Sipán in 1987 propelled Moche archaeology to the forefront of Andean studies. In the last decade, the study of Moche political organization and ideology through public architecture, cultural remains, funerary patterns, and iconography has forced the revision of previous conceptions about Moche state formation, urbanism, and the functioning of this complex society. Major advances in iconography, internal organization of urban centers, temples and domestic architecture, craft production, and mortuary patterns are embedded in a new chronology that supports a longer development and a more gradual collapse. The recognition of Moche as the first state in South America is still valid, but its monolithic character is rejected in favor of several autonomous polities. The number and size of potential Moche states are currently debated, as is the role of warfare and ideology in Moche state formation.

Early Horizon camelid management practices in the Nepeña Valley, north-central coast of Peru

“…This pattern is clearly manifested at several sites on the north coast of Peru during the Early Intermediate Period (EIP) (beginning c. 200 BC), which strongly suggests coastal-based camelid husbandry by this time (Dufour et al 2014;Szpak et al 2014;Szpak et al in press). It is, however, unclear whether or not coastal camelid husbandry predates the EIP and the emergence of what have been characterised as archaic states on the north coast of Peru (Fogel 1993;Millaire 2010;Chapdelaine 2011). Presently, the only pre-EIP isotopic data that exist for coastal camelids come from three individuals from La Paloma (5800 − 1800 BP) on the southern central coast of Peru (DeNiro 1988) but their precise context is not clear.…”

A comprehensive numerical chronology for the pre-Columbian cultures of the Palpa valleys, south coast of Peru

“…But with the increasing amount of archaeological data from excavations during recent years, it has become evident that the existing chronological frameworks were not fine-grained enough to analyze and compare the cultural development between different areas of the Central Andes. This became especially evident in the case of recent investigations of the Moche culture of northern Peru (Chapdelaine, 2011), the formative cultures throughout the Central Andes (e.g. Rick et al, 2009), or the origin of complex societies on the central and north coast of Peru (Solis et al, 2001), where major modifications had to be made in the temporal placement of important cultural events, based on new archaeological discoveries.…”

11 Producing Goods, Shaping People: The Materiality of Crafting

“…The increase in long‐term, in‐depth archaeological research at Moche sites has given new life to the study of Moche era metalworking by providing information on spatial and social contexts that complements approaches based on materials science techniques or art historical analysis, which focus on properties of the objects themselves (Lechtman ; Lechtman and Steinberg ; Schorsch ). The ever increasing number of royal or elite tombs richly furnished with grave goods that have been excavated in recent years has given scholars impressive examples of Moche crafting that are more securely dated and have excellent archaeological context (Chapdelaine ). Recent excavations at Moche settlements have further added to the understanding of craft production in Moche society through research on workshops in and around people's houses.…”

“…Located in the Moche Valley, the Huacas de Moche site is the largest in the valley and in fact was “the largest site of its time” (Chapdelaine :206) during the Moche Phase IV, ca. C.E.…”