Robin+Wineinger-Moche+Burials

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Moche Burial Theme and Its Social Distinction By Robin Wineinger



The Moche political sphere emerged around 100 AD.Archaeologists usually define it as emerging around the time of the rise of Christianity. There is no strong evidence that the Moche conquered the people in the land valleys they eventually ruled over, but the transition is seen as a slow change in the archaeological remains (Bawden 1995: 260). The Moche evolved from the Cupisnique culture. Archaeologists can tell this from the similarity in Cupisnique and early Moche art and architecture (Cordy-Collins 1992:210). Moche culture spread to the surrounding areas along the coast of Peru by fourth century AD. Many sites have been excavated and have given proof to archaeologists that the Moche polity was greatly influenced by social distinction. There was definitely an elite class in the Moche polity and that can be seen from their burials and spectacular iconography and metalwork. Even though many different valleys were under Moche control, their differences can still be seen from archaeological remains. As Alana Cordy-Collins (2001:22) states “There was a definite distinction in the material culture between the Moche of the north coast and of the far north coast, there was a religious commonality which transcended time and space.” The Moche culture is generally remembered for their amazing pottery, burials and architecture. There are so many ”activities” that are portrayed in their art that they are referred to as themes by archaeologists (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 5).Basically, any activity that is portrayed on more than one ceramic vessel is considered a theme (Quilter 1997: 114). Moche art is described by anthropologists as being one of five different phases. They are labeled as Moche I, Moche II, and so on (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 5). Pottery from each phase is slightly different, hence the sequential names. For more information on pottery go to Elise Catron's page on Pottery Death seemed to be very important to the Moche people, as it was to other pre-Columbian Andean cultures. Moche iconography and vessels have many different portrayals of death. Evidence shows that important Moche ceremonies included bloodletting of captured males and the drinking of their blood (Cordy-Collins 2001: 21). The Moche seemed have a strong respect for their people and did their best at making sure the dead had proper burials. Bodies of the dead were carefully prepared before burial, to ensure their preservation (Nelson 1998:192). This is because many Moche elite bodies were used in rituals (Nelson 1998: 194). Graves were long shafts that were shaped like boots (Nelson 1998: 196). This made it easier for the body to be removed for use in rituals and then put back in their resting place (Nelson 1998: 198). Many Moche themes reveal different activities related to death, such as the Burial Theme, Sacrifice Theme, and Combat Theme. The themes involve realistic figures with supernatural attributes that portray war, human sacrifice, funerals, rituals and sex (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 10). For more information and Moche burials and the actual skeletal remains, follow this link:[|Wandering Bones] Early Moche Sacrifice themes portray a man holding a knife in one hand and a head in the other. According to Elizabeth Benson (2001:1) “Symbolism of sacrifice holds a dominant place in elite art and narrative ritual depiction” (Bawden 1996: 150). The most intriguing theme is the burial theme. There are only six vessels that have the burial themes represented on them, and they are all from Moche Phase V (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 5). Evidence from real burials gives archaeologists evidence that the representations are directly connected to actual burials (Hill: 1998:).

The generalized view of the Burial Theme involves four activities: burial, assembly, conch-shell transfer and sacrifice (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 6). It includes an anthropomorphized iguana and a figure with wrinkles on his face, appropriately as “wrinkled face”(Donnan and McCelland 1979: 7). Both these figures are connected to burials. The representations have the four activities portrayed, separated by parallel lines (Donnan and McCelland 1979:11). The Conch-shell transfer is shown with the Iguana giving conch shells to a servant who is standing near a kneeling larger figure. The larger figure is obviously of high status. His size and how he is dressed insinuates this. He also is kneeling beneath a gabled structure, which is common among Moche elite portrayals, according to Erica Hill (1998). The next events in the theme are the burial and assembly. The Iguana and the“wrinkle face” are seen atop of the burial shaft holding ropes in the form of snakes (Hill 1998). The coffin is at the bottom and there are offerings surrounding it. There is a face, which most archaeologists think it is a representation of a mask (Donnan and McClelland 1979:7). The assembly is formed by a row of human and anthropomorphized animals. This can be seen as the ritual procession at the time of burials (Hill 1998). The last event is the sacrificial scene. There is a naked female body being picked at by birds on her face and her genitalia (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 8). Her face is depicted as a mask similar to the one on the coffin. Some of the portrayals have her with only one eye (Donnan and McClelland 1979:8). The “wrinkled face” is depicted larger than the Iguana and is holding a spear in one hand and snakes in the other (Hill 1998).Spanish chroniclers, such as Father de la Calancha, wrote about native doctors who would be put to death if a patient died under their reckless care (Donnan and McClelland 1979: 11). The //Oquetlupuc// would have been tied to the dead body placed in the grave pit while he would be left above ground to die and be attacked by vultures (Donnan and McClelland 1979:11). There are many artifacts found in burials that relate to actual rituals recorded in Moche art. Archaeologists can tell that iconography of the Burial Theme depicts real Moche burials because of the real evidence of Spondylus shells and other offerings are found in elite tombs. For example, there is archaeological evidence of females as doctor/priestesses on the Moche ceramic vessels with the Burial Theme (Glass-Coffin 1999: 207). The female priestess is seen in other times, including the Sacrifice Theme and the Tule Boat Theme (Cordy-Collins 2001: 39). In the Burial Theme, there are many women priestesses that suggest a sisterhood (Cordy-Collins 2001: 39). The priestess in the Sacrifice Theme is holding a cup collecting blood; suggesting that perhaps the Spondylus shell may be the actual cup (Cordy-Collins 2001: 40). Archaeologists have done excavations on burials of two females at San Jose de Moro that support the iconography of female priestesses as real jobs (Cordy-Collins 2001:39). According to Bawden (1996:115) “the most elaborate of the burials at San Jose de Moro was of a high-status female, dramatically revealing that women played roles of importance in Moche hierarchy.” She is connected directly to the female character in the Sacrifice Theme. Her tomb was full of the items that would have been used in the Sacrifice Theme. Her body was covered in metal and had a headdress with “gilded silver tassels of her ritual identity” (Bawden 1996:115). Skeletons and artifacts found in burials have been examined in order to explain social status.Burials give archaeologists insight into what a person’s status was when they were alive. As Bawden (1996:115) stated, ” Specific individuals can be related to the rituals in which they acted and the roles that they played in these rituals”. When the burials and the narrative art is compared, it is made clear how the importance of a privileged person depended on their role in certain rituals (Bawden 1995: 260).

Spondylus shells were very important and symbolic goods to the Moche. Archaeologists can see this when excavating burials of elites that contain remains of these shells, probably as offerings. Shells were given to the gods as a sacrifice and were made into jewelry for the elite class. They also were most likely the shells portrayed in the Burial Theme’s conch-shell transfer. Many remains of shells are found in elite burials such as Tomb 1 and 2 from Sipan. Tomb 1 is the resting place of a man who is known as the Warrior Priest (Cordy-Collins 2001:38). Archaeologists concur that he was a very powerful member of the elite class. His burial was full of many offerings, including spondylus shells and eight other human remains (Bower 1988:181). It is disputed whether human remains found in burials other than the main figure were servants or sacrificial offerings. It can be assumed that they are sacrifices because Moche culture was very keen on sacrifices, according to their iconography. For example, in the Warrior Priest’s burial, one of the eight is a small boy, who probably was an offering rather than a servant (Benson 2001: 7). His face was covered with a gold mask and shield, which was quite common in Moche elite burials (Bower 1988: 181). There also were earspools, a “gold rattle” that was found in the hand of the figure, a headdress, and many other objects that would give the idea he was a warrior priest (Bower 1988: 181). There was also pottery, which had the portrayal of the Decapitator figure, which is seen on Moche art showing the Sacrifice Theme (Bawden 1996:114). Many themes portrayed on Moche pottery have representations of leaders and are identified by wearing gold jewelry, earspools, and headdresses. Walter Ava discovered this tomb and he described it as “the exquisite craftsmanship surpassed anything previously known to have been produced by the Moche” (Bourget 1996: 81). The warrior priest’s tomb proved to archaeologists how much wealth these Andean people had access to. The warrior priest was one of several “royal burials” that were found at Sipan in the Lambayeque Valley (Bawden 1996:111). A smaller burial was found near him, with a member of the Moche elite and a warrior next to him. The warrior’s feet were missing and this coincides with the Moche belief of ritual amputation so the warrior would not falter his role in the afterlife (Bower 1988: 181). It has been assumed by scholars that this site was home to the Moche elite who held the most power in the society (Bawden 1996:111). These burials are located near a large adobe pyramid and date to 200-300 AD or the Middle Moche phase (Bower 1988:181). The figures from these royal burials also show close resemblance to the figures portrayed in the Burial Theme (Bawden 1996: 116).



The Moche burials in San Jose de Moro in the Jequetepeque Valley also give evidence for the importance of spondylus shells. These burials date to around four hundred years after the Sipan royal burials (Cordy-Collins 2001: 38). The elites buried here also have large amounts of spondylus shells among the offerings (Cordy-Collins 2001:38). Later burials excavated at San Jose de Moro give evidence for the breakdown of social stability. Foreign objects are found in tombs to suggest this (Bawden 1996: 113-115).

Moche burials seemed as a way for the privileged class to exploit their power, even after they died. This gives the idea that not only did these people play important roles while they were alive, but also wanted to maintain that importance in the afterlife. Moche tombs help understand their mysterious culture and way of life. The material legacy is the only true way for anthropologists to learn how the Moche political sphere survived for so long. The correspondence with the iconography on the pottery and the actual burials shows that their art was a way for them to tell their story. For more on the Moche iconography see Jena M. Skinner's page In the Words of the Moche. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bawden, Garth 1995 The Structural Paradox: Moche Culture as Political Ideology. Latin American Antiquity 6 (3):255-273.

Benson, Elizabeth P. 2001 Why Sacrifice? //In Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru. Elizabeth P. Benson and Anita Gwynn Cook, eds. Pp. 1-20. Austin: University of Texas Press. //

Bourget, Steve 1996 //Review of Royal Tombs of Sipan. In Latin American Antiquity.7(1). 81-82 //

Bower, B 1988 Mausoleum Brings Moche Culture to Life. Science News. 134 (12): 181

Cordy-Collins, Alana 1992 Archaism of Tradition?: The Decapitation Theme in Cupisnique and Moche Iconography. Latin American Antiquity 3 (3): 206-220

Cordy-Collins, Alana 2001 Blood and the Moon Priestesses:Spondylus Shells in Moche Ceremony //In Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru. Elizabeth P. Benson and Anita Gwynn Cook, eds. Pp. 35-54. Austin: University of Texas Press. //

Cordy-Collins, Alana 2001 Decapitation in Cupisnique and Early Moche Societies In Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru. Elizabeth P. Benson and Anita Gwynn Cook, eds. Pp. 22-34. Austin: University of Texas Press. Donnan, Christopher B., and Donna McClelland 1979 The Burial Theme in Moche Iconography. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology 21 (1): 6-52

Hill, Erica 1998 Death as a Rite of Passage: the Iconography of the Moche Burial Theme. Antiquity Publications. 11

Glass-Coffin, Bonnie. 1999 Engendering Peruvian Shamanism Through Time: Insights Through Ethnohistory and Ethnography. Duke University Press. 46 (2): 205-238

Nelson, Andrew J. 1998 Wandering Bones: Archaeology, Forensic Science and Moche Burial Practices. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 8 (3):192-212

Quilter, Jeffrey 1997 The Narrative Approach to Moche Iconography. Latin American Antiquity 8 (2): 113-133

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