Everybody Else: The Predecessors and Contemporaries of the Moche on the North Coast of Peru

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Many research programs have added to the knowledge of Moche-ness, but relatively few have contributed to our understanding of what came before and alongside the Moche phenomenon in the north coast region of Peru. Papers in this session will focus on the predecessors and contemporaries of the Moche throughout the region. Rather than focus on specific theories or methodologies, papers will focus on a broad range of topics such as mobility, foodways, style and identity, and spatial analysis of settlement and artifact distributions.

Other Keywords
Social Complexity • andes • bioarchaeology • Iconography • Spatial Analysis • Ceramic • Warfare • Statecraft • Early Intermediate Period • North Coast Peru

Geographic Keywords
South America

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)

  • Documents (6)
Documents
  • Enemies – Strangers – Neighbours. Image of the Others in Moche Culture (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Janusz Woloszyn.

    Moche art served the purpose of not only disseminating specific content of a religious nature, but it was also a tool of social influence and control. Its iconography gives an exceptional opportunity to study the mechanisms of perceiving and presenting others (representatives of different cultural and probably also ethnic group) by a society which has not left behind any written documents for us. It is also interesting how these representations could be used in the process of shaping...

  • The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors on the North Coast of Peru--Moon Animals in the Virú Imagination (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Flannery Surette.

    In the iconography of the north coast of Peru, Moon Animals are otherworldly quadrupedal predators which consistently have prominent eyes, teeth, tongues and claws, long curling tails and large head crests. They can resemble felines or foxes while other depictions appear more reptilian or amphibian. The name originates from the association with lunar and astral motifs in Moche art during the Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-AD 800). These Moche examples have come to define in the literature...

  • The Rise of Authority and the Decline of Warfare in the Virú Valley (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jordan Downey.

    The Salinar Period (400 - 200 B.C.) has long been considered a time of extensive warfare on the north coast of Peru. In the Virú Valley, fortifications and defensible settlements were common during this period, and warfare is thought to decline in the subsequent Virú Period (200 BC - AD 600). While Virú Period settlements were commonly built in open and undefensible locations, a new type of monumental fortification, the Castillo, first appeared during this time. These structures clearly served a...

  • Territoriality and ceramic distribution of the Virú-Gallinazo populations on the northern coast of Peru: new insights using spatial analysis (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alicia Espinosa. Nicolas Goepfert. Vincent Chamussy.

    Since the Virú Project, the use of Castillo Decorated as the principal chrono-cultural element to characterize the Virú-Gallinazo presence laid to a “Gallinazo illusion“. Unfortunately, it appears that our knowledge about the Virú-Gallinazo populations are still limited, and most of the time we define them through the prism of the Mochicas. In order to understand who these groups were, we analyzed the spatial distribution of the following ceramics styles trough the northern coast using GIS:...

  • Those Who Came Before: Investigating Diet, Health and Mobility in the Moche Valley, 1800 BC – AD 200 (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Celeste Gagnon. Bethany Turner.

    Much sweat and ink has been shed investigating the Moche of north coastal Peru. But what of those who came before? In order to understand the Moche world, we must explore their history. To address this issue, the skeletal remains of over 850 individuals who lived in the Moche valley during the Guañape, Salinar or Gallinazo phases were examined. The collected bioarchaeological data including demographic patterns, oral health indicators, light and heavy isotopes, and pathological conditions allow...

  • Unexpected Social Complexity in the mid-Zaña Valley, North Coast, Peru (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kayeleigh Sharp.

    Based on recent fieldworks, this paper argues for a major rethinking of the Gallinazo-Mochica relationship. Investigations in the mid-Zaña Valley have revealed unexpected architectural and social complexity at the site of Songoy-Cojal. The predominantly residential Cojal show​s an abundant co-presence of stylistically Gallinazo and Mochica remains. In addition to fineline decorated ceramics perhaps from farther south, there is a strong Gallinazo-like presence, which may be characteristic of in...