Moche Culture

Check out Kayleigh's video on the Lord of Sipan here! https://youtu.be/dZCX2_ANWhU

I enjoy the contrast between the lifelike, naturalistic pottery and the stylized figures they painted. It really drives home how cultural development in art isn't some sort of straight line of progress from "primitive" iconography to realism. Moche artists clearly had a very good handle on what people "really" looked like. They just didn't always choose to depict them that way.

I have to admit I had never heard of the Moche, but that pottery is simply incredible. I had no idea something like that existed.

I love learning about my ancestors!!! The Moche artwork displayed here is truly impressive among the Americas. Loved seeing the images in Sipán too! Thank you for this great video and all the work you put into them!

My jaw actually dropped seeing some of this art. I'm so happy that you keep introducing me to such fascinating cultures and archeology.

One thing I love is that the moche clearly depicted captured warriors from the area between them and the Recuay culture, generally shown with more facial hair and round dangling earings. The iconography show Moche man fighting warriors wielding stone mace, used in the Highlands but not by the moche, and wielding slings, unlike the moche who used spear throwers. Finally these foreigners wear on their back or front some sort of bags covered with/containing heads, potentially shrunken heads of enemies, a recurring motif in Recuay art of warriors. So will one shouldn't go as far as to say their is an attested war between the two cultures, the Moche definitely fought very similar cultures and even knew that they used poporos, which are not common in Moche's hand but are seen used by these foreigners.

I'm Chilean and went to Northern Peru years ago, and was very impressed visiting some of these sites ( also the beaches and the food, lol). I consider myself a history nerd but for some reason I barely knew anything about the Moche! It's weird us here in Chile - at least until de 1990s, when I was a kid - aren't taught about these cultures, beyond just the Inca, when we're so close to this area. I hope kids nowadays and in the future have greater knowledge of all the different cultures there were in South America

I have been there, honestly very interesting culture , you should add the Dama of Cao a queen priest who was very powerful, I visited all that part of Peru ..there is a lot of information about the artwork , I have been studying the iconography for years and using it on my art I would recommend visit there

A NEW ANCIENT AMERICAS VIDEO??? I was literally just rewatching about the mesoamericans, i would love to hear what research you could find on the ktunaxa people who became the kootenai tribe? the kootenai area is the only mediterrainian climate in the inland north west, and it wouldve flooded just like the nile from egypt before the damn was put in libby.

oh gosh i love the portrait vessels! i love seeing ancient art that's so realistic bc it really helps to drive home that ancient peoples were just as capable of realism as modern folk which helps to avoid stereotyping ancient folk as "lesser" (also they just look really fucking cool)

I love explicit ancient erotic art. I think it should be talked about more often cause they one of the most humanizing artifacts of ancient people.

Glad to see you're still putting out awesome content! Hoping to reach back out soon! I've had the privilege of seeing loads of Moche Ceramics and metalwork twice now, and they're some of the coolest pieces I've ever seen, even as somebody who is really into Mesoamerica. And Huaca de La Luna and Cao Viejo? What photos I''ve seen of them are straight up gorgeous. Also, while I know that Mesoamerican-Andean contact has little evidence aside for some potential trading between West Mexico and Ecuador via coastal sea traders and i'm not suggesting otherwise, I find it interesting how there's a fair bit of (at least superficial) iconographic similarities between some of their cultures, especially in Moche art: The famous step fret shows up in Moche (and Chimu) pretty much exactly as it does in Mesoamerica, and Moche art seems to use the gripping of a captive's hair in the same manner seen in some Mesoamerican, especially in Aztec/Nahua iconography. Snake weapons, wielded like Huitzliopotchli does Xiuhcoatl, also seems to come up, as does an association between warriors and hummingbirds! Again, it NEEDS to be stressed here for other viewers that this doesn't mean the Moche and the Nahuas had contact: In fact, the chronology wouldn't work out anyways; but It's still interesting and makes me wonder how much of this stuff might be Pan-american motifs, I'm REALLY interested in reading a paper that tracks the evolution and geographic spread of the Step Fret in particular, as I haven't seen it show up in Central American art between Mesoamerica and the Andes despite both regions having it. I wish I had more to add about the Moche themselves, but it's not quite my area. I do have a lot of photos I can shoot over information I got from presentations and displays. Down the line maybe we can add a pinned comment with some of it? Also, re: 24:40 with Flower wars: We do have records of them being used in the traditional ritualistic understanding to cement alliances and political marriages such via mutual consent (though sources claim that may not have been apparent to the soldiers themselves) when preformed against allied states or existing subjects; but against enemy states, while they certainly COULD be used to "farm" captives' sacrifices (which is Cortes says Moctezuma II told him when asked why they hadn't conquered Tlaxcala yet), they had pragmatic purposes, too: Firstly, as a way for polities to "dip their toes" into a conflict against one another to size each other up without committing to a full scale war, and then either backing down or escalating. This is what happened during some conflicts between Tenochtitlan and Chalco. The Mexica of Tenochtitlan also tended to use them (though they really were primarily used against Tlaxcala, Huextozinco, and a few other states) as a way to wear down enemies before conquering them directly: They'd conquer the areas around the target, and then wage flower wars against it. Flower wars, due to their ostensibly ritual purpose, occured at smaller scales then full invasions, and meant that they could be waged all year round, wheras warfare in Central Mexico normally had to be seasonal due to the climate and timing harvests. So targets would be faced with year-round conflict and slowly whittled down, wheas the Mexica invariably had more military manpower and would be less impacted. It's also been suggested that it was a method of keeping soldiers trained and fit, and encouraging participation/zeal for warfare, as it enabled combatants to advance militarily and socially via gaining captives and earning land grants and elite goods (for nobles) or titles of honorary/"meritocratic" nobility to commoners. Some researchers, such as Micheal Smith, have even argued that Flower Wars were entirely a revisionist attempt by the Mexica to explain their inability to conquer Tlaxcala. I don't think i'd go THAT far, but I'm convinced it's a little of column A and column B of having both ritual and very real martial utilities.

Can never lose your canteen when it literally has your face on it : D

YES!!! I have been excited for you to cover the Moche. They are so fascinating and Huaca de la Luna is amazing

As Peruvian, i have to say glad for this video. 2:14 Ayapaec: The AE sounds more like german ö. A E I O U AE (six vowels) Ayapaec really means 'creator' in muchic. Its quechuan counterpart is Pachakamaq. Muchic language its tricky (there was a whole consonant palatalization phenomenon going on). It was evolving. During Tawantinsuyu period muchic was one of the main languages. Thrived for long time until its extinction in 30's. (P.D. I''m quechuan) 4:46 Yanantin-masintin philosophy. ** Yanantin: Like ying-yang are opposites to each other they are one. One needs the other to exist. Black/white, man/women, north/south, warm/cold and so. YANA: Complement, help, pair. -NTIN: together(ness). When joined like a wedding, they encounter "Tinkuy". ** Masintin: Same distinct entities in not relation of pairing forbeing in the same category like between brothers. Many entities in a group having a relation for being in that group (Ex. 1, 2, 3, 4 are numbers). MASI: same. -NTIN: together(ness) . There was a lot contact between quechuan kingdoms and muchic ones. Culturally and commercially. Even that there are a differences of way of thinking between north and south Peru until today. SULLPAY!!

That sculpture of the blind man at 6:09 was absolutely amazing. Whoever the artist was, he had a gift. Did the Moche speak the same or similar language of the Inca?

The pottery faces are absolutely jaw-dropping

Well done, I've always been impressed by the realism in the Moche ceramic figures. Have you also done-or do you plan to do-an overview of the Sipan culture? I'm interested as they were probably the preeminent metallurgical culture in the Andes and probably all the America's. Thanks.

Came for the porn pottery, stayed for the education. I am now reformed.

Wow