National Gallery of Art

War and Death in the Moche World: Osteological Evidence and Visual Discourse
Author(s): JOHN W. VERANO
Source: Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 63, Symposium Papers XL: Moche Art and
Archaeology in Ancient Peru (2001), pp. 110-125
Published by: National Gallery of Art
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42622317
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JOHN W. VERANO
TulaneUniversity

War

and

Osteological

Death

in

the

Evidence

has long been active debate about the

politicalorganizationofMoche society.Some
There scholarsproposethat the Moche were rather
loosely organizedas a confederationofvalley
polities linked by ideology and political
alliances, somewhat analogous to the royal
courts of Europe (Alva and Donnan 1993:
220). OthersarguethatMoche was a centralized state-levelsociety,ruledfromthe site of
Moche (Billman 1996; Moseley 1992; Wilson
1988). A thirdmodel proposesthatstate-level
organizationwas achieved only in terminal
Moche times (Moche V), with the establishment of a capital at Pampa Grande in the
Lambayeque Valley (Shimada 1994). These
competingmodels drawsupportfromdiverse
sourcesofevidence.A centralissue, however,
is the natureofMoche expansionand control
- whether military or otherwise- over the
coastal valleys of northernPeru, and the relationships between Moche elites in these
valleys. If Moche was indeed a state-level
society that expanded and maintained control by force of arms, one would expect to
see archaeologicalevidence of warfare,population displacement, and the construction
of defensivesites and administrativecenters.
One also mightexpectMoche iconographyto
include scenes of combat, conquest, and the
subjugationof defeatedenemies.
Most scholarswould agreethatconvincing
and
defleshed
Decapitated
sacrificial
victim
from
Plaza
archaeological evidence of Moche warfare
3C,Huacadela Luna
and militaryconquesthas yetto be found,but
ofthe
Huaca
Photograph
courtesy
delaLuna
the apparentlyrapidspreadofthe Moche into
Project

Moche
and

World:
Visual

Discourse

the Vir,Santa, and Nepea valleys (Donnan

1973; Proulx 1982; Willey 1953) indicates
some formof territorialexpansion, and evidence of dramatic settlementpatternshifts
and the constructionof defensive sites in
some northcoast valleys (Bawden, this volume, and 1982; Dillehay, this volume) suggestsperiodsofconflictand instability.There
is no question, however,that armed combat
is a common themein Moche art.The issue I
would like to explore in this paper has long
been a familiar one to students of Moche
iconography:whetherMoche combat scenes
depicta formofritualizedcombat among the
elite class, or secular warfareand conquest.
Althoughthis question is an old one, it has
been broughtback to theforefront
recentlyby
a seriesofimportantarchaeologicaldiscoveries at the sites ofSipn, San Josde Moro,and
the Huaca de la Luna, which provide new
insightinto the natureofMoche warfare.
Moche Warriorsand Warfare
Modeled ceramic figures of warriors, and
combat scenes in fine-lineslip painting on
ceramic vessels are common in Moche art.
Fine-line combat scenes appear on some
Moche III ceramic vessels, but theyare most
numerous- and appear in most detailed
form- on Moche IV vessels (Shimada 1994:
108). Most scholarswho have describedthese
scenes (Donnan 1973, 1997; Hocquenghem
1987; Kutscher1950, 1954) interpretthem as

iii

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i . Mocheone-on-one
combat
scene.Roll-out
from
drawing
a painting
ona vesselinthe
collection
ofMr.andMrs.
Nicholas
Los
Gessler,
Angeles
McClelland
Drawing
byDonna
some formof ritualized combat among the
Moche elite- not as depictions of conquest
or warfare with non-Moche polities. This
interpretationis based on a numberof common elements in these scenes, such as the
number and placement of figures, their
clothing, ornamentationand weapons, the
location in which combat takes place, and
the apparentfocus on takingcaptives rather
than killing the enemy. Scenes showing the
displayof captives and theirsacrificeat rituals presided over by Moche supernaturais
provideadditionalsupportforthe hypothesis
that Moche combat was formalized and
ritualin nature.
Donnan sees similarities between the
iconographyof combat and of deerhunting,a
ritualized activitythat appears to have been
reservedforthe Moche elite (Donnan 1997).
Hocquenghem(1987),and morerecentlyJohn
and Theresa Topic (Topic and Topic 1997) see
similaritieswith historicalaccounts of ceremonial combat among the young nobles of
Inca Cuzco, and with ritual battles among
modernhighlandgroupsin Ecuador (pucara)
and Peru (tinku). A significantdistinction
between these ritual battles and the Moche
case, however,is that most injuriesincurred
in ritual battles are minor (althoughdeaths
can occur), and prisoners,if taken, are later
returned.In the Moche case, the stakes were
considerablyhigher,as prisonersapparently
did not returnhome. Whetherthese ritual
battles are appropriateanalogies for Moche
combat can be questioned on a number of
grounds. Let us firstexamine the principal
iconographieelementsof Moche combat and
relatedscenes involvingthe presentationand
sacrificeof captives.

Combat Scenes
Kutscher,Donnan, Hocquenghem,and others
have noted a numberof common themes in
Moche combat scenes. First,combat is presented almost invariably as a face-to-face
encounter between paired opponents who
fight with close-range weapons- typically
clubs (fig.1). Althoughindividualsoccasionally carrylonger-rangearms such as spearthrowersand slings, these are rarelyshown
being used against an opponent. This is in
clear distinction to Moche deer hunting
scenes, in which the spear-throweris the
principalweapon used. Some combat scenes
show slings apparentlylying on the ground
near figuresengaged in combat, suggesting
that these longer-rangeweapons may have
been used initiallyand later abandoned (fig.
2). However,discardedspears or sling stones
are not shown in these scenes. Overall, the
proximityofopponentsand theweapons they
hold emphasize close-infighting.
Donnan (1997) notes thatwomen,children
or other noncombatants do not appear in

112 VERANO

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2.Combat
sceneshowing
scattered
andceramic
slings
vessels
asbackground
elements.
Roll-out
drawing
from
a painting
ona vessel
intheMuseum
frVlkerBerlin
kunde,
(VA-18397)
after
1987:
Drawing
Hocquenghem
84
fig.

sceneinvolving
3.Combat
twogroups
withdistinctive
dress
andweaponry.
Roll-out
from
a painting
ona
drawing
vesselintheMuseum
fr
Berlin
Vlkerkunde,
After
Kutscher
21
1954:
plate

Moche combat scenes, and that other indications oforganizedwarfare,such as fortified

sites under siege, destroyedvillages, or large
numbersof soldiersare absent. The location
offighting
appearsto be out in the open- not
withinor aroundarchitecture.Mountains are
oftenshown in the background,and plants,
birds,and occasionally otherobjects like ceramic vessels may appear "floating"around
thecombatants.Donnan pointsout thatmost
of the plants are desert species, suggesting
that conflicttook place away fromagricultural fields and settlements.Hocquenghem
(1987: 117) notes, however,that some of the
plants are cultigens,and suggestthat battles
may have been part of some agrarianritual.
Combatantsaretypicallyshownin fullceremonial regalia, includingmetal and feather
headdressornaments,elaboratetunics,metal
backflaps,and even nose ornaments (fig.i).
Such elaborate dress and ornamentation
clearlymarksthe participantsas elites,given
that commoners would probably not have
access to such items (Alva and Donnan 1993;
Donnan 1995). Many of the objects worn by
theseindividuals,such as complexheaddresses
and nose ornaments,would be impractical,if
not annoying,in an actual physicalconfrontation- yet theyappear to be standardcombat
dress.This would tendto supportthehypothesis that Moche combat, like deer hunting,
was a ritualactivitylimitedto the elite class.
A final and importantobservationregarding dress and weaponry is that with few

exceptions all opponents appear to wear

Moche attireand carryMoche styleweapons.
One of the exceptionsto this rule, shown in
Figure 3, is frequentlyillustrated simply
because it stands out as an anomaly. In this
scene, one groupoffightersis wearingclassic
Moche warriorattire:conical helmets,often
with crescent-shapedornaments,tunics in
classic Moche style, and crescent-shaped
backflaps. They wield long war clubs with
conical heads that are typically Moche as
well. Their opponentsare dressedin a more
diverse fashion, but all sport a distinctive
and manycarrya bannerwaistband/loincloth,
like object suspendedfromthe neck or shoulders. Their weapons are differentfrom the
firstgroup- most carrya star-headedmaceand two are shown about to launch stones at
theiropponents. Star-headmaces and slings
are not foreignto the Moche, but they are
infrequentlyused as weapons in combat
scenes. It is primarilythe dress of the second
group,however,thatmakes themdistinctive.
Otherexamples of combat scenes with exotically dressedwarriorsare known,but theyare
rare. Most combat shown in Moche art
involves opponents dressed in Moche style
and carryingMoche weapons.
Taking Prisoners
fromwhat is shownin Moche iconogJudging
raphy,the takingof captives appears to have
been the principal objective of combat.

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oftheir
4-Prisoners,
stripped
andweapons,
are
clothing
ledfrom
thefield
ofbattle.
Roll-out
from
a
drawing
ona Mochevessel
painting
ina private
collection
McClelland
Drawing
byDonna
Although splayed (presumablydead) figures
occasionally appear in combat scenes, they
are rare. There are no examples of victims
piercedbyspears- somethingcommonlyseen
in deer hunting- nor are there any illustrations showing the dispatching,decapitating
or dismemberingof victims on the battlefield. What is typicallyshown is the overpowering or stunningof an opponent,who
frequentlyloses his helmet, headdress,and
other items, and is grabbedby the hair and
taken captive. The victor strips the vanquished of his weapons and elaborate clothing, which he then hangs fromhis own war
club. The victorthen places a rope over the
captive's neck and parades him away (fig.4).

II4

Captives are later shown being presented

before elaboratelydressed individuals, who
frequentlysit underroofedstructuresor atop
elevated architecture.In one of the most
complex presentationscenes thereis a clear
status hierarchyamong the captives (fig.5).
Some captives are carriedin littersby other
captives, and even among the litter-borne
thereappear to be indicationsof differential
rank- the individualin the firstlitteris distinguishedby a stepped seat, and only the
thirdlitterriderhas a rope around his neck.
This explicit hierarchyis unusual, however;
captives are generallyshown simplyas nude
individualswith ropes around theirnecks or
with their hands bound behind theirbacks.

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of
5. Anarraignment
Roll-out
prisoners.
drawing
ofa painting
ona vesselin
theAmerican
Museum
of
Natural
NewYork
History,
McClelland
Drawing
byDonna

6.TheSacrifice
Ceremony
ofa
Roll-out
scene.
drawing
inthe
vessel
on
a
painting
fr
Museum
Staatliches
Munich
(see
Vlkerkunde,
Introduction,
fig.4)
McClelland
byDonna
Drawing

Sacrifice Ceremony,the WarriorPriest and

the Bird Priest, according to Donnan (Alva
and Donnan 1993). A thirdmajorfigurein the
The fateofwarriorscapturedin battle is also
In
in
Moche
with
ceremony,the Priestess,was to be linked to
iconography.
clarity
depicted
scenes adjacent to the presentationofprison- two high-statusfemale burials excavated at
ers, bound captives are shown having their the site ofSan Josde Moro severalyearslater
throatsslit and theirblood collectedby atten- (Donnan and Castillo 1994). The discoveries
at Sipn and San Josde Moro,and the insight
dants. The blood appears to be collected and
then presentedin a goblet to a principalfig- they provided into iconography found in
other north coast valleys, led to several
ure who presidesover this event. Depictions
of what has become known as the Sacrifice importantconclusions: (1) members of the
Moche elite- impersonatingdeities or superCeremony(Alva and Donnan 1993: 127-141)
have been found in fine-lineand low relief naturals- indeed presided over ceremonies
on ceramic vessels (fig. 6), in painted wall
involvingthe sacrificeof captives; (2) these
in
ritualofficeswere passed on throughtime,as
metalin
form
abbreviated
and
murals,
work.The SacrificeCeremonywas apparently indicatedby the tombs of two priestessesat
San Josde Moro, and perhapsmultiplewara standardizedritual that involved a cast of
rior
the
priests at Sipn,-(3) the SacrificeCereiconograsupernaturalfigures.Although
known
for
had
been
of
this
ritual
mony was not enacted in only one location,
years
phy
but
its
apparentlyat multiple sites extending
(Donnan 1978: 158-173), supernaturalparfrom
the Lambayeque Valley in the northto
ticipants(fangeddeities,anthropomorphized
birds and felines),implied a ritual narrative the Nepea Valley (based on a paintedmural
ofthe SacrificeCeremonyat the site ofPaaratherthan an actual ceremonywith human
actors.
marca) to the south.
Recent discoveriesat the sites of El Brujo
archaeoin
a
series
of
1987,
Beginning
and
sites
of
at
the
discoveries
complex in the Chicama Valley, and the
Sipn
logical
San Josde Moro (1991-1992) would provide Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley serve
to completethepicture.Paintedfriezesshowevidence that the SacrificeCeremonywas in
factperformedby human actors- dressed as
ingcombatscenes, the arraignmentofprisonat
contombs
Chamber
ers, and supernaturalspider "decapitators"
Sipn
supernaturais.
adornthenorthfaadeoftheHuaca Cao Viejo
tained the remainsof elite individualsburied
with the diagnostic headdresses and orna- in the El Brujo complex (Glvez and Briceo,
this volume,-Franco, Glvez, and Vsquez
mentationof the two principalfiguresin the
Sacrifice

verano

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115

1994)- The proximal end of a human femur,

with cut marks indicatingthat it was taken
froma fleshed body, was incorporatedinto
one of these friezes (Verano,Anderson,and
Lombardi 1998), suggestingthat the prisoner
display and decapitationscenes are not simply metaphorical.Skeletal remains of possible sacrificialvictims were also foundunder
the north courtyardof Huaca Cao Viejo in
1995 (Franco,Glvez, and Vsquez 1996).
Evidence of the sacrifice of captives is
more dramaticat the Huaca de la Luna. Excavations by Steve Bourget in 1995-1996
uncovered the most extensive evidence to
date: the remains of more than seventyadolescent and young adult males who were
killed and depositedaroundthebase ofa rock
outcropon PlatformII oftheHuaca de la Luna
(Bourget,this volume, and 1997a, 1997b).
Osteological analysis of these remains provides, forthe firsttime, informationon the
age, sex, and physicalcharacteristicsof sacrificedcaptives,as well as evidence of injuries
in combat,how theywere sacritheysuffered
ficed,and some detailsabout thepostmortem
treatmentof their remains (Verano 1998).
These observationswill be discussed further
below.
Integratingthe Iconographie and
Archaeological Evidence
in understanding
the iconograBreakthroughs
phy of combat, prisonercapture and human
sacrifice by the Moche have come largely
throughthese recentarchaeologicaldiscoveries, which providephysical evidence of such
activities.Integratingthe two sources of information,scholars can now reexamineprevious hypothesesabout the natureof Moche
warfare and the performanceof sacrificial
ritual. However, beyond the simple revelation that the Moche indeed "did these
things"(took captives and sacrificedthem in
an elaborate ritual presided over by a deityimpersonating priesthood), there remain
manyunresolvedquestions.Was Moche combat simplyan elite activityanalogous to deer
a ritualactivihunting?Was it fundamentally
ty closely tied to Moche religiouspractices,
or could political motives also have driven
thisactivity?Most scholarswho have studied
the iconographyof Moche combat make the
implicitassumptionthat Moche artistswere

being accurate and realistic in their depictions. The very plausible alternative that
Moche artistswere presentingintentionally
simplified and idealized images of "noble
combat" among the elite has been largely
ignored.The recentdiscoveriesat Sipn and
San Josde Moro may have had the unfortunate effectof overextendingthe notion that
the Moche were depicting"events thatreally
"
happened, leadingto a searchforundue realism and literalityin Moche iconography.
If most armed combat shown in Moche
iconographyis indeed Moche against Moche
- as has been deduced fromcostumingand
weapons- the question remains as to who
the playerswere,and where theycame from.
Archaeological evidence now indicates that
prisonersacrificerituals were performedat
Moche ceremonial complexes up and down
the northcoast. This suggestsseveral possibilities. Valleys may have competed against
one another to obtain captives for their respectivetemples.Alternatively,combat may
have been arrangedbetweendifferent
centers
withina singlevalley or perhapsbetweendifferentwarriorsocieties at a single ceremonial/populationcenter.Finally,it is possible
that the Moche were obtainingsome of their
captives throughconflictswith neighboring
non-Mochepolities.
The Moche's Highland Neighbors: What
Kind of Neighbors Were They?
Archeologicalsurveysconductedby Christopher Donnan, Donald Proulx and David
Wilson indicate that therewere shiftingand
probablyconflict-proneboundaries between
the highland Recuay and the middle/lower
valley Gallinazo (pre-Moche)polities of the
Vir, Santa, and Nepea valleys. Billman's
morerecentsurveyoftheMoche Valleyfound
similar evidence of shiftingboundaries between middle and upper valley populations
prior to Moche consolidation of the valley
(Billman 1997). The natureof Moche-Recuay
interactionis poorly understood,but some
scholars have suggestedthat combat scenes
such as that in Figure 4 may depict battles
between the Moche and Recuay (Disselhoff
1956; Proulx 1982). Shimada suspects that
territorialconflictsmay also have existedbetweentheMoche and thehighlandCa jamarca polity,and suggeststhat "futurestudies may

116 VERANO

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well reveal that some of the Mochica battle

scenes also depict conflict with the Cajamarca polity/7(1994: 93).
Unfortunately,combat scenes showing
individuals dressed in non-Moche style are
rare, and to my knowledge the dress and
weaponry of these "outliers" has yet to be
identifiedunequivocally as eitherRecuay or
Cajamarca. It is notable, however, that the
best-known example of combat involving
"exotic" participantsadheresto the standard
Moche artistic conventions of one-on-one
combat, the capture, strippingand binding
(ropearound the neck) of captives,and other
details like the presence of cacti and other
plants as backgroundelements. If the scene
depicted in Figure 3 indeed shows conflict
between the Moche and an outside group,it
suggestsone of two possibilities: (1) Moche
warfarewaged against "others77was ritualized to the same degreeas intra-Mochecombat; or that (2) Moche artistssimplifiedthis
scene so as to emphasize only the classic
"one-on-one"theme.

however, so that a number of samples of

Moche skeletal remainshave now been analyzed and published (Verano 1994a, 1994b,
1997a, 1997b). Examination of skeletal
remainsfromboth elite and common Moche
burials has shown that evidence of violent
injuries, such as fractures or projectile
wounds,is rare.This is in contrastto thehigh
frequencyof healed skull fracturesfound in
some centralPeruvianhighlandsamples from
the late pre-contact period (Verano and
Williams 1992). Although more cemetery
samples need to be studied,my impressionis
that the averageMoche man and woman on
the streethad little experiencewith violent
encounters.
The Huaca de la Luna Sacrificial Site

The discoveryof a Moche sacrificialsite at

the Huaca de la Luna in 1995 is of great
importance because it is the firstarchaeological evidenceoflarge-scalesacrificeofcaptivesbytheMoche (Bourget,thisvolume,and
1997a, 1997b). It is importantalso because
the skeletal remains of the victims are well
Archaeological Evidence forWarfare
preservedand have now been studied (BracaIf the Moche were involved in frequentwarmonte 1998; Verano 1998). The discovery
farewiththeirneighbors,one mightexpectto
provides a rare opportunityto compare the
see archaeological evidence in the form of
iconographyof prisoner sacrifice with arabandoned settlements,fortifiedsites along
chaeological and osteological evidence. Reterritorial
or skeletalremainsshowsults ofthesepreliminaryanalysesare consisfrontiers,
tentwitha numberofdetailspresentedin the
ing signs of violence. To date, such evidence
has been largelyelusive, but many archaeo- iconography.
As an outgrowthof an iconographiestudy
logical sites have been destroyedor seriously
of Moche sacrificialscenes in the contextof
damaged by erosion,construction,and lootmountain sHrines,Steve Bourgetbegan suring,and site surveyand excavation has been
limitedin manyofthe areas wheresuch convey and excavationsat the Huaca de la Luna,
flicts may have occurred. It must also be
a site at thebase ofCerroBlanco in theMoche
rememberedthat military encounters may
Valley in 1995. His excavations focusedon a
not leave evidence that is obvious or easy to
walled plaza and small platformthat had
find.For example,the militaryconfrontation been built around a natural rock outcrop on
that resultedin the conquest of the Chim
the west flankof Cerro Blanco, part of a late
state by the Inca in the late fifteenth
century constructionphase (Moche IV;c. a.d. 500-600)
is invisible in the archaeological record. at the Huaca de la Luna. Excavations of the
area surroundingthe outcrop revealed a deNevertheless,if warfarewas common in the
Moche domain, evidence of fracturesand
posit ofmultiplelayersofsilt,hardenedmud,
other trauma should be found in Moche
and sand that contained abundant human
cemeteries.
skeletal remainsand brokenunfiredceramic
untilrecentyearsthe study vessels in the form of seated male figures.
Unfortunately,
of Moche skeletal remains has been largely The deposit appears to representmultiple
events in which the bodies of sacrificialvicneglected,due to a focusby archaeologistson
tims were deposited around the base of the
gravegoods ratherthanon the remainsofthe
dead. The situation has graduallyimproved, rock outcrop and left to decompose on the

VERANO 117

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ofleft
7.Healedfractures
radius
andulnaandleftrib.
Huacadela LunaARP-II,
Individual
i
surfacebeforebeing buriedby silt and windblown sand.
In 1996, archaeologistClorinda Orbegoso
conductedlimitedexcavationsin an adjacent
plaza, designated Plaza 3C, under the auspices of the Huaca de la Luna Project (Orbegoso 1998). These excavationsrecoveredadditional skeletal remains.
In the springof 1995, at the invitationof
Bourget,I began an osteological analysis of
the Plaza 3A remains,with the assistance of
Florencia Bracamonte of the Universidad
Nacional de Trujillo and Laurel Andersonof
Tulane University(Verano 1998). The Plaza
3C materialwas studiedin 1996.The objective
ofthe analysiswas to determineage at death,
sex, and physical characteristics (stature,
general health) of the remains, and to
examine themforevidence of cause of death.
The skeletal remains from Plaza 3A include complete articulatedskeletons,partial
skeletons,isolated limbs,hands,feet,or other
clusters of articulated elements, and individual isolated bones (Bourget,this volume,
and 1997a, 1997b).The highfrequencyofdisarticulationcomplicates the task of estimating the total numberof individuals present,
but skeletal element counts indicate a minimum of seventy.All remains forwhich sex
can be determined are clearly male; no
remainsoffemalesor childrenare present.In
terms of age, all fall into the adolescent to

II8

middle adult (fifteento thirty-nine

year) age
range, with most individuals estimated to
have died in their early to mid twenties.
Overall, the demographiccomposition indicates a highlyselectivesample ofindividuals.
The Plaza 3A individualswere healthyand
physicallyactive,as indicatedby pronounced
muscle attachmentareas, generalbone size,
and some early arthriticchanges suggesting
intensephysicalactivity.Verylittleevidence
ofnutritionalor infectiousdisease was found,
buthealedfractures
arequite common.Healed
fracturesof ribs, long bones, and depressed
fracturesof the skull were seen in eighteen
individuals,and several of these had suffered
multiplefractures(fig.7). This is a veryhigh
frequencyin comparisonto Moche cemetery
samples I have studied. Moreover,many of
these injuries,especially skull fracturesand
broken ribs, are more typical of wounds incurred throughinterpersonalviolence than
fromaccidents.Overall,thefracturedata suggest that this was a groupwith a historyof
violent encounters.
PerimortemInjuries
Perimorteminjuriesare thosethatoccurat or
aroundthe time of death,when bone is flexible and respondsto traumain a different
manner than dry or ancient bone (Sauer 1998).
The two most common perimorteminjuries

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show captiveshavingtheirthroatsslit to collect blood.

The skull fracturesindicate massive head
trauma,typicallywithbreakageofa largeportion of the cranialvault (fig.10). Most appear
to have been producedby blows fromblunt
objects, althoughin a few cases the margins
of brokenareas suggesta weapon with sharp
protuberances,such as a star-headedmace. In
Moche iconographycaptivesare typicallynot
shown being dispatchedwith clubs in sacrifice scenes, so thereis not a close correspondence here. However, a wooden club was

onsecond
8.Cutmarks
vertebra.
Huacade
cervical
Individual
LaLunaARP-II,
XVIIIa
leftulnain
9.Fractured
ofcallusformation
process
attimeofdeath.
HG96-102

Huacade
10.Skullfracture.
LaLunaARP-II,
HG96-102

seen in the Plaza 3A victimsare cut markson

the cervical (neck) vertebraeand skull fractures.Approximately75 percentof individuals withfullyobservablecervicalspines show
cut marks.These varyin numberfromone to
more than nine distinctcuts, located on the
anteriorsurfaceof the vertebralbodies or on
the transverseprocesses (fig.8). Cuts to the
throatdeep enoughto markbone would have
been mortalwounds; thelikelycause ofdeath
for most individuals, therefore,was exsanguination.The location of cut marksimplies
thatthe objectivewas to cut the throatofvictims, not to decapitate them. Cut marks on
anteriorsurfacesof the cervicalvertebraeare
precisely what would be expected to be
found,based on Moche sacrificescenes that

found by Bourget in 1997 in an elaborate

tomb in PlatformII, just above the sacrifice
deposit. It was recently tested for organic
residue,and was foundto have a strongpositive reaction to human antiserum. Bourget
and Newman (1998) conclude that the residue on the club is human blood. Bourgetalso
foundevidencethatrockshad been thrownat
ceramic vessels, and has suggestedthat the

verano

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119

11. Fractures
andbone
reaction
around
of
margins
nasalaperture.
Individual
XVII
bodies, as well as some partsofthe sacrificial
victims may have been manipulated and
intentionallyarrangedfollowingdeath (Bourget 1997a, 1997b). Perhaps some of the skull
breakageresultedfromthese activities.
Healing Injuries
An importantdetail that emergedfromour
osteologicalanalysisis thatin additionto perimortemtrauma, at least twelve individuals
had injuries that were in the early stages of
healing at time of death. These include fracturedribs,shoulderblades, bones of the forearm (fig.9), and in two cases, the marginsof
the nasal aperture (fig. 11). The fractures
show various degreesof bone reaction,indicating survival forat least several weeks to
perhapsa month,based on comparisonswith
documentedclinical cases (Sledzik and Murphy 1990). Presumably these injuries were
sustained eitherduringcombat or following
capture.Three exampleswere found(fig.9) of
classic "parry"fracturesof the leftulna (one
of the bones of the forearm),a fracturethat
commonly occurs when the arm is used to
block a blow (Merbs 1989). The small marginal fracturesand bone reactionaround the
nasal apertureseen in Figure 11 appears to

reflectblows to the face.Moche prisoner-capture scenes sometimes show victorsstriking

theircaptiveson the nose,-an example can be
seen in the lower rightcornerofFigure3.
Fracturesin the process of healing at the
time of death suggests that a significant
period of time (weeks to perhapsa monthor
more)elapsed betweenthe time an individual
was capturedand the momentofdeath at the
Huaca de la Luna. Processions of prisoners
shown in Moche art may thereforebe illustratingextendedrituals involvingthe public
display of captives. Alternatively,captives
may have been broughtto the Huaca de la
Luna fromsome distantlocation.
Osteological analysis indicates that some
ofthe sacrificialvictimswerephysicallymistreated.Small, repeatedcut marksare present
on hand and footbones of severalindividuals
(fig.13); one skull shows multiplecut marks
aroundthemarginoftherighteye socket,and
one victimappearsto have had a sharpobject
inserted between his toes. None of these
injuries appear to be wounds inflicted in
hand-to-handcombat; they suggest intentional mistreatmentofsome captives.As previouslymentioned,bound captivesare sometimes shown being struck by their captors,
but other evidence of the mistreatmentof
captives is rare,althoughpunishmentssuch
as mutilationof the nose and lips (UrteagaBallon 199 1) and flayingofthefaceare known
fromMoche iconography.

12.Cutmarks
distalthird
of
shaft
ofleftfibula.
Huacade
LaLuna,Plaza3Q burial1

Skeletal Remains fromPlaza 3C

In 1995-1996, limited excavations in an adjacent courtyard,designated Plaza 3C, uncoveredthe largelydisarticulatedremains of
seven individuals (Orbegoso 1998; Verano

120 VERANO

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onfirst
13.Cutmarks
Huaca
(thumb);
metacarpal
deLaLunaARP-II

implyingthatthe objectivewas not simplyto

disarticulate,but to defleshthe skeletons.
Althoughthe Plaza 3C sample is small,the
remainsare similarin age and sex to those in
Plaza 3A- adolescent and adult males. The
Plaza 3C excavations, although limited in
extent,suggestthat some sacrificialvictims
at the Huaca de la Luna receivedmore complex treatmentthan was observed in Plaza
3A. Why theywere defleshedis a subject for
speculation,althoughdepictionsof dismembered captives are known fromMoche art.
Furtherexcavationand analysisare needed to
addressthis question.
An EmergingPicture

14-BirdJaguar
capturing
Skull.Lintel
Jeweled
8,
Mexico
Yaxchilan,
Chiapas,
byIanGraham
Drawing
15. Detailfrom
the
sacrificial
stoneof
Motecuhzoma
the
I,showing
ofTenayuca
conquest
bythe
Aztecruler
Drawing
byEmily
Umberger

1998). These remainsare distinctfromthose

in Plaza 3A because theyshow cut markssuggestingdismembermentand intentionaldefleshing(fig. 12). Cut marks are presenton
nearlyall bones recoveredfromPlaza 3C. The
location ofthe cuts correspondsin most cases
- oftenin the
to areas of muscle attachment
midshaftregionof long bones, forexample-

Archaeologicaldiscoverieson the northcoast

of Peru over the past ten yearshave resulted
in significantrevelations about both the
iconographyand practiceofwarfare,prisoner
capture, and human sacrifice among the
Moche. These discoverieshave demonstrated
that a common sacrificial ceremony was
practiced at multiple ceremonial centers
along the northcoast, presidedover by individuals who impersonatedMoche deities as
they toasted one another with the blood of
theircaptives. Royal tombs at Sipn and San
Josde Moro containthe mortalremainsand
insignia of some of those who presidedover
these rituals,and the skeletons of sacrificial
victimslitterthe plaza floorsofthe Huaca de
la Luna. One essential missing piece in this
puzzle remains,however:the identitiesofthe
sacrificialvictims.At presentthese individuals stand as shadowy players in a game of
"ritualcombat/7with no clear functionother
than to provide the necessary captives and
blood for the Sacrifice Ceremony. In the
absence of a Moche writtenhistoryor even
reliable ethnohistoricalsources on Moche
religionand political organization,the identity of captives and the motivationsfortheir
capture are difficultquestions to approach.
One avenue ofinvestigationwe are currently
followingis an attemptto identifythe population originof the Huaca de la Luna victims
using geneticallydeterminedskeletal traits,
mitochondrialDNA, and bone chemistry.We
have previouslyused several of these techniques with some success at a mass burial
site datingto the Late Intermediateperiodin
the JequetepequeValley (Veranoand DeNiro

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121

1993)- However, such analyses requirereference populationswith which to comparethe

fewadeunknowns,and thereare surprisingly
quate skeletal samples available forMoche,
Recuay or Cajamarca. One hopes the situation will improvein futureyears.
Cautionary Tales
Despite recentbreakthroughsin interpreting
the iconographyofMoche warfareand human
sacrifice,thereremainsome potentialpitfalls
in the interpretivescenarios generatedfrom
them. Research on Moche iconographyand
archaeologyis oftencharacterizedby an intense inwardfocus,withlimitedappreciation
of parallels beyond the northcoast of Peru.
Examples of similar iconographyfromprehispanic central Mexico and the Maya area
provides a warning against unqualified acceptanceofMoche combatas strictly"ritual."
Maya and central Mexican depictions of
warfareand the captureofprisonersare strikinglysimilarto Moche iconography.Features
such as stereotypedone-on-one confrontations,the elaboratedress and ornamentation
of the combatants, the use of short-range
weapons, and the takingof captivesall closely parallel what is seen in Moche art.Details
such as graspingcaptives by the hair and
strippingthemoftheirelaborateclothingand
weapons are also similar. In Maya iconography, the presentationof captives beforean
elaboratelydressedfigureseatedatop elevated
architectureis a frequenttheme. Finally,the
fateof captivesis oftenritualsacrificeon the
summitofthe temple.
In the absence ofothersources ofinformation,one could use examples such as Figures
14 and 15 to arguethatMaya and Aztec warfarewas a ritualizedactivitylimitedto members of the elite class, and that its principal
objectivewas to acquire captivesforsacrifice.
One could extend the argumentto conclude
that Maya and Aztec iconographydepicts
only ritual combat and not the conquest of
one polityby another.In fact,the latteris precisely what these figuresrecord. Figure 14,
Lintel 8 from Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico,
shows Bird Jaguar(on the right)taking his
most prizedcaptive- JeweledSkull- on May
9, a.D. 755 (Scheie and Miller 1986: fig.V.3).
Figure 15, a detail fromthe sacrificialstone
of Motecuhzoma I (c. a.d. 1455-1469), docu-

mentsthe conquest oftheTenayuca polityby

the Aztec rulerMotecuhzoma I, shown in the
guise of the Aztec war god Huitzilopochtli,
grasping the god of Tenayuca by the hair
(Umberger 1996). These images communicate elegantlythe essential informationintendedby the artist,withoutthe need fordetails such as the militarycampaignsthat led
to victory,thenumberofsoldiersinvolved,or
the methodsused to defeatthe enemy.As in
Moche art, thereare no women, childrenor
other noncombatantsshown, nor are there
fields of soldiers,buildings under siege, destroyedvillages, or any other indications of
organizedwarfare.
This is not to argue that Maya and Aztec
warfaredid not have ritualizedelements,or
thatthetakingofcaptivesforhuman sacrifice
was not an importantpart of warfare.The
principaldistinctionis that in the Maya and
Aztec case we know that specific historic
conquests are recorded,because associated
inscriptionsgive the names of the polities,
theleaders,and in some cases, thedateswhen
these events occurred.This kind of information is lackingin Moche iconography.Indeed,
of scenes such as Figure5
our interpretation
would be dramaticallyenhanced if we knew
the identitiesof the prisonersand the events
precedingand followingtheircapture.While
little can be done to remedy this lack of
knowledge,such difficultiesunderscorethe
need to avoid an oversimplisticapproach to
Moche iconography.
interpreting
Given the comparativeexamples above, it
should be evident that iconographyalone
cannot be used to conclude thatMoche combat was principallya ritual activity of the
elite. It is likely,as in the Maya and Aztec
cases, that warfareindeed had ritualizedelements,but we can also assume thatits iconowas highlyformalized
graphierepresentation
- and thereforecannot be interpretedliterally.Given our lack ofcontextualknowledge,
combat and prisonerarraignmentscenes in
Moche art must be interpretedwith caution.
In myopinion,manyofthese scenes probably
depict specific events, with known participants. Whetherthese events recordedritualized conflictbetween polities- such as competition between ceremonial centers or the
boundaries- or
periodicrenewalofterritorial
the
whether they documented
conquest of
be
answered
one polity by another,cannot

122 VERANO

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fromthe iconography.Nevertheless,the existence of multipleceremonialcenterssuch as

Sipn,San Josde Moro,El Brujo,Moche, and
Paamarca- all showingevidence of participation in combat and the sacrificeof prisoners- would tend to support the model of
Moche society as composed of a number of
competing"royal courts" ratherthan a centralizedstate ruledfromthe Moche Valley.
The sacrificialsite recentlyexcavated at
the Huaca de la Luna confirmsthat captives
wereindeed sacrificedin a mannerconsistent
withthatshownin Moche art.It is likelythat
skeletal remains of more sacrificialvictims
remain undiscovered at other ceremonial
centers.Osteological analysisoftheHuaca de
la Luna victims indicates that they were a
veryselectgroup- youngmales whose healed
injuries indicate previous experience with
combat.Their age profile,physicalcharacteristics, and evidence of previouswounds suggestthattheymay have been "professionals"
and not simplyoccasional weekend warriors.
in this
The lack of older males (forty-plus)
sample is interesting,as it suggests either
that oldermen did not participatedirectlyin
treatcombat,or that theyreceiveddifferent
mentifcaptured.
Much remains to be understood about
Moche armed conflict.This briefattemptto
explore the nature of war and death in the
Moche worldunderlinesthe significantchallenges we face in attemptingto reconstruct
and religion
Moche society,politicalstructure,
from iconographie and archaeological evidence alone.

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