Outside of Mesoamerica, no American society left written records to help us understand individual lives. Nearly all we know of the Moche comes from recent archaeological investigations. As in Egypt, an arid climate preserved many objects and remains, allowing scholars to examine jewelry, weapons, clothing, ceramics, and skeletons. Many paintings on pots portray slices of Moche life. In addition, excavations at royal tombs in several cities have told us much about how the leaders of Moche society lived and died, even if we have no idea of their names, personalities, family ties, or precise governmental functions. These findings allow us to trace some of the experiences of one leader, probably a warrior-priest, who is known to archaeologists as one of the lords of Sipan, a Moche city. He was in his mid-thirties when he was buried around 390 C.E.

Archaeologists know what Moche men and women looked like. Moche men were stocky and averaged about 5 feet 3 inches in height, but this lord was 3 inches taller. He cut his hair in bangs over his forehead, wore it long in back, pierced his ears and nose, painted his face, and tattooed his arms and legs. The Moche women, such as those in the lord’s family, stood about 4 feet 7 inches tall and wore their hair long, often braided with colorful woolen strands. At ceremonies women’s dress consisted of a multicolored woven smock heavily laden with long strands of beads. Women lived much longer than men, but men had far richer costumes.

The lord of Sipan was buried in all the finery he probably wore in his official and ceremonial life. Like other warrior priests, he dressed ostentatiously to demonstrate his wealth and power. He wore a long tunic completely covered with platelets of gilded copper, and he had copper sandals on his feet. On his wrists he sported large beaded bracelets of turquoise, gold, and shell. A beaded chest-plate and spectacular necklace of gold and silver beads covered his chest and shoulders, and probably gleamed like the sun. Around his waist he wore a belt that supported crescent-shaped bells. A crescent-shaped gold nose ornament completely covered his mouth and lower face. Large ear ornaments were inlaid with gold and turquoise. On his head, the Sipan lord wore a large, crescent-shaped headdress ornament made of gold. In one hand he held a gold and silver scepter, an insignia of high rank. Moche art frequently depicted high-status men dressed like the Sipan lord.

The lord led a privileged life, but it was also one with many dangers. Moche society had a great concentration of wealth, and a few people, like the lord, lived in extreme opulence. Every valley may have had one or more royal courts that were connected to one another through marriage alliances and trade, like the kings of the Maya cities. Moche art frequently depicts warriors parading in front of royalty, perhaps preparing for war against rival courts. Like Maya royalty, the lord of Sipan may have gone into battle to personally fight rival lords.

Battle was a grueling and fateful experience for the combatants. Warriors used clubs to beat the heads of enemies, or they hurled stones and arrows with a sling. Like Roman gladiators, Moche warriors participated in hand-to-hand combat, with the ultimate goal of capturing the enemy for torture and sacrifice. A complex set of rules may have governed the conduct of warriors on and off the field. Battles ended when one warrior caught hold of another’s hair and dragged him down. The loser, stripped of his clothes and weapon, was then paraded before the royalty of the winners. Painted bottles show the victorious lord presiding over a horrific sacrificial ceremony, drinking a goblet of blood drawn from the slit throats of captive enemy warriors. The lord of Sipan never suffered that fate. He was buried along with several young women, perhaps wives, concubines, or attendants; two burly men armed with shields and war clubs, possibly to protect him in the afterlife; and a dog, probably the lord’s pet hound.

Place your response to the following questions in DropBox for Extra Credit Week 9

1. How do burials and paintings on pots help us understand Moche life?

2. What do the lord’s clothing and symbols of royalty tell us about Moche society?

3. What role did warfare play in the life of a Moche lord?

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