Moche culture

E11000

The Moche culture was an influential pre-Columbian civilization on Peru’s northern coast, renowned for its sophisticated irrigation systems, monumental adobe pyramids, and highly detailed ceramics depicting daily life, warfare, and ritual.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Moche (Huacas del Sol y de la Luna) 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Andean culture
archaeological culture
pre-Columbian civilization
artMedium fine-line painted ceramics
mold-made ceramic vessels
stirrup-spout vessels
artStyle naturalistic representation of humans and animals
burialPractice elite tombs with rich grave goods
capital Moche Valley
surface form: Moche (near modern Trujillo, Peru)
declineFactors climatic events such as El Niño
social conflict
economyBasedOn irrigated agriculture
endTime c. 800 CE
flourishedInPeriod Early Intermediate Period
hadPoliticalStructure complex chiefdoms or small states
iconographyFeature ritual combat scenes
sexual imagery
supernatural beings
warrior-priests
influenced Chimu culture
surface form: Chimú culture

later Lambayeque (Sicán) culture
influencedBy earlier Cupisnique culture
knownFor depictions of warfare and ritual in art
highly detailed ceramics
metalworking in gold and silver
monumental adobe pyramids
realistic portrait vessels
sophisticated irrigation systems
locatedIn South America
northern coast of Peru
mainCrop beans
cotton
maize
peanuts
squash
majorSite El Brujo
Huaca de la Luna
Huaca del Sol
Pampa Grande
San José de Moro
Sipán
notableDiscovery Sipán
surface form: Royal Tombs of Sipán
partOf Andean civilization
surface form: Andean civilizations
practiced fishing and marine resource exploitation
religion polytheistic religion
ritual sacrifice practices
startTime c. 100 CE
usedBuildingMaterial adobe brick
usedLanguage Proto-Mochica (hypothesized)

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Chimu culture followed Moche culture
this entity surface form: Moche (Huacas del Sol y de la Luna)
Andean civilization hasPart Moche culture
Andes cultural area includesCulture Moche culture
Chavín culture influenced Moche culture
Chimu culture influencedBy Moche culture
Peru preColumbianCulture Moche culture
Chimu culture precededBy Moche culture