essay
Iconography meets archaeology
art and archaeology of the moche : an ancient andean society of the peruvian north coast • Austin • Published In 2008 • Pages: 1-21
By: Benson, Elizabeth P..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author uses newly available archaeological evidence in an empirical examination of Moche art, demonstrating that the often detailed, naturalistic works were a far more literal depiction of Moche culture than previously believed, with artifacts matching and even enriching knowledge about actual objects, individuals, places and events. One example is a draping, multimedia feline costume element with a gold encased wooden head and body of hide and cloth with claws from a burial cache in Huaca de La Luna, an item known from iconographic depictions of the coca rite. A scepter from Sipán depicts a roof lined with the clay maces found in excavation of structures at various sites. Weapons bundles appearing in the art have been unearthed. The author cautions, however, against assuming all Moche art is directly representative. For instance, warfare shown as face-to-face combat may be a kind of metonymy. Description of some of the differences between the iconography of the northern and southern regions is included.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Recreational and non-therapeutic drugs
- Paraphernalia
- Architecture
- Weapons
- Visual arts
- Aftermath of combat
- Ritual
- Organized ceremonial
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Moche
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2015
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Andes
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2013
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 2000-1200 BP (AD 1-800)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Ancash regions (north coast), Peru
- NotesAdditional notes
- Elizabeth P. Benson
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 18-21)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 2008027539
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Moche (Peru)--Antiquities