The Moche people: genetic perspective on their sociopolitical composition and organization

Shimada, Izumi; Shinoda, Kenʼichi; Alva, Walter; Bourget, Steve; Chapdelaine, Claude; Uceda, Santiago

essay

The Moche people: genetic perspective on their sociopolitical composition and organization

art and archaeology of the moche : an ancient andean society of the peruvian north coast • Austin • Published In 2008 • Pages: 179-193

By: Shimada, Izumi, Shinoda, Kenʼichi, Alva, Walter, Bourget, Steve, Chapdelaine, Claude, Uceda, Santiago.

Abstract
The authors present preliminary results of a long-term project to analyze mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Moche burials and sacrifice victims, with a goal of elucidating the genetic and socio-political relationships between elites of different valleys. Maternally inherited mtDNA has a high frequency of mutations, making it useful for differentiating populations. Findings indicate that there was a different Moche elite lineage in every one or two valleys, that sacrificial victims from Huaca de la Luna Plaza 3a might have been a group recently splintered from the local elite or who practiced bride exchange with inhabitants of Huacas de Moche, and that Moche and Gallinazo individuals were genetically similar. But the sample contains a relatively high proportion of social elites, and a broader, pan-regional sample is necessary before conclusive statements can be made.

Laboratory analysis of materials other than dating methods in archaeology

Genetics

Ethnic stratification

Classes

Social relationships and groups

Lineages

Inter-ethnic relations

Executive household

Prayers and sacrifices

Moche

HRAF PubDate

2015