The Moche people who inhabited the north coast of Peru between approximately 100 and 800 AD were perhaps the first ancient Andean society to attain state-level social complexity. Although they had no written language, the Moche created the most elaborate system of iconographic representation of any ancient Peruvian culture. Amazingly realistic figures of humans, animals, and beings with supernatural attributes adorn Moche pottery, metal and wooden objects, textiles, and murals. These actors, which may have represented both living individuals and mythological beings, appear in scenes depicting ritual warfare, human sacrifice, the partaking of human blood, funerary rites, and explicit sexual activities.

In this pathfinding book, Steve Bourget raises the analysis of Moche iconography to a new level through an in-depth study of visual representations of rituals involving sex, death, and sacrifice. He begins by drawing connections between the scenes and individuals depicted on Moche pottery and other objects and the archaeological remains of human sacrifice and burial rituals. He then builds a convincing case for Moche iconography recording both actual ritual activities and Moche religious beliefs regarding the worlds of the living, the dead, and the afterlife. Offering a pioneering interpretation of the Moche worldview, Bourget argues that the use of symbolic dualities linking life and death, humans and beings with supernatural attributes, and fertility and social reproduction allowed the Moche to create a complex system of reciprocity between the world of the living and the afterworld. He concludes with an innovative model of how Moche cosmological beliefs played out in the realms of rulership and political authority.

"Overall, I find this to be an extraordinary book, filled with excellent observations about Moche iconography and world view... Bourget's arguments [are] extremely interesting, thought-provoking, and potentially of great importance. They will undoubtedly cause other researchers to look at the material in a new way and to test and refine the observations presented in this volume in the years ahead." -- Christopher B. Donnan, UCLA, author of Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru

About the Author

Steve Bourget is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at the Universite de Montreal.

Reviews
"Bourget weaves an intriguing narrative that takes off from that large corpus of scholarship already in the public domain...Through the judicious analysis of iconography, Steve Bourget presents an enthralling appraisal of the many separate themes within the scope of life and death as understood by the Moche... In stark contrast to the current vogue, Steve Bourget does not fall for the cheap and easy, gendered interpretations that pervade recent studies of this subject matter. This is laudable. Bourget's book is an impressive contribution to how we might view and interpret Moche iconography."--antiquity 81 (2007)



Book Information
ISBN 9780292712799
Author Steve Bourget
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint University of Texas Press
Publisher University of Texas Press
Weight(grams) 821g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 25mm