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NASCA & MOCHE BURIAL PRACTICES.
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Examines archeological evidence of pre-Incan cultures' beliefs & behavior related to death, social status, body preparation & orientation, religion.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines archeological evidence of pre-Incan cultures' beliefs & behavior related to death, social status, body preparation & orientation, religion.
Paper Introduction:
The mortuary practices of various peoples can tell archaeologists a great deal about their cultures' beliefs and behavior. An examination of the archaeological evidence from burial sites of the Nasca and Moche people of pre-Incan Peru will demonstrate how such conclusions can be drawn. Burial remains are, of course, incomplete evidence -- even in terms of the ritual associated with death and disposal of the body. But the details of burial sites and the iconography of art associated with them are the only primary sources on mortuary practice. These peoples were preliterate and did not come into contact with literate groups. The only information that supplements the archaeological record is the retrospective comparison of earlier cultures with what was recorded by observers of Inca practice. But there is a wealth of
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Exceptions are found, however, and Donnan cites the case of anindividual who had clearly been a participant in the important Bean RunnerCeremony and was buried with the appropriate headdress and a ceramic vesselthat depicted the ceremony (1995, p. Dillehay (Ed.), Tombs for the living: Andean mortuary practice (pp. Silverman also found that many of the variations in the qualityof grave goods as, for example, differences in wrapping textiles, werelargely due to the difference in the Phases in which the individuals wereburied rather than to status considerations (Cahuachi has graves fromPhases 2-8). P. J. The Moche culture flourished in north coastal Perufrom approximately 1 -8 AD. 215). Neither Carmichael nor Silverman found that body orientation relatedto status. Thus,by means of studying the mortuary correlates of Ica burials Menzel was ableto deduce a great deal about sociopolitical organization and the nature ofconquest in the region. Brown, Silverman and Garcia (1993) have studiedthe cumulative evidence of the Nasca practice of the collection of trophyheads. Where do they rest? M., Silverman, H., and Garcia, R. The Moche: A culture of Peru. The basics of burial were considerably moreelaborate than the Nasca practice. Though therewere elaborate adobe tombs constructed for very high status individuals,"there were also simpler burials in oval pits" (Benson, 1972, p. Moche tombs also featured numerous metal objects and there is a clearcorrelation between the number of such objects and the status of theindividual. Moche funeral chambers also came in a number of types. Differences in burial practice and different selections ofburial goods may also provide information about differences associated withage, sex, occupation, or status. What is far more revealing about the excavation of Moche tombs isthe degree of consistency in the culture's mortuary practices. 33). 27-41). D. 123). A cache of 48 Nasca trophy heads from Cerro Carapo, Peru. Dillehay (Ed.), Tombs for the living: Andean mortuary practice (pp. The mostcommon cases where individuals are buried in another position are those ofretainers who were buried in elaborate graves of high status individuals(Donnan, 1995, p. Her analysis produced a great dealof information about the rituals that accompanied burial of high statusindividuals. 143). The tombs of the"princes" at Sipan (Schuster, 1992) or the tomb of the priestess in theJequetepeque Valley (Donnan and Castillo, 1992) are ample evidence of thehierarchical nature of the culture's organizational strategies. 123). 3 ). In Carmichael's sample 561 ceramic objectswere recorded and variations in shapes, types of vessel, iconographiccategories, and motifs did not correlate in any significant way with suchvariables as "age, sex, tomb form, or location" (1995, p. But much ofwhat is known is derived from the evidence of the culture's extensiveburial grounds. Gourd vessels,sometimes containing food, were commonly found outside the wrapping butwere also inside next to the bodies in some cases. (1992). Variations in effort and ritual are then used to assess thenature of sociopolitical organization. 1 5-144). In the analysis of Nasca burial sites certain patterns emerge.First, it is clear that infants, children and adults could all be buriedthough, in the absence of complete evidence it is impossible to say whetherthe lowest status graves truly indicate the variation in occurrence ofcomplex tombs and the least effort expended on burials. The normal position for the body was fully extended and lying on theback with hands at the sides or covering the pelvic region. Yet thedistribution of ceramic ware did correlate positively with status in someminor respects. They are conjectured to be objectsprepared specifically for grave use (Schuster, 1992, p. In the grave of "an elderly female who probably was near thebottom of the social and economic scale" those who prepared the body hadinserted a "hastily made, non-functional version" of the spindle made froma corn cob and a broken stick (Donnan, 1995, p. 1-7 ). But Silverman does not agree that ceramicware functions as an important index of status. Layers of textiles under the head or under theentire body and wrapped heads or covered faces were also fairly common. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.Donnan, C. 189). 164). 168). 19). 215). Benson (1975) hasanalyzed the death-related iconography of Moche ceramics including objectsfound in graves and in other locations. 19). They "transformed adesert into arable land" by means of a vast system of irrigation drawing onthese rivers (Schuster, 1992, p. 215). Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.Schuster, A. The differences in the degree of preparation of the body clearly ascendeda scale from the simplest attentions to the most complicated rites and themanufacture of items specifically made as grave goods. Most of the Nasca bodies, or at least the heads, faced south (47%)and southwest (15%), but bodies facing in all directions were also found.The graves were generally between 1 and 4.5 m in depth and were covered invarious fashions. Dillehay (Ed.), Tombs for the living: Andean mortuary practice (pp. Therewere seven different procedures used for encasing bodies and the practicereflects "an increasing complexity of funeral practice with an increase inthe amount of both raw materials and labor invested" (Donnan, 1995, p.125). 189-227). 143). By studying variations in the practice over time, however, it may bepossible to determine whether an increased interest in the custom reflectsincreased importance for ancestor cults and a desire to affirm rights toconquered territories via claims of kinship. The primary questions that can be answered from the examination ofburial sites is the manner in which these cultures linked the dead with theliving. (1993). Basically the body was placed diagonally on a rectangular piece ofcloth and the material was closed over the sides, forming a tube which wasthen folded in at the ends. H. Yet it is clear that some Nasca "were the recipients ofgreater attention in death than others" and this is manifested indifferences in grave goods, tomb construction, and body preparation. 167). 241, quoted by Rowe, 1995, p. The focus of much current archaeology is on the variations inapproaches to death among various Andean peoples. Ceramic vessels were the most commonly found artifacts, outweighing thekinds of natural objects that predominated in Nasca tombs. The Nasca included organic objects such as baskets, feathers, rawcotton, bundles of human hair and plants but the degree of preservation isnaturally so poor for such objects that the analysis of grave goods centerslargely on ceramic artifacts. The second case was that of pairedvessels, nearly identical in size, shape and motifs. The mortuary practices of various peoples can tell archaeologists agreat deal about their cultures' beliefs and behavior. Llamas were commonly found, but the sections of theanimal that was entombed varied according to the apparent economic statusof the individual. (1995). The inference that can bedrawn from this is that in Nasca culture, even though status differencescan be discerned, the rulers did not have either the coercive power or,perhaps, merely the manpower, needed to insert elaborate worship ofthemselves into, at least, the realm of mortuary practice. (1995). Cahuachi in the ancient Nasca world. But by their nature the shallowest graves are themost easily destroyed and archaeologists are left with the evidence ofthose that remain. The Moche lived in a series of valleysformed by rivers that run from the Andes to the coast. 19). The Ica, provincial subjects of the Inca empire,employed several types of burial and Menzel sorted out the relationshipbetween the types of burial goods and the elaboration of the ritual and theburial procedures to produce a model of Ica society. The "iconography and laborinvestment inherent to textiles" makes them a basis for "real statusdifferentiation" (1993, p. 22 ). Smaller jars with the bottoms broken out werealso used to form a serial type of ceramic casing for bodies. 216). Body preparation, not noted among theNasca, appeared to be a common practice among the Moche. 142). There is no doubt, from the differences in size, shape andelaboration of mortuary practice that the Moche tombs display vastdifferences of status along a range of levels of society. Thepractice clearly has implications for the study of Nasca sociopoliticalorganization though the inferences to be drawn from it are still obscure. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.Trinkaus, K. A variety of grave goods were found that accompanied the people beingburied. In T. (1984). Almost as unique as the distinguishing of the individual isthe fact that burials provide evidence of deliberate placement of objects.In sudden landslides or volcanic eruptions it is safe to say that an objectin a house was placed there deliberately. A great deal can be inferred, for instance, about Nascasociopolitical organization from these sites. This data andthe fact that "no known Nasca burials -- early, middle, or late -- are richin the way that" Moche burials at Sipan and Chan Chan are indicates thatthe Nasca were neither as complex nor as wealthy a society as the Moche andothers (Silverman, 1993, p. 3 ). At the mostelaborate levels of mortuary practice cane or plank coffins wereconstructed to enclose the bodies. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections.Browne, D. D. The burialsexcavated are in eight of the thirteen river valleys inhabited by the Mocheand the great majority (75%) come from the Moche and Jequetepeque Valleys.Donnan (1995) has analyzed the mortuary attributes of Moche burials for allthese sites in terms of their implications for understanding Mochesociopolitical organization. 111-159). As of 1995 326 Moche burial sites had been excavated for which "atleast some documentation is available" (Donnan, 1995, p. There may have been a number of small Nascachiefdoms located throughout their range at various periods. Architectural remains, rubbish dumps, and the large-scale grounddrawings associated with the Nasca culture are just some of the examples.But, as Rowe explains, there are significant differences between what canbe learned from sources such as these and from burial sites. But the details ofburial sites and the iconography of art associated with them are the onlyprimary sources on mortuary practice. In terms of the differentiation of status that can be inferred fromgrave goods, Silverman emphasizes textiles. Architectural remains, artifacts, large-scale art works and othersources of archaeological information exist for the Nasca. Inside the royal tombs of the Moche. 147). Mortuary ritual and mortuary remains. The Nasca do not, on the available tombevidence, present many of the signs of being a highly stratified society."The weight of the current evidence indicates that the Nasca lived insocieties with ranking, and ascribed status may have been operative"(Carmichael, 1995, p. 156). D. The information that has been collected and the analysis of itsimplications regarding the nature of Nasca and Moche sociopoliticalorganization is only part of the value to be derived from the study ofAndean burial sites. D. The Nasca burial grounds are found in the drainage basin of the RioGrande de Nazca and on the nearby Ica River. Finding the tomb of a Moche priestess. 34). 166). (1992). 129).Donnan also mentions graves that consisted of deep shafts with a chamber atthe bottom giving them a "boot-shaped" profile. She argues that "we arehindered by our cherished notions of value" in assigning too much weight toceramic remains because they carry so much information "we tend to rate itdisproportionately high when compared to other items of the materialculture inventory" and such ideas may not at all reflect the Nasca notionsof value (1993, p. Some objects were placed inside the burial shrouds. Very few plants wererecovered even in the best preserved graves and the food accompanying someindividuals was always a small, token amount. The only information thatsupplements the archaeological record is the retrospective comparison ofearlier cultures with what was recorded by observers of Inca practice. The simplecontrast with the sociopolitical implications of Nasca burials demonstratesthis. The shafts were vertical and ranged between .5 to 1.2 m in diameter. The work that has been done thus far is only thebeginning of understanding sociopolitical organization and thatunderstanding is only a preliminary to even deeper understanding of, forexample, the whole "social sense of historical time" in these societies(Dillehay, 1995, p. Donnanexplains a number of cases in which the parallels between simple andelaborate burial make this consistency clear and demonstrate thatdifferences in the mortuary correlates were simply differences of degree.It is clear that in every way the wealthiest graves simply put more time,money and energy into repeating the same practices found in poorer graves.Donnan cites the example of the spindles that were customarily buried withMoche women. Yet in his survey of numerous Nasca sites Carmichael did find someevidence of such values for pottery -- though his examples may not havebeen present at Cahuachi. B. Benson concludes thatsuch vessels were not portraits of the deceased but, judging fromiconographic factors, "most likely represented the local ruler whose imagewas put in the grave so that the deceased could go on serving him" (1972,p. (1995). Carmichael (1995) has examined the evidence from nineteenNasca sites. But the tombevidence makes it seem likely that centralized authority over the entireculture was not present. Latin American Antiquity, 3, 2 6- 22 .Dillehay, T. (1995). The decapitation theme in Cupisnique and Moche iconography. Sometimes bodies were buried in urns which could be "locatedshallowly, buried deeply, or placed within shafts" (Silverman, 1993, p.212). Hair treatmentfor corpses has been found in several female's graves, painting of facesand/or bodies has also been observed on a number of individuals of variousages and both sexes. Archaeology, 45(6), 38-42.Menzel, D. New York: Praeger.Benson, E. These preparatory steps preceded the encasing of the body. 181). The greatmajority of Moche tombs feature five or fewer ceramic objects. In T. In many cases the hands and/or feet and the upperpart of the head were wrapped in wool yarn. Even if the evidence is incomplete and oftenambiguous, burial sites do provide the material for "postulating baselinesfrom which to evaluate likely conditions in time and space" and thesehypotheses can be tested against other available evidence (Dillehay, 1995,p. 165). They were tied shut (Donnan, 1995, pp.125-135). Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 161-187). In their analysis of a cache ofNasca trophy heads found at Cerro Carapo, Browne et al. The association with religion seems clear from the Nascaiconography since human actors seldom engaged in the practice in artisticrepresentations, but it is a "relatively common activity among the Nascasupernatural agents portrayed on ceramic art" (Browne et al., 1993, p.29 ). Pottery style and society in ancient Peru. From these findings the analysis of Nasca culture's sociopoliticalstructure takes its start. Though some bodies were contained inopen chambers, the majority were solid-filled. 111). 216). Archaism or tradition? There were singles canes, vertical andhorizontal logs, and loose piles of bricks just below the surface.Carmichael found that grave markers did not correlate with any factors ofanalysis. Thedifferentiation increases in the later Nasca Phases and, Silverman notes,this coordinates with other data indicating that "late Nasca society wasmore socially differentiated than early Nasca society" (1993, p. P. But miniatures, formerly thought to be toys,were found with adults as well as children and tended to correlatepositively with status rather than age. Nasca burial patterns: Social structure and mortuary ideology. Other measures of the difference in status to be inferred from Nascaburials were derived from the scale of "relative energy expenditures"devised by Carmichael to take in all the variables associated with mortuarycorrelates. Excavation of the sites hasbeen going on for over eighty years and "variations in recording styles andlooting" at nearly every site have made for less than ideal conditions forarchaeologists trying to draw broad conclusions from the collectiveevidence (Carmichael, 1995, p. Cordy-Collins (1992) also studied Moche ceramics in terms oftheir implications for the cultural sequence in the region and foundevidence of historical links between Moche iconography and a previousculture, the Cupisnique. There is other evidence available about both Moche and Nascacultures. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.Donnan, C. An examination ofthe archaeological evidence from burial sites of the Nasca and Moche peopleof pre-Incan Peru will demonstrate how such conclusions can be drawn.Burial remains are, of course, incomplete evidence -- even in terms of theritual associated with death and disposal of the body. The grave shafts could be "oval, circular,rectangular, or D-shaped" and the lower part was sometimes lined with stoneor bricks (Silverman, 1993, p. Ina number of cases very high status burials display faces, arms and torsoscovered with copper masks and shaped armor-like plates (Benson, 1972, p.129). 172). Sometimes the bodies of high status warriors were buried in theircopper helmets (Schuster, 1992, p. Benson (Ed.), Death and the afterlife in Pre-Columbian America (pp. H. D. Grave markers were sometimes employed and the positioning of themarkers and choice of materials varied considerably throughout bothCarmichael's survey (where he found only 29 examples) and Silverman's morelimited number of subjects. The treatment of human offerings and trophies in ancient Peru. Butthere is a wealth of information available from the early sites and thestudy and analysis of mortuary practice is the means by which thisinformation is extracted. 13 ). Four rough categories of burial were outlined by Carmichael interms of the amount of energy expended on the complex of variables involvedin burial. How they conceptualized death was also strongly related to themanner in which ritual and plain effort were associated with the burial ofindividuals. In general the Nasca were buried in a standard posture, "seated andflexed with hands resting on or around the knees" or, occasionally, placedon the chest (Carmichael, 1995, p. (1972). Berkeley: University of California Press.Rowe, J. Tombs without roofs often featuredother objects such as broken sections of large urns, cane, or loose bricksthat covered the individuals. All of these tombs types"were used for both sexes and all age groups throughout Phases 2-8"(Carmichael, 1995, p. Inaddition specialized cemeteries related to the status of the occupants havealso been distinguished among Moche grave sites, another item on whichcomparison with the Nasca demonstrates the far greater socialstratification of Moche societies (Donnan, 1995, p. As in the wide range of body preparations, casings, and tomb types,Moche grave goods also showed great variation in both quantity and quality. Since no variationin shape of vessels was found among men and women or among adults andchildren, Donnan concluded that "there were no standards regarding anappropriate inventory of ceramic forms" (1995, p. Burials often included portraitvessels as well as more common everyday designs. The details of Moche mortuary practice havereceived extensive coverage in the scholarly literature. Some had branches or poles laid over them as roofs whileothers "were constructed of heavy logs overlaid with a cap of mud andstones" (Carmichael, 1995, p. Another variation on ceramic grave goods are the small warriorsfound grouped in the tombs at Sipan. In T. Silverman (1993) performed the same operation at a singlesite, Cahuachi, with graves opened in earlier decades and those she hasexcavated more recently. The ceramic casing consisted of two egg-shaped halves that wereclosed around the bodies. And in the most elaborate tombs,those of "princes" found at Sipan, the bodies were covered with ornamentssuch as "gilded copper jaguars bearing mother-of-pearl teeth, gold maskswith eyes of lapis, necklaces strung with giant peanuts wrought in gold andsilver, and gold ear spools inlaid with turquoise" (Schuster, 1992, p. Dillehay (Ed.), Tombs for the living: Andean mortuary practice (pp. 216). Archaeology, 45(6), 3 -37.Silverman, H. The bodies were then wrapped inseveral layers of fabric including plain cloth and elaborately woventextiles. But inexamining the evidence of previous finds of dismembered or decapitatedburials they decided that no final determination can be made regarding thecustom of decapitation since cases of female and child trophy heads are notunusual. B., and Castillo, L. Menzelalso found that a curious custom of burying antique Ica pottery, or evenimitation antiques, was associated only with commoners' graves while thenobility were buried with Incan pottery. In T. 1-27). 171). (1975). Dillehay (Ed.), Tombs for the living: Andean mortuary practice (pp. There are also occasionaldiscoveries of bodies that were buried in clothing (Donnan, 1995, p. Theexcavation of a house site or a rubbish dump can provide a great deal ofinformation about "a group, a community, or a family" but burials have theunusual capacity to allow archaeologists to distinguish individuals (Rowe,1995, p. Clearly thepreparers of the body had felt compelled to follow what was a well-established custom even if in the simplest, most rudimentary fashion. P. But in most instances it is onlyin the case of burials that it is possible for archaeologists to determinethat they are looking at an object deliberately placed where it was foundmany centuries later. Behavior and belief in ancient Peruvian mortuary practice. Other analyses of Nasca approaches to interment proceed along sidethe study of the common cemetery sites. (1993) believedthat the heads primarily represented sacrificed war prisoners. Finally, the evidence of burials providesinformation about status and state organization, about the practices ofwar, and about the culture's relationship with death. The history of the Nasca has beenperiodized into eight successive Phases and the typical tomb types of theculture were found from the second through the last Phases of theirhistory. 3 ). Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.Cordy-Collins, A. Her work demonstrates the value of the method nowwidely used among Andean archaeologists in the study of mortuary practices. Burials such asthese complicate the record but vastly extend present understanding of the"dynamic relationship between the living, the dead, and the supernatural inthe Andean world" (Verano, 1995, p. The "competing models"of the life and death relationship "are firmly embedded in distinct socialand cosmological (or philosophical) tradition" and archaeologists attemptto understand the operation of these systems (Dillehay, 1995, p. In cases where only a few metal objects were buried they wereplaced in the mouths or hands or near the feet (Donnan, 1995, p. In addition to ordinary burials, ofwhatever types or classes, it is also important to remember that in theseAndean cultures the treatment of human remains varied considerably"depending on the nature and meaning of a particular human death" (Verano,1995, p. Nor, as Silverman points out, would tombsanywhere in "the Nasca world have required a particularly largemobilization of group labor either for construction of the tombs orproduction of their grave goods" (1993, p. As Carmichael puts it, "in present terminology, the social structure ofLate Horizon Ica is reflected in restricted artifact distribution,differences in body treatments and tomb forms, and variations in energyexpenditures in the burial complex (Carmichael, 1995, p. (1993). Death-associated figures on Mochica pottery. H. The differences inburials indicated the presence of two ranks of nobility, the nobility'sservants, an administrative or civil servant class, and commoners. D. The mortuary practice of the Moche culture presents a strong contrastwith that of the Nasca. Nor was it commonto find relationships between the iconography of ceramic motifs and eithertheir use as grave goods or the specific individual with whom they wereburied. Moche mortuary practice displays great regularity throughout itsrange of locations and times. Current Anthropology, 25, 674-679.Verano, John W. As Dillehay notes, beyond the competing models ofversions of the state and specific formulations of the nature of the linkbetween life and death, burial practice also has strong implications inregard to the societies' conceptualization of their own history as"implemented through a variety of ritual, architectural and symboliclinkages" (1995, p. Latin American Antiquity, 4, 274-294.Carmichael, P. 27). But in theremainder of the graves the number can be much higher. M. Animal parts were commonlyburied with people. M. The bundle was then sealed in some fashion.In the simplest procedure plain cotton cloth was used and then sewn shut.Specially constructed cane frames, cane tubes, or ceramic casings were alsoused. Thus archaeologists must also consider the implications ofhuman sacrifices including those killed in religious ceremonies, prisonersof war, the burial of retainers with leaders, dedicatory burials in whichinfants were placed under building foundations as offerings, and the customof curing and later burying trophy heads taken in wars. In the analysis of status associated with burials the firstobservations are that there appeared to be no separation of high status andlow status burial grounds. In T. Theclassic use of mortuary practice to draw conclusions about Andeansociopolitical organization was Dorothy Menzel's (1976) study of Icaceramic burial goods. 19). They built large palaces, centersfor religious ceremonials, and developed a complex web of tradingrelationships. (1992). The pairs were foundonly in high or mid-high status graves with the minor exception of thosefound in the most elaborate of the low status graves (Carmichael, 1995, p.172). These peoples were preliterate anddid not come into contact with literate groups. REFERENCESBenson, E. The most elaborate bricktombs featured niches in the walls, with the most complex Moche tomb havingsixteen of these spaces which have been found to hold "ceramics, llamabones, copper, and/or clay architectural models" or sometimes were leftempty (Donnan, 1995, p. She concluded, therefore, that"it appears to have been an expression of a desire to return to earlier andbetter days, when the Ica Valley was free from pressure or domination byforeign powers" (Menzel, 1976, p. Moche burials were far more elaborate, reflect fargreater differences in the expenditure of energy among various strata ofthe societies, and generally imply that the Moche culture was far morecomplex than the Nasca. 166). In E. Introduction. 291). It also seems likely, fromthe ceramic evidence, that "increased status and social position weregained by successful headhunters" (Browne et al., 1993, p. Architectural remains, the remains of the irrigationsystems, various types of artifacts and, especially, elaborate muralsdepicting warfare and the ritual of human sacrifice "reflect a highlystratified society" and this impression has been supported by theinferences drawn from the study of Moche burial sites (Schuster, 1992, p.3 ). 216). Moche funerary practice. 147). Indeed the remains allow, according totheir extent and comparability with others, for the construction of a"social persona of the dead" as expressed in mortuary ritual (Trinkaus,1984, 675). The ancient Nasca culture was located in south coastal Peru in theEarly Intermediate Period (ca. (1976). In general the "ceramic complex appears to havebeen an open, shared system to which all members of society had access"(Carmichael, 1995, p. As Silvermannoted, the variation in tomb quality was extensive; people could be placedin the deep shafts and elaborately roofed over or they could "be placed outin the open or in very small crude shallow pits that could just admit thebody" (1993, p. Yet, despite looking at the data in as many ways as possible,Carmichael was unable to find any clear signs of definite stratification.The four levels of burial type inevitably "blend into one another and lackfinite boundaries" (1995, p. 153). But careful reexamination of the dataon older excavations and of all the available primary evidence has made itpossible to formulate preliminary descriptions of Nasca sociopoliticalorganization. The parts that produced the least meat were found insimpler, low-status tombs, while nearly whole animals were discovered inhigher status graves (Donnan, 1995, p.
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