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Object of Contention: an Examination of Recuay-Moche Combat Imagery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2005

George F. Lau
Affiliation:
Sainsbury Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK; [email protected].

Abstract

This study examines a painted combat scene on a ceramic vessel of the Moche culture (ad 100–800) of the north coast of Peru. The scene portrays a series of distinctly Moche warriors fighting adversaries who feature characteristics (weaponry, ornaments and dress) that are unconventional for Moche visual culture. Correspondences in Recuay pottery and stone sculpture instead support the argument that the enemies were groups from the neighbouring inland valleys and highlands of the Pacific Andean flanks. The analysis of the imagery and its implications illuminate how societies without writing sometimes perceived and configured interaction with other groups — namely, through representations of warfare.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

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