Publisher's Synopsis
Centuries before the rise of the Inca, the Moche created impressive monumental architecture and precious metal objects, approximately in the age between 100 and 800 A.D.. Today, large-scale projects at several sites in Peru, including the richest unlooted tomb ever discovered in the New World, have uncovered dramatic new discoveries about this ancient coastal civilization. This volume discusses the implications of these findings. A major theme of the book is how the visual arts and political representation are connected in Moche culture. The contributors pay special attention to the relations between Moche visual imagery and other kinds of knowledge gained from the archaeological record. Topics ranging from the nature of urbanism, to Moche portraiture, to the visual representation of warfare compared to the physical remains of battles, will fascinate not only archaeologists and art historians but also students and scholars in related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
