LE PÉROU AVANT LES INCAS
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which potentially identifiable human individuals
are shown interacting with mythical deities.
Subsequent archaeological discoveries at the la
Luna and Cao sites confirm this hypothesis.3 In
1991, Christopher Donnan and Luis Jaime Castillo4
discovered the tomb of a woman at San José
de Moro, whom they associated with the priestess
of the “Presentation Theme.” In 2005, at the
Huaca Cao site, they found the tomb of a woman
surrounded by an abundance of grave goods, including
gold and silver ornaments and emblems,
whom Régulo Franco named the “Lady of Cao.”5
Finally, in 2012, Carlos Wester6 unearthed the
tomb of another woman buried with a wealth
of grave goods and came to the conclusion that
it was the grave of the Priestess of Chornancap.
Along with these tombs of noble and high-ranking
individuals, archaeologists have also found
those of priests, artisans, and warriors of various
social classes and military ranks. Together these
tell us much about who the holders of social power
were, particularly in Moche and Lambayeque
societies. From such burials, the installation presents
gold, gold-plated copper, and silver jewelry
pieces, as well as the prestige insignia of powerful
lords, including their personal ornaments. These
are exhibited alongside ceramic objects, strikingly
different in terms of their manufacture, aesthetic,
and stylistic expression.
Celestial and terrestrial power is clearly expressed
through the contrasting architecture of
religious edifices and palaces. The exhibition
examines excavations carried out at a relatively
well-preserved Moche temple complex dating
from AD 100–600 that make it possible to create
an accurate visual reconstruction. The complex
is composed of a main edifice, which housed
the altar and the temple dedicated to the God of
the Mountains, and of a smaller structure that
housed the altar and the temple dedicated to the
God of the Sea. The temple’s façade is 75 meters
long and 25 meters high and is stepped. Each
vertical element bears ceremonial scenes representing
the gods. These scenes all relate to one
of the most important rituals practiced in the
temples, that of human sacrifice. The excavation
work that took place in two interior courtyards
revealed a great deal about the context of these
sacrifices, in which Moche males ranging in age
from fifteen to thirty-five years had their throats