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Temple of Doom
Step into the world of writers and photographers as they tell you about the best, worst, and quirkiest places and adventures they encountered in the field.
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Get the facts behind the frame in this online-only gallery. Pick an image and see the photographer's technical notes.
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Monuments to Moche Faith
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By Peter GwinPhotographs by Ira Block
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In a mud-brick pyramid on the coast of Peru, elaborate reliefs tell a gory tale of human sacrifice and offer insights into the Moche culture, which vanished 500 years before the Inca.
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Get a taste of what awaits you in print from this compelling excerpt.
They Who Were About to Die
For prisoners of the Moche, Huaca Cao Viejo's elaborate art was likely among the last sights they saw. Naked, bleeding, and bound with nooses, they were led into the ceremonial plaza. Perhaps they heard the Pacific surf rolling onto the beach in the distance; perhaps all they heard was the pounding of their own hearts. Once inside they witnessed one of history's most gruesome sacrificial rites. A Moche priest adorned in gold slit their throats one by one. Those in line who didn't turn away or faint saw a priestess catch the blood in a golden goblet for the priest to drink. Scholars know about these ceremonies by studying Moche artwork, like the frieze of naked prisoners discovered on Huaca Cao Viejo's plaza wall. Bones of sacrifice victims—incorporated into the frieze and buried under the plaza floor—show evidence of extreme torture before the grisly executions. Still debated: Were the prisoners locals or foreigners captured in battle?
Get the whole story in the pages of National Geographic magazine.
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In More to Explore the National Geographic magazine team shares some of its best sources and other information. Special thanks to the Research Division.
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Some of the only clues about Moche culture were left behind in their art. The Moche, who lived before the Inca, thrived within the lower river valleys along northern Peru's coastline. This river valley environment—rich in clay and metals—provided the Moche with tools to create extensive artistic traditions. Fortunately their art provides archaeologists with evidence to interpret and understand Moche culture. No written records were kept by the people, nor was there a predominant written language.
—Nora Gallagher |
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Bawden, Garth. The Moche. Blackwell Publishers Inc., 1999.
Benson, Elizabeth P., and Anita G. Cook. Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru. University of Texas Press, 2001.
Morris, Craig, and Adriana Von Hagen. The Inka Empire and Its Andean Origins. Abbeville Press Publishers, 1993.
Pillsbury, Joanne. Moche Art and Archaeology in Ancient Peru. Yale University Press, 2001.
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Morell, Virginia. "Empires Across the Andes." National Geographic (June 2002), 106-29.
Donnan, Christopher B. "Moche Burials Uncovered." National Geographic (March 2001), 58-73.
Howells, Robert Earle. "Discoveries Above the Clouds." National Geographic Adventure (May/June 2000), 32-6.
Reinhard, Johan. "New Inca Sacrifices Found in Peru's Andes." National Geographic (March 1999), Geographica.
Alva, Walter. "New Tomb of Royal Splendor." National Geographic (June 1990), 2-15.
Alva, Walter. "Discovering the New World's Richest Unlooted Tomb." National Geographic (October 1988), 510-48.
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