Moche Foodways Archaeological Project
Graduate Research Projects
| Since 1997, the Moche Foodways Archaeological Project has facilitated graduate research projects in the Department of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. Directed by Dr. George Gumerman, seven graduate Masters degrees in anthropology have been awarded to students working on Moche Foodways projects. Graduate students from NAU have had the opportunity to coordinate their own research projects with Peruvian archaeologists working at El Brujo and other sites, as well as experience the incredible richness of well preserved archaeological remains on the North Coast. As work continues at El Brujo in the summer of 2000 and following years, more students including undergraduates, will have similar opportunities to do research projects, and become involved with public archaeology programs, interactive CD-ROM development, and other innovative projects. |
Beans: Prehistoric Indicators
of Social Relations
and Organization in the Moche
Valley, Peru.
by Gail Ryser
-3.JPG)
|
In prehistoric complex societies such as the Moche on the North Coast of Peru, social status and social control was partially defined by access to certain highly valued goods and specialized services, and the ability to control certain kinds of production. In the Andes, early state rulers controlled the agricultural economic base as well as symbols that had religious or supernatural significance. The Moche preference for lima and common beans was not restricted to their use as a staple food crop. Commoner populations in the Moche Valley appear to have consumed more common beans than elite managers and rulers. Also, symbols of Moche ideology are represented in icons of lima beans found on ceramic vessels. |
Broken Pots and Life in two
Rural Moche Villages:
Pottery Analysis, Interpretation,
and Comparisons
by Douglas Mehaffey
Doug
Mehaffey and Flor Diaz analyze ceramic artifacts from the Moche
Valley.
|
Ceramic artifacts collected and analyzed from household excavations at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, an Early Moche occupation, and Ciudad de Dios, a Late Moche occupation, aid in the reconstruction of North Coast culture history and Moche economic behavior in the Moche Valley, Peru. Focusing on the morphology of domestic and fine wares and inferring aspects of ceramic function in terms of Moche food preparation and storage, helps define elite an commoner domestic space, social ranking, and change within the Moche Period (A.D. 200-800). The aims of this research include a descriptive and functional analysis of pottery recovered from the two villages, determining the cultural affiliation of Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, and to discuss the level of social complexity as reflected in the ceramic assemblage. |
Residential Architecture
and Social Stratification:
A Comparison of two sites
in the Moche Valley, Peru
by Catherine Campbell
|
Architectural elements such as size, construction method, spatial distribution, and use of interior space help archaeologists to better understand prehistoric cultures. My research compares architectural elements recorded at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac and Ciudad de Dios in the Moche Valley, Peru. Examination of room size variability, construction technique, and building materials allows me to identify possible social stratification at either site. This research illustrates the important role domestic architecture can play in understanding prehistoric cultures. Also, analysis of Moche architecture contributes to our knowledge of Moche culture and how its members expressed themselves through the built environment. |
Cathy Campbell mapping
habitation structures at Ciudad de
Dios, Moche Valley.
Diet, Economic Specialization,
and Complex Society
on the North Coast of Peru
by Ian Hough
|
At the edge of a sample unit south of Las Tinajas, 1998 |
My research focuses on changes in wild and domestic plant food diet that resulted from the development of specialized subsistence economics. The development of economic specialization, or the exchange of specialized goods and services for staple and wealth items, should have led to an increase in the consumption of domesticated staple foods such as maize and beans, and a decrease in the consumption of wild herbaceous plant foods. Results from paleoethnobotanical analysis shows that between the Initial Period/Early Horizon (1800-200 B.C.) and the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1450), the inhabitants of El Brujo consumed greater amounts of maize, beans, and fleshy fruits. However, wild plant foods remained important in the diet and in household economic activities, even as domestic, agricultural foods dominated the staple diet. |
The Role of Faunal Subsistence
in the Development
of Complex Society on the
North Coast of Peru
by Kendall Campbell
Collecting samples for faunal analysis |
My research examines the relationship between the development of state society and broad changes in animal use and exploitation at El Brujo. I expect to find a greater dietary reliance on marine resources in the earlier pre-state, Cupisnique assemblage and a growing reliance on non-marine foods in the Moche and Chimu. Also, an overall decrease in faunal exploitation should occur through time, corresponding with greater exploitation of agricultural food crops. The expansion of political control over food production and distribution may have resulted in an increased reliance on agricultural and terrestrial faunal resources in later periods. Also, North Coast complex societies developed an increased reliance on agricultural foods, thus resulting in a general decrease in fauna resource production over time. |
Interactive Archaeology of Peru:Understanding Complex Societies
by Jennifer Burns
|
The main objective of this project is to produce a multimedia CD-ROM to supplement the curricula of undergraduate introductory anthropology and archaeology courses. The CD-ROM focuses on the process of the scientific research by documenting certain aspects of the Moche Culture of Peru which is being investigated by the Moche Foodways Archaeological Project. My CD-ROM software provides students the opportunity to analyze and interpret actual data from an archaeological site. Students will witness the process of archaeological research and participate in simulated field and laboratory work, while developing an understanding of the culture history of an ancient complex society. The CD-ROM is currently in production and contains engaging photos, video, text, and numerous interactive pages. |
Chiefdoms or State: Moche Storage Systems as Indicators of Social Organization
by Erik A. Whiteman
|
Cleaning a large tinaja at El Brujo in 1999 |
The river valleys of the desert North Coast of Peru supported the development of Moche and Chimu societies. Control over staple resources established the foundations for political development of Moche and Chimu elite classes. Exceptional preservation of artifacts and abundant architectural remains provided an excellent opportunity for me to study prehistoric resource management and levels of political centralization during the Moche Phase of Peruvian prehistory. In this thesis, I infer aspects of staple food storage and centralization by studying the development and changes in architectural storage structures through time. As societies become more complex, one can observe the evolution of state-controlled storage facilities to accommodate food surpluses necessary to support craft specialists and elite classes. This research studies the development of storage features through time to determine whether the Moche existed as a centralized polity or as a series of city-states sharing similar cultural traits. The preliminary portion of my research with the Moche Foodways Archaeological Project involved meticulously mapping the El Brujo Site Complex using a total station and developing a Geographic Information System (GIS). |
