Violence, Environmental Crisis, and Human Sacrifice Among the Moche Culture

Abstract

Throughout the ancient world, there have been numerous occurrences of human sacrifice performed by ancient cultures that have been proven in the archaeological record. The scope of this research will focus on the Moche culture that dominated the majority of the North Coast of ancient Peru during the Early Intermediate Period (200-850 CE). Understanding the role of human sacrifice in Moche civilization is directly related to understanding human sacrifice as a whole. Human sacrifice was also seen in later, well-documented societies; however, this religious practice did not originate with either of these societies but has a larger cultural significance in the history of Peru. Through review of relevant literature, iconographic interpretation, ethnohistoric analogies, and archaeological and osteological analysis, this research reveals how the Moche elite and priests utilized human sacrifice to affirm and advance their religious and sociopolitical ideologies to maintain order over internal and neighboring rival polities.