Huaca Colorada ("Red Temple") is a late Moche temple (~600-800 AD), located in the arid coastal region of Peru. Like other temples built by what archaeologists have called the Moche culture, Huaca Colorada contains architecture and murals and artifacts that provide evidence of the practice of the Moche Sacrifice Ceremony, a fairly gruesome theatrical performance that was put on on a regular, perhaps seasonal basis.
Fineline Drawing of Moche Sacrifice Ceremony, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich. Drawing by Donna McClelland
What makes Huaca Colorada especially interesting is that excavator Edward Swenson has discovered evidence that copper artifacts used in the ceremony were manufactured at the site, possibly at the time of the ceremony. In a new as-yet-unpublished article in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Swenson reports that copper specialists came and lived at the huaca for part of the year, processing the raw copper ore, smelting the metal, and producing a series of small copper artifacts for use in the ceremonies.
Swenson ER, and Warner JP. In press. Crucibles of power: Forging copper and forging subjects at the Moche Ceremonial Center of Huaca Colorada, Peru. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology(0).
Comments