Pampa Grande and the Mochica Culture

Izumi Shimada is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

In Shimada’s elegantly illustrated, well argued and documented book, he undertakes the task of exploring the complex causes for the transition registered between Moche-IV and Moche-V, and for the rise and fall of [the] last great Mochica civic experiment, Pampa Grande. But far more is offered, for Shimada embarked on a brilliant critical re-evaluation of what is known and still enigmatic about the long-lived Mochica cultural tradition in the Peruvian North Coast.... .Using a multidisciplinary approach Shimada weaves a richly patterned tapestry of Mochica prehistory. It is required reading for archaeologists interested in Latin America. (Antiquity) [Pampa Grande and the Mochica Culture] demonstrates what archaeologists can achieve in terms of reading cultural meaning from the material record. . . . Clear, thoughtful, detailed, and balanced, it is one of the finest treatments of a prehistoric culture that I have ever read. (Latin American Indian Literatures Journal)

• Preface1. The Mochica and Pampa Grande in Andean Prehistory2. Archaeology of the Mochica Culture: Growth and Characteristics 1. Early Scholarship2. Emergence of Peruvian and Peruvianist Scholarship and the Recognition of Pre-Inca Cultures3. Systematization and Modern Trends A. Establishment and Character of CollectionsB. Relative ChronologyC. Iconographic StudiesD. Defining Environmental and Architectural Settings: Settlement-Pattern and Related StudiesE. Other Modern Advances4. The Chan Chan–Moche Valley Project5. The Royal Ontario Museum Pampa Grande Project6. Retrospect and Prospect3. Mochica Land and Culture 1. The Central Andes2. Mochica Land in Central Andean Context A. The Diversity of Vertically Differentiated MicroenvironmentsB. Proximity to the Equator: Altitude-Latitude Interplay and Ramifications of Tropical Alpine ConditionsC. Proximity and Importance of the Pacific OceanD. Llama Breeding and Herding on the North CoastE. Unpredictable Forces and Dynamic Perception of the EnvironmentF. Creative Cultural Solutions to Environmental LimitationsG. Highland Rains and Coastal Water3. The North Coast: A Summary Characterization4. The Lambayeque Valley Complex, the Moche V Heartland4. Mochica Culture before Pampa Grande 1. North Coast Antecedents of the Mochica Culture A. CupisniqueB. SalinarC. Gallinazo2. Emergence of the Mochica Culture A. Emergence of the Mochica StyleB. Chronological and Geographical Origins of the Style and the Associated PolitiesC. The Problematics of the VicÚs-Mochica StyleD. Sociopolitical Conditions Surrounding the Emergence of the Mochica Style and Polities3. Developments during Moche III (ca. A.D. 378–450) A Territorial Expansion to the SouthB Northern Sector and the SipÁn EnigmaC. Summary4. Developments during Moche IV (ca. A.D. 450–550) A. The Southern SectorB. The Northern Sector5. Mochica Horizontality6. Mochica Verticality: Peer Polity Interaction? A. Mochica-Recuay InteractionB. Mochica-Cajamarca Interaction5. Mochica Organizational Features 1. Developments at the Capital of Moche2. Socioeconomic Features of the Mochica Culture A. Labor Organization and Corporate ProjectsB. Social Organization3. The Nature of Mochica Political Organization A. Defining the StateB. Case for the pre–Moche V StateC. Critical AssessmentD. Alternative View: Chiefdom-Level PolityE. Summary4. Mochica Urbanism before Pampa Grande5. Mochica Culture before Pampa Grande: A Summary Characterization6. The Establishment of Moche V Pampa Grande 1. Abandonment of the Southern Sector2. Abandonment of the Site of Moche3. Inland and Northward Settlement Shift4. Moche V Domain: A General Characterization5. Climatic Data A. Central CoastB. South CoastC. Quelccaya Ice Core DataD. Applicability of the Quelccaya Data to the North Coast6. The Moche IV–V Transformation as a Response to Severe Droughts: Archaeological Assessment A. Chronological ConsiderationB. The Selection of Pampa Grande and the Lambayeque ValleyC. Assessing Other Related Issues7. Assessing the “Wari Expansion” Hypothesis A. Relevant Evidence and ArgumentsB. Assessment of the Model8. Conclusion7. Urban Landscape at Pampa Grande: Architecture and Sociopolitical Significance 1. Defining the City2. Physiography of Pampa Grande3. Architectural Forms and Hierarchy4. Sector Characterizations5. Organizational Principles of Urban Architecture A. Symbolic Significance of Huaca FortalezaB. The Axis Mundi and Four-Tier Hierarchy of Huacas and CompoundsC. Regulation of MovementD. Height DifferentiationE. Adobe Brick Construction6. Emergence of the City and State: Factors and Processes A. The Traditional Ceremonial-Civic Center as the Organizational FrameworkB. Construction Techniques and History of Huaca FortalezaC. Organizational Implications of Huaca Fortaleza and Other Major Corporate Constructions7. The Composition and Permanence of the Pampa Grande Population A. Establishing Permanent Residency: Demographic Correlates of the Huaca Fortaleza Construction, Agrarian Reform and Social SurplusB. Social Organization of the Urban ResidentsC. Summary8. Urban Subsistence and Economy at Moche V Pampa Grande 1. Subsistence Items: Riches of the Land and Sea A. “Garbage” and the Nature of Organic Remains at Pampa GrandeB. Plant ResourcesC. Marine ResourcesD. Domesticated Animals2. Procurement and Distribution of Subsistence Items A. North Coast Llama Breeding and HerdingB. Agricultural ProduceC. Marine ProductsD. Differential Distribution of Subsistence Items3. Craft Goods and Production A. Characterization and Differential Distribution of Ceramic TypesB. Ceramic Production and WorkshopsC. Metal Objects and MetalworkingD. Weaving and TextilesE. Bone and Stone ArtifactsF. Spondylus and Other Shell Objects4. Redistributive Nature of the Moche V Urban Economy A. Centralized, Differentiated, Large-Scale StorageB. The Redistributive Economy in Operation: Chicha and Craft Production5. Organization of Craft Production: Summary9. Art and Religion 1. Moche V Art Style and Iconography A. Skewed Data Base and Basic FeaturesB. Characteristics of Moche V Ceramic ArtC. Thematic SequenceD. Moche V Murals at Pampa Grande2. Ritual and Mortuary Practices A. Spondylus Shells and Moche V RitualsB. Human Sacrifice and Trophy HeadsC. Moche V BurialsD. Changes in Mochica Burial Practices3. Understanding Moche V Art and Religion10. The Demise of Moche V Pampa Grande 1. Demise of the Moche V Polity and Mochica Abandonment of Pampa Grande A. Intentional, Synchronic, Selective Burning of Key StructuresB. Explaining the Collapse and Abandonment: General ConsiderationsC. Specific Causes of the Collapse and AbandonmentD. Assessing the Models of Specific Causes2. Disintegration of the Moche V Culture on the Northern North Coast11. Moche V Legacies and Conclusion 1. Legacies of the Mochica Culture and Pampa Grande A. Art and ReligionB. Territorial Expansion, Cultural Interaction, and Human-Environment InterplayC. Redistributive Economy and the StateD. Monumental Architecture and Attendant InstitutionsE. City and State FormationF. Mochica and ChimÚ Dynastic Continuity?NotesBibliographyIndex