Peru

Feb. 15, 2001 -- A U.S.-led team ofarcheologists announced Thursday it had uncovered threetreasure-filled tombs of the ancient Moche culture in northernPeru, shedding new light on the civilization that vanished about700 years before the Inca people reached their peak.

The tombs were found in a 105-foot-high pyramid onthe Peruvian coast, south of a site known as Sipan where royaltombs were uncovered in the late 1980s.

“What makes these new tombs so special is that we have neverseen the quality and quantity of ceramics, textiles andmetalwork,” said lead archeologist Christopher Donnan of theUniversity of California in Los Angeles.

Graves of Desert Farmers

“I think these are very important tombs and are among therichest that have ever been found, second only to the royal tombsfound in the late 1980s at Sipan in Peru,” added Donnan in atelephone interview.

The tombs’ discovery is the result of a three-year excavationby Donnan and his team, who were supported by the NationalGeographic Society.

The Moche were farmers whose civilization flourished in thedesert plain between the Andes and the Pacific from A.D. 100 to800. They diverted rivers into a network of irrigation canals,growing corn, beans, chili peppers, potatoes and squash.

The Moche laid their noblest dead in huge monuments they builtwith sun-dried bricks. Gold, silver and copper objects decoratedwith scenes of hunting, fishing, combat, punishment, sexualencounters and elaborate ceremonies were buried along with them.

Less than 15 of the 350 Moche burials ever discoveredcontained gold or silver and Donnan said all three of the latesthad both with the second tomb containing large amounts.

The new site is known as Dos Cabezas (two heads) and is thefirst big settlement discovered from the Moche I period, theearliest in the Moche culture, Donnan said.

In addition to the ornate ceramics and other treasures, Donnansaid each of the three tombs contained the three tallest people hebelieved had been excavated in South America.

“They were up to 6 feet tall. The average Mochemale is between 4 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 6 inches tall and so they were way out of the range,” hesaid. “We were astonished at the height of these individuals,” headded.

Donnan, whose discovery is being made public for the firsttime in National Geographic Magazine’s March edition, said hebelieved all three men may have suffered from a disease similar toMarfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes thin, elongatedbones.

VIVID ARTISTIC RECORD

Although the Moche people had no writing system, they leftbehind a vivid artistic record on their beliefs in beautifullysculpted and painted ceramic vessels, colorful wall murals andtextiles.

“The quality of the ceramics and metalwork is astonishing,”Donnan said.

Donnan, who has been excavating the remains of the Mocheculture for 35 years, said more than 350 Moche burials had beenexcavated by archeologists in the past and none of them comparedwith the latest discovery.

Unlike other Moche burials discovered in the past, Donnan saidthey found a miniature tomb outside each burial chamber in thepyramid that mimicked the bigger tomb containing the remains.

“These miniature tombs each contained a copper figure that ismeant to represent the deceased in the big tomb. That figure islying on its back with its head toward the south, just as in thebig one,” he said.

Donnan said one of the three tombs was particularly ornate,suggesting that its occupant was a person of enormous power. Alarge copper bowl was placed upside down over the dead man’s faceand beneath it was a gold and copper funerary mask.

In addition, five gold objects were found in the man’s mouthand sculptures of clay, coper and gold lined his tomb. The ornatetomb also preserved 18 headdresses and a collection of the finestweapons of the day—war clubs, spears and gold-plated shields.

The dead nobleman was accompanied by a young woman’s body,possibly sacrificed to accompany him in the tomb, as well as thebody of a llama.

Donnan said all the treasures had been taken out of the tombsand were being stored in a museum in Peru. A selection of themwill be on display in a gallery in Florence, Italy, in May, hesaid.

He suspected there might be more tombs of the same caliber butsaid it would be hard to find them. The three tombs were locatedclose to the surface and he said it would be hard to dig deeper.