Cao Museum, La Libertad, Peru

The Cao Museum is a Peruvian museum located in the district of Magdalena de Cao, in the province of Ascope, in the department of La Libertad.

The Cao Museum is part of the El Brujo archaeological complex and is made up of 7 rooms that cover a large part of Moche history.

Entrance to the museum

El Brujo Archeological Complex The site is situated above an extensive geological terrace, 6 meters above the surrounding agricultural area. Starting 5,000 years ago and continuing into the present, the land around the archeological complex has been systematically cultivated. The ancient peoples that inhabited this area inherited and modified the irrigation techniques of their ancestors, and toward the strat of the current era, more sophisticated irrigation systems gave rise to large-scale agricultural irrigation. As the principal component of the North Coast economy, agriculture favored and gave impulse to the development of ever more complex societies and systems of political power. The Moche (200-800 CE) extended their domain throughout the Chicama river valley and dominated the middle and lower sections of the rivers of the North Const all the way to where they met the sea. Using an extraordinary network of canals and aqueducts, the Moche began their true conquest and expansion over the desert.

1400 years of history room

In this room the focus falls on the processes of change and continuity manifested both in the ceramic technique and in the treatment of other materials. The objects are organized within a chronological framework of 14000 years, a period that corresponds to the history of cultural occupation in El Brujo.

Pyrographed gourd Preceramic (3000 - 2000 BCE). Replica of the pyrographed gourd discovered at Huaca Prieta.

Pyrographed gourd with a lima bean design Moche (200 - 800 CE).

Pyrographed gourd with lid and geometric designs Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE).

Pyrographed gourd showing stylized birds Chimu (1200 - 1470 CE).

Pyrographed gourd with fish motifs Chimu (1200 - 1470 CE).

Gourd with stylized incisions Colonial (1532 - 1750 CE).

Pyrographed gourd depicting procession of prisoners Arturo Carrera. Magdalena de Cao (2008).

Main ceramic shapes Top: Principle ceramic forms at El Brujo complex Jar Pot Bottle Face-neck jar Sculpted stirrup-spout bottle Ribbon-handle bottle Bottom: Stirrup spout shapes during the five Moche phases

Triangular incisions and owl Left: Triangular incisions. Cupusnique (800 - 500 BCE). Right: Sculpted depiction of an owl. Gallinazo (200 BCE - 200 CE).

Triangular incisions Cupusnique (800 - 500 BCE).

Sculpted depiction of an owl Gallinazo (200 BCE - 200 CE).

Owl and octupus Left: Sculpted depiction of an owl. Moche I (200 - 800 CE). Right: Depiction of an octopus with tentacles in relief. Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted depiction of an owl Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Depiction of an octopus with tentacles in relief Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Toad and llama Left: Sculpted depiction of a toad. Moche I (200 - 800 CE). Right: Sculpted depiction of a llama. Moche II (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted depiction of a toad Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted depiction of a llama Moche II (200 - 800 CE).

Shamanic scene and puma Left: Depiction of a shamanic scene. Moche IV (200 - 800 CE). Right: Sculpted depiction of a puma. Moche III (200 - 800 CE).

Depiction of a shamanic scene Moche IV (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted depiction of a puma Moche III (200 - 800 CE).

Geometric designs and figure Left: Geometric designs. Moche V (200 - 800 CE). Right: Depiction of a figure and Spondylus. Transitional (800 - 900 CE).

Geometric designs Moche V (200 - 800 CE).

Depiction of a figure and Spondylus Transitional (800 - 900 CE).

Geometric designs and fish Left: Geometric designs. Lambayeque V (900 - 1200 CE). Right: Sculpted depiction of a fish. Chimu (1200 - 1470 CE).

Geometric designs Lambayeque V (900 - 1200 CE).

Sculpted depiction of a fish Chimu (1200 - 1470 CE).

Grid design and cup Left: Grid design. Chimu-Inca (1470 - 1532 CE). Right: Ceremonial cup. Colonial (1532 - 1750 CE).

Grid design Chimu-Inca (1470 - 1532 CE).

Ceremonial cup Colonial (1532 - 1750 CE).

Jug and monkey Left: Sculpted jug. Cupusnique (800 - 500 BCE). Right: Sculpted representation of a monkey. Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted representation of a monkey Moche I (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted vessel depicting sea lion Moche IV (200 - 800 CE).

Sculpted figure Transitional (800 - 900 CE).

Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representation Transitional (800 - 900 CE).

Dual representation of Naylamp Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE).

Depiction of the god Naylamp Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE).

Zoomorphic and geometric incisions Chimu (1200 - 1470 CE).

Depiction of pelicans and fish Inca (1470 - 1532 CE).

Cosmos architecture room

This room presents the sacred space as it was built and perceived by the Moche inhabitants. The approach corresponds to the most important ceremonial structure of the Sorcerer, the Huaca Cao Viejo, and with it the ritual behaviors (i.e. burial of the temple and offerings) through which the space acquired a sacred value. In this room you will find objects that have been offered to the building and an infographic that shows the different construction phases of the ceremonial center, presenting complex technical and symbolic processes behind the construction of the truncated pyramids of the Moche.

The Temple's Offerings This room principally displays the offerings placed in the fill layer that covered the temples. They consist of ritual objects that must have ensured the “regeneration” of the sacred space. As can be seen, in this case the Moche concepts of death and regeneration were also applied to the architecture.

Wooden sculpture or “IDOL” Moche (200 - 400 CE). Wooden sculpture or “IDOL” with golden copper appliqués and attire. It was placed as an offering on the ramped platform near the Lady of Cao’s tomb.

“IDOL” Moche (200 - 400 CE). Placed as an offering under the adobe fill that covered the second temple at Huaca Cao Viejo.

"IDOL" Sculpture carved from lucuma tree trunk with representation of figure wearing tunic and loincloth. On the upper section, two crouching felines embody the mythical lunar animal.

Spear throwers Moche (200 - 400 CE). Spear throwers with depictions of a pelicans, a catfish, and the lunar animal. Carved from wood with shell and turquoise incrustations. Placed as offerings during the burial of the second temple.

Carved wooden eagle head Moche (200 - 400 CE). The cavity in the lower section suggests that it was placed on the tip of a pole as a standard. The residues of resin and feathers suggest that it had shell incrustations in the eyes and was covered in colorful plumage. This piece was also offered during the burial of the second temple.

The blood of the mountains room

Standing out against other ethnic groups in the Andean cultural area, the Moche openly and publicly celebrated the ceremonial blood. The stages that made up the ritual sequence of human sacrifice, also presented in this room, were carefully described and narrated by the Moche artists, who through the power of their images instructed and revealed to the masses the sacred code of a warrior discipline. Although we do not fully know what was the meaning or the nature of the armed encounter between the Moche, we know that the objective of these great meetings exceeded a political ambition of an expansive and military nature. Dense sacred substance, blood was the axis and main component of the political and religious ideology of the Moche. In the ritual imaginary, the captured warrior’s blood flowed down the mountain tops like a turbulent and mighty river, and charged by the power and vigor of the warrior, encouraged the rivers and fertilized the pampas. The ritual battles and the consequent ceremony of sacrifice spread and practiced in all valleys and centers of Moche power, demonstrating that blood, rather than a symbol of conflict, was the paradigmatic symbol of integration between men and their gods.

The Blood of the Mountains Unlike other ethnic groups in the Andean cultural area, the Moche celebrated the blood ceremony openly and publicly. The stages comprising the ritual sequence of armed encounters were carefully described and narrated by Moche artists, through their images, instructed the masses and revealed to them the sacred code of warrior discipline and the sacrificial rituals. On ceramics and modeled clay remain inscribed the rumors of war, the activities of an animated world used to secure power and resources over the bloodied dust of conflict and oppositions among men. The dense sacred substance, blood, constituted the axis and principal component of the political and religious ideology of the Moche. In ritual imagery, the blood of the captured warrior flowed down from the mountaintops like a turbulent and overflowing river and, charged with the power and vigor of the warrior, ran through the channels of the desert. Ritual combat and the consequent sacrificial ceremony spread and were practiced in all the valleys and centers of Moche power, demonstrating that blood, rather than a terrifying manifestation of crisis, was actually the highest symbol of regeneration and the communication between humans and their gods.

A mountain and the god Aia Apaec Moche (600 - 800 CE). Sculpted ceramic with representation of a mountain and an image of the god Aia Apaec, also known as the “Mountain sacrifice” theme.

Cup and dog Ceramic cup found in the tomb of a moche woman. Moche (600 - 800 CE). Because of its particular shape and size. This cup was possibly used within the context of the ceremony of ritual blood consumption. Ceramic with sculpted representation of a dog, also identified in the iconographic scene represented on the cup. Moche (400 - 600 CE).

Ceremonial sacrifice Ceramic depicting a sacrifice at a mountain peak. Moche (600 - 800 CE). This representation suggests sacrifices either took place at mountaintop or were symbolically related to the river sources. Tumi, or ceremonial knife. Moche (600 - 800 CE). Ceremonial comb depicting a sacrifice. Moche (600 - 800 CE). Depiction of fight between Aia Paec and crab deity. Moche (600 - 800 CE). Bone fragment (Femur) showing evidence of the wound inflicted on a prisoner during the sacrifice ceremony. This fragment was found embeded in the foot of an official sculpted upon Huaca Cao Viejo's main facade. The finding establishes a direct correlation between sacrifice as a ceremonial event described in art and the real manifestation of the individual participating in the event.

Sacrificial rope Ceramic depicting a figure with a rope around the neck, kneeling on a spherical platform. Moche (600 - 800 CE). Jar with sacrificial rope tied around the neck. Moche (200 - 400 CE). The jar can be interpreted as a metaphor for the prisoner’s body both are containers of blood and sacred liquids. Sacrificial rope made from junco reed. Moche (200 - 400 CE). This type of rope is found in the tombs of sacrificed individuals.

Weapons Wooden clubs originally covered with a metal finish and probably broken during combat. Moche (200 - 400 CE). Clubs were used not only as weapons, but also as a symbol of power among religious leaders. Ceramic depicting weapons bundle. Moche (600 - 800 CE). The weapons bundle motif was frequently singled out and synthesized by the Moche, which suggests that the appropriation of the warrior’s attire could have been a symbol of victory in battle.

Warriors Moche warrior with conic helmet, sitting on stepped platform. Moche (200 - 800 CE). Moche officiant or warrior with turban and moustache. Moche (200 - 800 CE). Warrior with headdress and club. Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE). Lambayeque officiant or warrior. Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE). Later societies, such as the Lambayeque, inherited ideological concepts from the Moche and expressed common political and religious values in their own times.

Rituals of death room

In this room the expressions associated with the funeral practices of the Moche are presented. The funerary context of the two main tombs of the Huaca Cao Viejo is exhibited and the relationship between funerary techniques and Moche concepts on the “Beyond” is emphasized. Because the ritual experience is displayed through performative acts, impossible to register through archaeological work, the museography emphasizes the dynamic character of the funeral ceremonies incorporating musical sounds that are reconstructed through the archaeo-musicological analysis. In this room also refers to the production, consumption and exchange of sacred liquids through the exhibition of an important funerary set of ceramics in the form of containers, showing that the currents and flows were part of a mythical circulation system, in which metaphorically participated the blood of the sacrificed, the water of the rivers and the chicha de jora. It is shown that to this day the ritual control of fluids and flows is in charge of women.

Rituals of Death Within the heart of the pyramids, the tombs didn’t constitute stagnant or final places, but rather sacred passageways through which the dead passed on their way to the world of the Ancestors. In the Moche symbolic system, the natural process of death was conceived of as a condition for rebirth and regeneration. Death was represented as a messenger of life and fertility, and even after the conclusion of the burial ceremonies, the living sought to penetrate the spheres of the dead. The evidence at Huaca Cao Viejo suggests that during certain funerary rituals, the Moche damaged the pyramidal structures and reopened tombs to interact with their ancestors. Through song and offerings, the living beings revitalized and reinvigorated death, which endowed the earth and the world of the living with life and fertility.

Bone flutes Lambayeque (900 - 1200 CE). In the first stage of the metaphysical journey of the dead, men and women of high rank were raised up with the aid of funerary music and its transformative power. The bone instruments, beyond producing very particular musical scales, symbolized the process of transfiguration of the materiality of death into a source of sound and rhythm.

Reused Tomb In 1998, archaeologists of the El Brujo Archaeological Program made a discovery that uncovered a complex funerary technique, mysterious to us, but probably common among the Moche. The findings indicate that approximately one hundred years after having buried an adult woman of high rank in Huaca Cao Viejo, the Moche ceremonially reopened the tomb and removed the main body from its original resting place. In its stead, they buried an approximately sixty-year-old woman. The offerings, correspanding to the Middle Moche period, were reused and intermingled with the new ones. The tomb was altered and readjusted to the symbolic needs of the newly deceased.

Companion's Tomb Very close to the Lady of Cao's tomb, the grave pits of three companions were found. One of the burials corresponded to an approximately 20- or 30-year-old male. The principle elements found with the individual, offerings corresponding to the Early Moche period, allow him to be identified as a priest associated with the rituals of water and the rainbow. He was probably an important member of the court of the Moche ruler. Ceremonial attire made from leather, with details and ornaments in golden copper and shell incrustations. Some parts of the garment were covered in feathers. Ceramic depicting a figure holding lime container and chewing coca leaves. Crest of feathers from marsh foul or cranes. Ceramic depicting ray fish. Gallinazo-style ceramic depicting dignitary praying within a ceremonial chamber.

See also

• Huaca Cao Viejo
• Big Ben Huanchaco Restaurant
• Marcahuamachuco

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Sources

• Museo Cao - Wikipedia
• Cao Museum - Complejo Arqueológico El Brujo

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Location