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Huaca de la Luna, La Libertad, Peru

Huaca de la Luna ("Temple or Shrine of the Moon") is a large adobe brick structure built mainly by the Moche people of northern Peru.

Along with the Huaca del Sol, the Huaca de la Luna is part of Huacas de Moche, which is the remains of an ancient Moche capital city called Cerro Blanco, by the volcanic peak of the same name.

Approaching the Huaca de la Luna accompanied by a running dog
The Huacas de Moche site is located 4 km outside the modern city of Trujillo, near the mouth of the Moche River valley.


The ancient city of Huacas de Moche
The Moche civilization (alternatively, the Moche culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto-Chimú) flourished in northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru from about 100 to 700 CE during the Regional Development Epoch.

  • Moche society was agriculturally based, with a significant level of investment in the construction of a sophisticated network of irrigation canals for the diversion of river water to supply their crops.
  • Their artifacts express their lives, with detailed scenes of hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice, sexual encounters, and elaborate ceremonies.
  • The Moche are particularly noted for their elaborately painted ceramics, gold work, monumental constructions (huacas), and irrigation systems.

Agricultural engineering
Researchers of the Moche culture agree that the emergence of the Moche culture is related to the intensification of the production of corn, cotton, beans and squash, among other agricultural products, which allowed the development of a regional Moche political economy in the Valley of Moche from the north coast of Peru during the Early Intermediate Period (400 BCE – 600 CE).

  • The northern region of Peru is one of the most arid areas in the world, where there is no rain throughout the year. That factor, far from discouraging the establishment of communities, was the trigger for the construction of an outstanding culture that developed engineering works that interconnected various river valleys, with the aim of irrigating desert territories.
  • Many of the Moche agricultural systems are still in operation, such as the Ascope aqueduct, the La Cumbre Canal, in Chicama, or the San Jose dam, which continue to provide water, coming from the Andean region and groundwater, guaranteeing several harvests per year.
  • Access to new farmland, gained from the desert, was the starting point of a civilization that, based on abundant harvests, became socially stratified. All this allowed certain members of the community to no longer dedicate themselves exclusively to food production, and a process of specialization began that led to the development of the Moche civilization.

Huaca de la Luna Plan
Plan Legend:

  1. Entrance
  2. Mural painting
  3. Urban center
  4. Patio of the Serpents
  5. Patio of the Ocelots and the Sea Deamon
  6. Great Patio
  7. Corner enclosure and the Mural of the Myths
  8. Sacrificial Enclosures
  9. Rooms Behind the Great Altar
  10. Great Altar
  11. Atrium
  12. Patio of the Rhombuses
  13. Sacrifice Area of 600 CE

Panorama of the entrance (Plan No. 1)
A view of the Huaca de la Luna, with Cerro Blanco on the right side.


Welcome mural painting (Plan No. 2)

Moche urban center (Plan No. 3)
Moche history may be broadly divided into three periods: the emergence of the Moche culture in Early Moche (100–300 CE), the expansion and flourishing during Middle Moche (300–600 CE), and the urban nucleation and subsequent collapse in Late Moche (500–750 CE).


Panorama of Huaca de la Luna from northwest
The Huaca de la Luna is a large complex of three main platforms, each one serving a different function.

  • The northernmost platform, at one time brightly decorated with a variety of murals and reliefs, was destroyed by looters.
  • The central platform has yielded multiple high-status burials interred with a variety of fine ceramics, suggesting that it was used as a burial ground for the Moche religious elite. The grave goods found at the Huaca del Sol suggest it may have been used for the interment of political rulers.
  • The eastern platform, black rock, and adjacent patios were the sites of human sacrifice rituals.

Patio of the Serpents (Plan No. 4)

The Patio of the Serpents

The Fight of the Deities

  • Mountain God (Aiapaec) - He wears a shirt decorated with a wave, and one of his lower limbs ends with a representation of a serpent. He holds a knife in one hand, and with the other he grabs his opponent's hair.
  • Sea Demon - He wears a shirt decorated with vertical bands, and holds a knife in one of his hands. He lies defending himself from the attack of Aiapaec, whom he tries to push away from his hair with his other hand.

Panorama of Huaca de la Luna from northwest

The Patio of the Ocelots and the Sea Deamon (Plan No. 5)

The Patio of the Ocelots and the Sea Deamon
Recreation of the Patio of the Sea Deamon (bottom). The decoration of this patio went through three phases that can be seen on the right side of the photo.

  • Previous building: First fase and Second fase.
  • Last building.

Panorama of the Previous building, Second fase
Notice the diagonals running down from right to left.


Last building
Notice the diagonals running down from left to right.


The Enclosure and Altar of the Sea Deamon

  • Top right: Mural in the older facade of the Old Temple.
  • Bottom right: Mural in the latest facade of the Old Temple.

Enclosure and Altar of the Sea Deamon
The Altar of the Sea Deamon is in the center of the photo. The Enclosure is on the left side of the photo, behind the altar.


Panorama of the Enclosure and Altar of the Sea Deamon
The Enclosure and the Altar of the Sea Deamon are on the left side of the panorama.


The Two Superimposed Murals

  • Top: First Fase.
  • Bottom: Second Fase (ocelots).

First fase mural

Panorama of Priests holding each othe hands, as if dancing
Wall opposite the Enclosure and Altar of the Sea Deamon.


Old Temple

The Great Patio and the North Facade of the Old Temple
The Ceremony of the Sacrifice:

  • The Combat begins
  • The goal is no to kill the opponent…
  • …but to catch him
  • The defeated warriors are guided into the temple to be sacrificed.

Panorama of the Great Patio (Plan No. 6)

Panorama of the North Facade (Plan No. 7)

North Facade: Lower Terrace Murals

  • 1. Procession of victorious and vanquished warriors.
  • 2. Priests holding each othe hands, as if dancing.

Panorama of the Lower Terrace Murals
Notice the procession of victorious and defeated warriors in the bottom row, and the priests joining hands in the top row.


Lower Terrace Mural Details

North Facade: Mid-level Terrace Murals

  • 3. Two spiders with a shared abdomen.
  • 4. The Fisher God, also known as The Sea Twin.
  • 5. A mythical hybrid being: half-feline, half-reptile.

North Facade: Upper Terrace Murals

  • 6a. Procession of warriors.
  • 6b. A cañan lizard.
  • 6c. Serpent.
  • 6d. God of the Mountains.
  • 7. Full-body, frontal depiction of the God of the Mountains

Superimposition of the Old Temple Facades

Detail of the North Facade
Note the spiders in the bottom row, the Fisher God in the middle row, and the mythical hybrid being in the top row.


Corner enclosure and the Mural of the Myths (Plan No. 7)
The Wall of Myths is on the wall of the Corner enclosure.


The Mural of the Myths

Going up the ramp to the upper floor

Cerro Blanco seen from the upper floor

Panorama from the upper floor
In the center of the panorama is the Great Patio of the Old Temple.


The Sacrificial Enclosures
One of these enclosures was decorated with painted reliefs depicting a feline attacking a woman.


Panorama of the Sacrificial Enclosures (Plan No. 8)

Going up to the Great Altar

Rooms Behind the Great Altar
People representing de Moche gods in sacrificial ceremonies probably appeared from these rooms.


Panorama of the Rooms Behind the Great Altar (Plan No. 9)

The Great Altar

Architectural and Pictorial Changes of the Great Altar

  • Left: First phase.
  • Center: Second phase.
  • Right: Third phase.

Panorama of the Great Altar (Plan Np. 10)
The Great Altar is on the left side of the panorama.


Wall next to the Great Altar

Steps of the Great Altar

Panorama of the upper floor seen from the Great Altar

The City of Huacas de Moche
Plan of the city.


Panorama of the view to the northwest
In the center of the panorama is the Huaca del Sol.


Panorama of the Atrium (Plan No. 11)

Going down to the Patio of the Rhombuses

The Discovery of Reliefs on the Patio of the Rhombuses

The Patio of the Rhombuses

Location of the Patio of the Rhombi in the Temple

Panorama of the Patio of the Rhombuses (Plan No. 12)

The Ceremonial Enclosure of the Previous Patio
Caption:

  • In the lower right corner of the yellow area: Previous patio of rhombi and Previous ceremonial enclosure.
  • In the lower right corner of the white area: Later ceremonial enclosure

Ceremonial Enclosure of the Previous Patio

The Ceremonial Enclosure

  • Top: Catfish.
  • Bottom: Osprey.

The Ceremonial Enclosure

The Murals of the Superimposed Patios
Superimposition of the last three buildings, in the area that corresponds to the Patio of the Rhombi, and variations over time of the image of the God of the Mountains.


Panorama of the Murals of the Superimposed Patios

The image of the God of the Mountains

The Tomb of the Priest

The Tomb of the Priest

The Sacrifice Area of 600 CE

Penorama of the Sacrifice Area of 600 CE (Plan No. 13)

Sacrifice Area of 600 CE and Cerro Blanco
Notice that the Sacrifice Area is in front of Cerro Blanco.


Aiapaec, the God of the Mountain.
Aiapæc (often written Ai Apaec, from Colonial Mochica aiapæc ′maker, God the Father′), Wrinkled Face, the snake-belted figure, or the god of the mountains, is a mythical character identified in Moche iconography, and possibly the main Moche deity.

  • The most common representation of Aiapæc is the one seen in the murals of the Temples of the Sun and the Moon, which present an anthropomorphic face with feline fangs surrounded by ocean waves.
  • Aiapæc was represented in several ways, depending on the period, place and medium used. In metallurgy, for example, Aiapæc is often seen as a spider with eight legs and an anthropomorphic face with jaguar fangs. In ceramics, the divinity is often more anthropomorphic, usually with his head in his hands and sometimes with two snakes sprouting from his head. In sculpture, he is shown with a staff.
  • It is said that during human sacrifices, prisoners were decapitated and their heads given to Aiapæc.
  • See more at Aiapæc - Wikipedia.

See also

Source

Location

Location: V285+3W2, Carr. Campiña de Moche, Moche 13600, Peru