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Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum - Third Floor

The visitor enters the museum via a long ramp, which resembles the ascent to the ancient Mochica pyramids, until reaching the third floor where the main door is located. Before entering there is a dark glass structure that prevents the entry of ultraviolet rays and prepares our eyes to then enter the dark environment of “the tombs”. A glass door half gold and half silver, symbol of the concept of duality in the Mochica culture.

On this third floor, the thematic unity of the Mochica culture is presented, which contextualizes archaeological discoveries such as territory, evolution, social organization, agriculture and cultivated plant products, metallurgy, its most important monuments as well as the general presentation of the sanctuary of Sipan.

A second theme is the spiritual world of the Mochicas, their gods and concepts of life, from conception to death, which marks the transition to eternity. A large panel illustrates the Mochica worldview with the sky, the world of the living and the world of the dead that provide an introduction to the discovery of the royal tombs.

Plan of the third floor of the museum.

Background and chronology

Location of Sipan in the valley of Lambayeque and current access

Origins and predecessors
Their remote origins were found in the first communities of primitive fishermen that occupied the seacoast 6000 years ago.


Location in time

Phases and social structure

Five stylistic phases
Ceramics are the best known legacy of the Mochicas. In the form of sculptural images (1) or brush decoratated vessels, (2) they represented men, divinities, animals or scenes of great perfection and realism.

  • The characteristics and forms of this art evolved in five stylistic phases (I,II, III, IV, V).

Social groups and stylistic phases
The Mochica society was organized under a hierarchical system where men belonged to defined social groups and carried out specific functions and tasks.

  1. The Lord
  2. Man of the village
  3. Woman
  4. Soldier
  5. Prisoner

Phases

  • I
  • II
  • III
  • IV
  • V

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV

Phase V

Prisoner

Soldier

Woman

Man of the village

The Lord

Agriculture

Agriculture
The Mochicas conquered the desert by diverting river water through artificial canals.

  • Their developed hydraulic engineering has not yet been surpassed .

Agricultural products
Remains of Mochica agricultural products.

  1. Corn
  2. Cucumber
  3. Calabash
  4. Pumpkin
  5. Coca leaf
  6. Avocado
  7. Eggfruit
  8. Molle
  9. Quinoa
  10. Beans
  11. Lima beans
  12. Yellow and Purple Corn
  13. Huaba or pacae
  14. Yams
  15. Yucca
  16. Wooden stick used to dig and breakup soil clods
  17. Copper farming tool used for planting

Corn

Cucumber

Pumpkin

Pumpkin (Zapallo)

  • Borrowed from Quechua sapallu.

Fishing

Representation of a vessel and marine fauna

Marine fauna

  1. Fish
  2. Seals were caught for their meat and skin
  3. Fisherman catching a manta ray with a fishhook
  4. Seabird
  5. Crayfish
  6. Stone weight for nets
  7. Calabash floater
  8. Copper fishhooks
  9. Representation of a boat and marine fauna
  10. Tuna
  11. Lobster
  12. Crayfish
  13. Ray
  14. Barracuda
  15. Catfish
  16. Octopus

Fish

Sea lion
Sea lions were hunted for their meat and skin.


Fisherman
Fisherman catching a stingray with a hook.


Seabird

Crab

Domestic animals

Domestic animals bred and used by the Mochicas

  1. Coastal Llama (as food and pack animal)
  2. Dog (pet)
  3. Domestic duc (food)

A. Coastal Llama (as food and pack animal)

B. Dog (pet)

C. Domestic duc (food)

Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna
The varied coastal flora and fauna of the time was faithfully represented by the ceramists.

  1. Monkey
  2. Plants and birds in a river environment
  3. Lizard
  4. Lynx
  5. Coastal fox

A. Monkey

B. Plants and birds in a river environment

C. Lizard

D. Lynx

E. Coastal fox

Metallurgy

Manufacture of gold ornaments
Mochica representation of the manufacture of gold ornaments.


Manufacture of gold ornaments
Mochica representation of manufacture ornaments of gold

  1. Mineralized copper rock
  2. Ornaments
  3. Weapons
  4. Tools
  5. Cast metal copper
  6. Stone tools for gold rolling
  7. Gilded copper
  8. Silver
  9. Gold nugget obtained from a river
  10. Gold ornaments (necklace pieces) representing owl heads, manufactured in rolled, embossed and welded metal

Gold nugget obtained from the river

Silver (left) and gold-plated copper (right)

Stone tools for gold rolling

Molten copper metal

Tool (left), weapon (center) and ornaments (right)

Copper mineralized rock

Architecture

Architecture
The Mochicas in Sipan and other Sanctuaries built colossal truncated pyramids and adobe platforms through organized communal work directed by specialists of the time.


Sipan 1700 years ago
Reconstruction of the Sanctuary of Sipan, made up of two truncated pyramids, 30 metres high, and 100 and 150 metres (328 and 492 ft) at their bases. They were built with millions of adobes over several generations.

  • On the front platform were the royal tombs, belonging to the most important men of their time.

Panorama of the scale model

Religion and Gods

Religion and Gods
The Mochica religion, based on dualism, conceived of main gods and demigods who ruled the world, life and the activities of men.

  • Gods of the Sky
    1. Ai-apaec
    2. Owl man
    3. Iguana man
  • Gods of the Earth
    1. Fox man
    2. Deer man
    3. Ai-apaec in mythical scene
    4. Spider man
  • Gods of the Sea
    1. Crab man
    2. Crab man
    3. Humanized octopus
    4. Demoniac fish
    5. Crab man
  1. Ai-Apaec God (The creator)
  2. Vampire God (The opposite, Lord of the darkness)
  3. Owl Man (God of the night and protector of priests)
  4. Iguana man (God of death)
  5. Eagle man (God of war)
  6. Frog man (Protector of warriors and hunters)
  7. Deer man (Relates to the cult of ancestors)
  8. Bat man (Protector of ceramists)
  9. Crab man (Deity of the rivers and riverbanks)
  10. Demoniacal fish (Deity of the sea)
  11. Humanized octopus (Deity of the depths of the sea)
  12. Spider man (Deity of Sorcery)

a. Ai-Apaec God
The creator.


b. Owl Man
God of the night and protector of priests.


c. Iguana man
God of death.


d. Fox man

  • God of cunning.

e. Deer man
Relates to the cult of ancestors.


j. Humanized octopus
Deity of the depths of the sea.


k. Demoniacal fish
Deity of the sea.


Ai-apaec in mythical scene and Spider man

  • Top: f. Ai-apaec in mythical scene
  • Bottom: g. Spider man (Deity of Sorcery)

f. Ai-apaec in mythical scene

l. Crab man
Deity of the rivers and riverbanks.


h.i. Crab man (Bottom)
Deity of the rivers and riverbanks.


Life and death

Life
The Moches or Mochicas loved and understood life, representing in their pottery the different stages of men from their conception, birth, childhood, youth, adulthood, old age and death.


Death
Death was not the end, men, upon entering the world of the dead, continued to exercise their same obligations or privileges, which is why they were buried with goods and provisions. Each Moche tomb reflects the social position and activity developed in life.


Breeding

Childbirth

Lactation

Childhood

Youthhood

Adulthood

Oldhood

Announcer of death

Announcer of death

Announcer of death

Type of Mochica tombs
Type of Mochica tombs known before the discoveries of Sipan.

  1. Simple tombs belonging to simple peasants.
  2. Popular tombs with frames.
  3. Tombs of a certain hierarchy prepared with adobe or stone. The body was placed in a cylindrical casing.
  4. Funeral chamber with niches for offerings and cane coffin.

Sipan tombs
Archeological research in Sipan have led to the Discovery of 16 tombs of various epochs and hierarchies of the Mochica nobility: The Lord of Sipan (1) The Priest (2) The Old Lord of Sipan (3) Dignitaries (4), (6) Warriors (5) Members of Royalty (7), (10), (12), (13) Military Chiefs (8), (9), (11) The looted tomb (TS), The Warriors Priest (14) and Tomb 16.

  • It was also verified that the funeral platform was built in several overlapping stages.
  • Study of these tombs has changed the existing knowledge of the Mochica Culture.

Golden rattle
The supreme deity represented in a gold ornament from Sipan.


Cosmovision
The Mochicas divided the universe into three instances:

  • Heaven (symbolized by the great celestial serpent) residence of stars, celestial bodies and gods).
  • The world of the living (where men celebrate ritual banquets and women weave).
  • The underworld (home of the dead and ancestors).

The gods lower the funeral bundle into a tomb

Going down to the second floor

See also

Source

Location

Location: Juan Pablo Vizcardo y Guzmán 895, Lambayeque 14013, Peru