Economics and Trade

The Moche traded textiles as well as lapis lazuli and shell objects from long distances. They also traded their own pottery and other craft work. Evidence shows that they traded with settlements that were in the region of Ecuador and Chile.

Social Structure

Priests and warriors and other important people were members of the upper class and lived near the large ceremonial pyramids and other temple. Middle class were mostly of artisans that surround the upper class. The lower class was mostly farmers, fisherman, servants, slaves, and beggars.

Government and Leadership

Moche government is only made up of upper class men is society. There are warrior priests and lords and they have the right to the throne. Warrior priest usually do warfare and rituals as a form of government. The lords live separately for their subjects in high places on top of pyramids. They went to war mostly over resources.

Writing & Language

The Moche territory was divided by two separate languages in the north and in the south: Musiec and Quingan. Although, there was a common language spoken throughout the Moche civilization known as Mochica. For writing, the Moche did not have any written record but they did have a technique called the quipu recording system which consisted of knots along a rope but it has not been deciphered yet.

Religion

The Gods

Religion play an important role in Moche society, as Moche people prayed to the gods to receive good fortune. Their religion was polytheistic, with Si as the supreme deity; a moon god that controlled the seasons, storms, agriculture and the Moche's daily life. Si was considered even more powerful than the sun because it could see in the night and day. Al Paec was the most fierce deity in the Moche civilization. He was also known as the sky god, the creator, or the Decapitator. He was half jaguar, half man and was often shown with a sacrificial knife in one hand and a severed head in the other. Murals depicting the Decapitator mirror archeological finds of human victims with their heads severed, and limbs ripped out of their sockets. This shows evidence of a ritual sacrifice to Al Paec to appease him. Many of the sacrifices were either war prisoners or Moche citizens from the lower class.

Ritual Sacrifice

Not only did the Moche society sacrifice to the Decapitator, they sacrificed to other gods in order to get enough crops, rain or sun. The Moche society believed that when conditions were poor, the gods were punishing them because they did not worship enough. Thus, human sacrifices would get worse when the weather was bad or the crops were infertile. Fights between two members of Moche society were held to determine who would be sacrificed to the gods. The priests would then drink the blood of the sacrificed to gain the strength of the deceased. After drinking the blood, the priests would perform a cannibalism ritual on some of the victims, where they would eat certain parts of the sacrificed such as the arms or legs. The Moche civilization heavily depended on these rituals and it may have led them to their downfall in 800 A.D.

Art and Architecture

Many fine examples of Moche art have been recovered from tombs at Moche cities: Sipán (c. 300 CE), San José de Moro (c. 550 CE), and Huaca Cao Viejo. The Moche were mainly potters and metalworkers, and they made gold headdresses, chest plates, gold, silver, turquoise jewelry, textiles, tumi knives, copper bowls and drinking vessels. Pottery shapes and decorations did evolve over time and became more and more elaborate, although conversely, themes became less various in later Moche pottery and art. Popular subjects in Moche art include humans, anthropomorphic figures (especially fanged felines), and animals. Art was also used for religious ceremonies.