Swenson 2007 Adaptive strategies or ideological innovations?

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copyAdaptive strategies or ideological innovations?Interpreting sociopolitical developments in the

Jequetepeque Valley of Peru during the Late Moche Period

Edward Swenson *

Department of Anthropology, University of Lethbridge, 4401, University Drive, Lethbridge, Alta., Canada T1K 3M4

Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA

Received 13 July 2005; revision received 9 November 2006Available online 2 January 2007

Abstract

Environmental perturbations and social unrest are thought to have led to the reconstitution of traditional belief systemsand hierarchical political relations on Perus North Coast during the Late Moche Period (550800 AD). Ideological trans-formations are thus commonly interpreted as adaptive or reactive responses to social, political, and ecological disruptions.Nevertheless, religious practices directly shaped the formation of alternative power structures and ecological systems on

the North Coast during the Late Moche Period. This is especially evident in Late Moche Jequetepeque, which witnessedthe proliferation of non-elite ceremonial sites and small-scale agricultural facilities throughout the rural hinterland of thevalley. Moche-inspired ritual performances orchestrated in the countryside created distinctive new forms of political orderwhich structured economic activities and ecological behavior. In this article, the Jequetepeque case study is mobilized toreassess normative interpretations of the role of religious ideology in cultural adaptation and sociopolitical realignment. 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Andes; Moche; Adaptation; Ritual; Politics; Ideology; Environmental stress; Agriculture; Architecture; Fertility

Introduction

Adaptation to diverse environments has constitut-ed a longstanding and fruitful subject of anthropolog-ical inquiry, especially as relates to the sociopoliticalramifications of cumulative adaptive strategies.Cultural ecological and evolutionary archaeologists,inspired by the work of Julian Steward, Leslie White,and Marvin Harris, among others, hold adaptation

to be the most important construct to explain social

process (Binford, 1962, 1965, 1968; Carneiro, 1970;Flannery, 1968, 1972; Rappaport, 1967, 1971; Wilson,1992, 1999). Theoretical formulations of this kindprivilege economic pressures, technological innova-tion, and ecological constraints in interpreting thedevelopment of particular social arrangements.Analysis is commonly grounded in understandinghow societies were effectively organized to meetecological challenges, maximize energy flows, andmaintain optimal operation as organic wholes withinparticular ecosystems.

0278-4165/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2006.11.001

* Fax: +1 403 329 5109.E-mail address:[email protected]

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26 (2007) 253282

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During the last three decades, however, archae-ologists have strongly criticized the underlyingfunctionalism of such paradigms (though suchNew Archaeology viewpoints continue to thrive

in the discipline). Recent emphasis on the politi-cal, symbolic, and ideological dimensions ofhuman behavior prioritizes notions of power indeciphering prehistoric social organization, aconcept which has supplanted adaptation as theprincipal semantic signifier of agent-mediated his-torical change (Brumfiel, 1992; McGuire, 1992;Miller and Tilley, 1984; Miller et al., 1989; Payn-ter and McGuire, 1991; Wylie, 1992). Theseperspectives rightly critique functionalist interpre-tations that social transformation derives exclu-sively from long-term economic adjustments or

from adaptive (maladaptive) responses to demo-graphic pressures and environmental perturba-tions. Archaeological research foregroundingpolitical interaction recognizes that intensifiedpower asymmetries were not simply the inevitableoutcome of material conditions or ecologicaladaptation (Blanton, 1998). Moreover, such inter-pretive frameworks situate social inequalities intheir proper historical context so as to betterunderstand their impact on the development ofparticular cultural institutions.

Nevertheless, power employed as a catch-allsignifier of human action often has been simplisti-cally conflated with other theoretical constructs,including practice and even adaptation itself. Infact, Sahlins (1993, pp. 7374, 2004, pp. 145147)charges that the recent anthropological obsessionwith power represents nothing more than a reconsti-tuted functionalism. His indictment is not entirelyunfounded given the implicit theoretical ontologyof many power-oriented archaeologists thathuman actors strive to maximizetheir wealth, influ-

ence, and social statusactions (subsumed underthe rubric of power) which universally determinehistory regardless of cultural differences (see alsoGraeber, 2001, pp. 2730). That is, a formalist eco-nomic subtext, implying a universal human-naturebased on the will to power and maximization ofself-interest, often unwittingly informs variedtheoretical orientations on the organization andtransformation of society. Terms including negoti-ation, agency, and even resistance havereplaced adaptation (a form of power often under-stood as effective ecological intervention) in word

and context but often not in substantive theoreticalmeaning.

Indeed, parallels between cultural ecological andMarxian inspired perspectives are particularly evi-dent in their often similar treatment of religion asa super-structural belief system that arisesa posteri-

orito redress environmental disruptions or politicalstruggles in specific societies. In considering his def-inition of ideology, Hobsbawn (1982) even labelsMarx the first structural-functionalist (see Mor-ris, 1987,p. 40). Although this view is questionable(Marxs emphasis on conflict, dialectical processes,and historical materialism obviously place him farfrom Durkheimian thought), the Marxian notionthat ideology functioned to maintain social cohe-sion while legitimating the interests of the dominantclass demonstrates interesting theoretical common-alities with functionalist postulates. The prevalence

of this view continues despite the increasingly com-mon perception among archaeologists that religiousideology represents more than a reflexive by-prod-uct of economic, political, or ecological forces(Brumfiel, 1992; Conrad and Demarest, 1984; Dem-arest and Conrad, 1992; Joyce et al., 2001; Millerand Tilley, 1984; McGuire, 1992; Moore, 1996a).

The Late Moche Period (550800 AD) on theNorth Coast of Peru offers an ideal case study toexamine the complex interrelationship of environ-mental, political, and religious factors which drove

the remarkable transformations defining the era.Ecological disruptions are thought to have led tothe demise of the urbanized Moche state systembased at Cerro Blanco (Huaca del Sol and Huacade la Luna) at the end of the Middle Moche Period(Moche IV300550 AD) and to the dramaticreconstitution of Moche religious and political cul-ture at the onset of the Late Moche Period (MocheV550800 AD). Mobilizing data from the Jeque-tepeque Valley, I argue that ideological innovationsin the region cannot be interpreted simply as adap-

tive responses that legitimized a priori ecologicalchange or politico-economic developments. Instead,religious practices directly shaped the formation ofalternative power structures on the North Coastduring the early Middle Horizon (ca. 600 AD). LateMoche Jequetepeque witnessed the proliferation ofnon-elite ceremonial sites that structured distinctivenew forms of political order which deviated fromthe centralized polities of neighboring valleys. Infact, a one-to-one correlation linking primary envi-ronmental events with singular forms of politicalrestructuring on the North Coast is not supported

by the Jequetepeque data. While partly influencedby pan-regional ecological and social change, inno-

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vative ritual practices in Jequetepeque were integralto the political reorganization of the valley duringthe Middle Horizon. These ideological strategiessubsequently shaped valley-specific ecological

adjustments and agricultural reclamation projectsin Late Moche Jequetepeque. Although ananalytical distinction should be maintained betweenecological adaptation and political power, theJequetepeque data reveal that their complex inter-connections are often irreducible to a clear-cutcause and effect relationship.

Ritual, ideology, and sociopolitical transformation

A discussion of rituals fundamental relationshipto ideology and social change is warranted in lightof my thesis that ritual practices structured politicalreconstitution and ecological intervention in LateMoche Jequetepeque. The popular argument incontemporary anthropology that ritual perfor-mance is instrumental to the negotiation of powerrelations and the ideological production of imag-ined communities shares obvious affinities withDurkheimian theory (Anderson, 1991 Bell, 1992,1997; Morris, 1987). Indeed, few would deny thatcommon ritual observances often define the bound-aries of polities (Kertzer, 1988, pp. 19, 38; Weber,

1965). Durkheims functionalism is rightly criticizedfor its exclusive emphasis on the integrative capaci-ties of ritual and for the implication that religioncelebrated (sacralized) and reproduced social struc-ture. Although in certain instances it effectivelyfunctions to foster solidarity, ritual serves equallyas a powerful medium of division, differentiation,and contestation (Kertzer, 1988,p. 75; Leach,1954). The principal flaw of Durkheims approachand later structural-functionalism in general wasneglecting the essential ideological functions of reli-

gion and its critical role in mediating political andeconomic power (Morris, 1987, p. 139). Neverthe-less, his underlying assumption that identity is oftenconcretized through ritual spectacle is for the mostpart valid, highlighting the inherent ideologicalproperties of religious experience in cementing (orcontesting) social affiliations and shaping politicalconsciousness (Bell, 1992; Comaroff, 1985).

Of course, one might object that an examinationof power relations (identity politics) through ananalysis of ritual practice reintroduces a new func-tionalism subservient to questions of ideological

control and political machinations (Sahlins,1993see introduction above). Such an approach

might even seem reminiscent of Durkheims theoret-ical rendering of religion as a handmaiden to socialstructure and community identification. In otherwords, ritual practice is examined not in its own

right (or in its proper cultural setting), but to uncov-er the political motivations and ideological aspira-tions of various actors. This is a serious caveat,and I do not intend to imply that the diverseexperience of ritual is reducible simply to politicalagency. Nevertheless, religious ceremony encom-passes implicit political dispositions and is a primeengine of ideological production (Dietler, 1999;Kertzer, 1988, p. 141). Ritual is complicit in the con-struction of normative socio-cosmic orders and isthus intimately connected to the creation of politicalsubjects and the delineation of differentiated socio-

political communities (Bloch, 1989; Cohen, 1981;Comaroff and Comaroff, 1991; Sahlins, 1985; Swen-son, 2003). In fact, rituals inextricable relationshipto power is in large part a consequence of itsfunction as an efficacious act; it is fundamentallyconceived to empower participants in transfor-mative rites that provide access to divineinfluencethe ultimate measure of difference andsource of authority (Bloch, 1989; Rappaport,1999, pp. 46, 50; Renfrew, 1994, pp. 4849; Swen-son, 2003; Valeri, 1985).

Therefore, in this article, I treat religious practic-es and ideological strategies as interchangeable forthe purpose of emphasizing rituals direct role inconstructing political subjects, a process constitut-ing the ideological in its most elementary form(Eagleton, 1991; Smith, 2001). Ritual materializesand codifies ideology, which in turn structures thefield of political negotiation and contestation(Comaroff and Comaroff, 1991). Ideology, definedhere as material and symbolic practices implicatedin the creation of political subjectivity (subsuming

worldview, assertive social positioning, consciousnegotiation of economic dependencies, etc.), is com-monly crystallized through ritual performance andobservances. Indeed, both ideology and ritual havebeen recognized as indexical practices that areinstrumental in defining social positionality andthus by extension political attitudes and motivations(Comaroff, 1985; Silverstein, 1998; Valeri, 1985).

Traditionally, ritual has been interpreted as ide-ology in terms of negative sanctions. In the norma-tive Marxist framing of the problem, religion is acritical element of the ideological armature of false

consciousness, promoting the status quo, mystifyinginequalities, and sanctifying tradition (and thus

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reaction) (Bloch, 1989). However, as anthropolo-gists have recently demonstrated, it is precisely theinherent power in the believed sanctity, timelessness,and supernatural qualities of religious experience

that renders ritual a formidable vehicle of bothdomination and subversion (Bradley, 1991; Kellyand Kaplan, 1990, p. 140).Hobsbawn (1983)claimsthat ritual is complicit in the invention of tradi-tion, by which novel and possibly subversive socialpractices are invested with legitimacy through theireffective ritualization and hence traditionalization.Indeed, such processes relate to the propagation ofhinterland ceremonial practices in the JequetepequeValley, wherein Moche religious traditions weredivested from the exclusive realm of elite practitio-ners by rural communities (see below). Manipula-

tion of rite (often novel but deemed to be a returnto pure and timeless practice) asserts identity, artic-ulates political agendas, and generally acts to signifyand empower in broader processes of sociopoliticalchange (Smith, 1982).

In fact, the political dimensions of ritual and itsrole in social process have been the focus of consid-erable analysis in recent anthropology (Bloch, 1989,1992; Comaroff and Comaroff, 1993; Kelly andKaplan, 1990). For instance, it has been long recog-nized that ritual dramaturgy acts more than an

instrument of indoctrination (intoxication). Theintense multi-sensory experience ritualism entailsenhances social consciousness, promotes revelatorystates, and induces fervent emotional reactionsphenomena that encourage critical scrutiny andalteration of normative cultural practices (Bateson,1986; Bakhtin, 1984; Dirks, 1994; Turner, 1967,1982; Smith, 1987). Ethnographic and historicalresearch further demonstrates that ritual practicedirectly impacts historical process and reconfigurescomplex social relationships.Turners (1967)ethno-

graphic work demonstrates that ritual is fluid, crea-tive, and even liberating, while Bourdieu (1977)envisions religious ceremony as a tool for culturalinnovation and social transgression. In a similarmanner, theComaroff and Comaroff (1993)explorehow ritual praxis is the site of experimentation andsubversive poetics. Indeed, social scientists haveinvestigated numerous examples of political trans-formation catalyzed by religious movements (therapid spread of Islam in the seventh and eight cen-turies providing an obvious example). The cargocults of New Guinea (Worsely, 1968) and African

millenarian uprisings against British colonialismprovide evidence of religions critical role in subal-

tern empowerment and social reconstitution(Comaroff and Comaroff, 1991, 1993; Lincoln,2003). In colonial Peru, the Taki Onkoy rebellion,a millenarian cult explicitly religious in nature, rep-

resented the most formidable indigenous revoltagainst Spanish colonial exploitation during the six-teenth century (Stern, 1982).

Religious practice clearly represents more thansecondary reflections of primary environmentaladaptations and sociopolitical restructuring. Insteadit is directly entangled in such processes. Indeed,archaeologists should treat ritual as more than apassive measure of primary ecological or politicaldevelopments. Focusing on how ritual action func-tioned to define, empower, divide, and transformconstitutes the more relevant subject of analysis in

investigating the interrelationship of ideologicaland environmental change. This particular perspec-tive informs the following discussion of the ecolog-ical disruptions characterizing the Late MochePeriod on the North Coast of Peru.

Moche human ecology and political culture

Coastal Peru is one of the driest regions of theworld, characterized by sandy pampas, rocky coast-al hills, and fertile river valleys. These oasis-like riv-

er systems are fed by mountain rains originating inthe adjacent Andean mountain chain to the east,and their irrigation allowed for intensive agricultur-al production. Indeed, irrigation of the wide desertplains of the North Coast (the Andean foothills risefurther to the east in the north than in the narrowerand more circumscribed central and southern val-leys) supported among the highest population densi-ties and complex social orders in pre-ColumbianSouth America. The Von Humboldt current offthe Pacific coast also sustains one of the richest fish-

eries in the world. Expansion of both the maritimeeconomy and irrigation agriculture permitted theflorescence of hierarchical political systems, craft-specialization, complex exchange networks, monu-mental construction, and elaborate religious andartistic traditions as early as the second millenniumBC (Burger, 1992; Fung Pineda, 1988; Moseley,1985; Pozorski and Pozorski, 1992). As describedin the next section, periodic environmental pertur-bations, such as droughts or El Nino induced flood-ing, occasionally disrupted the high economicproductivity of the North Coast and triggered social

collapse or reorganization (Moseley, 1992; Dillehayand Kolata, 2004a,b; Shimada et al., 1991).



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Recent research suggests that Moche material cul-ture indexes a particular ideological and politicalcomplex rather than a distinct ethnic group (Bawden,1996). This complex emerged during the first century

AD from innovative social practices of the preceding(and later contemporaneous) Gallinazo peoples.These changes appear to have originated in urbanGallinazo settlements in the Moche and ChicamaValleys (Fig. 1). The ideological program was rapidlyadopted by elites of differing ethnic groups (Salinar,Gallinazo, Vicus and perhaps others) throughout theNorth Coast in the first centuries AD (Bawden, 1996;Donnan, 2001; Kaulicke, 1991; Shimada, 1994). Asargued below, lower class communities alsoembraced facets of Moche culture (Attarian, 2003;Russell and Jackson, 2001).

Moche civilization was characterized by formal-ized political hierarchies, urbanization, intensiveirrigation agriculture, and territorial expansion(Bawden, 1996; Benson, 1972; Billman, 2002; Chap-delaine, 2000, 2001, 2002; Larco Hoyle, 1938, 1939;

Lumbreras, 1974; Moseley, 1992; Shimada, 1994;Topic, 1982; Uceda and Mujica, 1994, 2003; Ucedaet al., 1997, 1998, 2000; Willey, 1953; Wilson, 1988).At its apogee, a southern Moche state based at the

spectacular city of Cerro Blanco in the southernMoche Valley incorporated Chicama to the northand at least six river valleys to the south (from Viruto Huarmey) (Bawden, 1996; Billman, 2002)(Fig. 1). Archaeological analysis of the massive ado-be pyramids of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca delSol, and of differentiated domestic zones withinthe city, has revealed marked social stratificationand economic specialization, as well as the presenceof a formidable population (20,000 people). CerroBlanco served as the premier Moche center duringthe Moche III and IV Periods (300550 AD) (Chap-

delaine, 2000, 2001; Moseley, 1992; Topic, 1982;Uceda et al., 1997, 1998, 2000). Satellite ceremonialcenters, modeled after Huaca de la Luna, werefounded in the lower portions of neighboring val-leys, such as Panamarca in Nepena and Cao Viejoin Chicama, attesting to the territorial expanseand political influence of Cerro Blanco (Conklinand Moseley, 1988; Franco et al., 1994; GalvezMora and Briceno Rosario, 2001; Wilson, 1988).Moreover, the conquest of the neighboring ViruValley during the Moche III Period (300 AD) result-

ed in dramatic transformation in settlement patternsand the managed reorganization of agricultural pro-duction (Bawden, 1996; Willey, 1953).

Iconographic and archaeological data indicatethat Moche political relations were defined theo-cratically and expressed in standardized programsof ceremony linked to ritual warfare and humansacrifice (Bawden, 1996; Alva and Donnan, 1993;Swenson, 2003). The excavations of sumptuous elitetombs at Sipan in Lambayeque and San Jose deMoro in Jequetepeque demonstrate that set icono-

graphic themes, such as the famed Sacrifice Ceremo-ny (depicted on temple wall murals, fine ceramics,and metal ornaments), were not simply mythic sto-ries or abstract cosmogonic narratives but wereactively performed by Moche lords (Alva and Don-nan, 1993; Castillo, 2003; Donnan and Castillo,1994, 2001). These performances entailed ritualizedbattle between elites, the capture and arraignmentof prisoners, and the complex presentation ofhuman offerings to deity-impersonators (the likelyleaders and priests of the Moche polities). Templessuch as Huaca de la Luna and Huaca Cao Viejo

were veritable theaters of violence, as evidenced bypainted murals glorifying warfare, predation, blood

Fig. 1. Map of the North Coast of Peru illustrating the locationof the Jequetepeque Valley and important Moche sites (mapadapted fromBawden (1996), Fig. 1.1).



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sacrifice, and fertility (Bawden, 1996; Swenson,2003; Uceda et al., 1994, 1997). The discovery ofsacrificed warriors at Cerro Blanco and Cao Viejofurther suggests that ritual homicide was integral

to the execution and legitimization of elite politicalpower. The harnessing of the generative vitality ofsacrificial acts, deemed critical for agricultural fertil-ity and socio-cosmic reproduction, underscoredMoche religious ideology and likely influenced theperception and manipulation of the natural environ-ment (Swenson, 2003). Significantly, the religiousconstruction of authority enabled Moche elites toexercise considerable control over surplus labor,craft production, regional hydrology, and agricul-tural production (Bawden, 1996; Hastings andMoseley, 1975; Moseley, 1992; Shimada, 1994).

The region north of the Chicama Valley, beyondthe broad desert of the Cupisnique quebrada, hasbeen designated the northern Moche sphere todifferentiate it from the southern Moche state(Castillo and Donnan, 1994) (Fig. 1). This area,beginning at the Jequetepeque Valley in the southand extending north to the Sechura desert, isbelieved to have been comprised of numerous com-peting polities (royal dynastiesDonnan, 1990)which controlled specific valleys or even smallerportions within these regions during the Early,

Middle, and Late Periods (Fig. 1).1

These politicalentities, however, participated in Moche politicaland religious ideology and were characterized bycomparable social hierarchy. Indeed, the extraordi-nary tombs discovered at Sipan demonstrate theparamount political position of lords in theLambayeque region, who were evidently not underthe control of elites based at Cerro Blanco to thesouth. The political and cultural divide distinguish-ing north and south is supported by differentialemphasis on metallurgical and ceramic prestige

objects, variations in artistic style, and differencesin architectural construction between the tworegions (Castillo and Donnan, 1994; Kosok, 1965;Kroeber, 1930). In fact, certain regions and evensub-districts within the same valley appear to haveparticipated contemporaneously in distinct Mochestylistic traditions, once thought to have designatedseparate time periods applicable to the entire NorthCoast (Bawden, 1996; Castillo and Donnan, 1994;Chapdelaine, 2000, 2001; Shimada, 1994).

Environmental perturbations and the Late Moche

transformation

Environmental perturbations and social unrest

have been interpreted as the principal causes behindthe pervasive transformations defining the LateMoche Period. Geoarchaeological data indicate thata combination of environmental factorsmainlysevere droughts, El Nino induced floods, and sandinvasionled to the collapse of the Middle Mochesouthern state and triggered settlement and agricul-tural contraction throughout much of the NorthCoast (Bawden, 1996; Donnan and Cock, 1997;Eling, 1987; Moseley, 1992; Moseley and Deeds,1982; Shimada, 1994). These developments includedrapid re-urbanization in the valley necks of the

Moche and Lambayeque Valleys, represented bythe cities of Galindo and Pampa Grande, respective-ly (Bawden, 1996; Shimada, 1994). Analysis of theQuelccaya Ice Cap, situated on the north edge ofthe Titicaca Basin in the Peruvian department ofPuno, provides the most convincing data thatlong-term droughts accompanied the emergence ofthe Late Moche Period (Shimada, 1994; Shimadaet al., 1991). The ice cap data reveal that threesevere droughts affected the Andes in the sixth cen-tury AD. The years of notable subnormal precipita-

tion include: 506512 AD; 524540 AD; and anespecially devastating 32-year drought between562594 AD (Shimada, 1994, pp. 124126; Shimadaet al., 1991). Such droughts would have led to thecontraction of irrigation systems and the abandon-ment of marginal field systems and distal canal net-works (Shimada, 1994, p. 123). Aeolian sandencroachment resulting in settlement attrition mayhave been another consequence of long-term desic-cation (Shimada, 1994, p. 122). The location ofthe Late Moche urban centers of Galindo and Pam-

pa Grande demonstrates a concern with controllingwater intakes (the major trunk canals irrigating thevalleys are located in the valley necks), and theascendancy of these new settlements in the LateMoche Period was likely influenced by the protract-ed droughts (Shimada, 1994, p. 119).

Tectonic uplift and ENSO (El Nino SouthernOscillation) events are also thought to have exacer-bated changing ecological conditions during the ear-ly Middle Horizon (the era coinciding with thebeginning of the Late Moche Period) (Dillehayand Kolata, 2004a,b; Moseley and Deeds, 1982).

The inundation of sand at Cerro Blanco may haveled to partial abandonment of the city on the eve

1

Shimada (1994) argues, however, for a unified thoughevanescent Moche state comprising portions of all river valleysduring Phase IV.



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of the Late Moche Period (Moseley, 1978; Moseleyand Deeds, 1982, pp. 3738). Massive deposits ofsand on the south bank of the Moche Valley overlayPhase IV archaeological contexts, and it has been

proposed that seismic activity and tectonic uplifttriggered the mass migration of sand dunes in theregion. This movement of sand was further relatedto the abandonment of agricultural fields and canalson the south bank, an event which would have dis-rupted farming. In fact, in the Moche Valley, culti-vation contracted and shifted to the northernpampas and to the alluvial bottoms near Galindo(Moseley and Deeds, 1982). The sand invasion ofthe Moche capital would presumably have led tothe gradual abandonment of the city, and recentevidence suggests that occupation at Cerro Blanco

declined but still continued into the Late MochePeriod (Chapdelaine, 2000, 2001; Uceda et al.,1994). Sand inundation appears to have disruptedcultivation on the south bank of the JequetepequeValley around the same time (Dillehay andKolata, 2004a,b; Eling, 1987; Hecker and Hecker,1991a).

El Nino floods may also have precipitated the fallof the southern Moche state and the reorganizationof the northern polities (Bourget, 1997; McClelland,1990; Moseley and Deeds, 1982). Low ice accumula-

tion in the Quelccaya ice core suggests that severeENSO episodes occurred in 511512 AD, 546 AD,and 576 AD (Shimada, 1994, pp. 130; Shimadaet al., 1991). One to two meters of consolidatedwater-laid silt, superimposed on aeolian depositedsand, was left at Cerro Blanco during a flash-floodthat occurred in the sixth century. This flood erodedthe main pyramids and architectural platforms inthe urban district of the city, and it seems to haveoccurred before the adoption of diagnostic PhaseV ceramics (Moseley and Deeds, 1982, pp. 38; but

see Chapdelaine, 2001). The abandonment of thetemples at Huaca El Brujo in the Chicama Valleyand the Nima/Valverde Complex in Piura at theend of the Middle Period also seems related tointense flooding (Franco et al., 1994; Kaulicke,1993). Whether these floods contributed to thedecline of Cerro Blanco or occurred after the fallof the southern state is a matter of continued debate(Bawden, 1996, p. 267; Chapdelaine, 2000; Shimad-a, 1994). Similar evidence for large-scale floodinghas also been documented throughout Jequetepequeduring the first centuries of the Late Moche Period

(Dillehay and Kolata, 1997, 2004a,b; Dillehay et al.,1998).

Marked changes in settlement patterns, burialpractices, religious iconography, monumental archi-tecture, and ceramic styles all highlight the dramaticbreak between the Moche IV and Moche V Periods

(ca. 550600 AD) (the sub-phases dividing the Mid-dle and Late Moche Periods) on the North Coast.These material signatures are usually interpretedas social reactions to the aforementioned environ-mental disturbances (thus corroborating the paleo-ecological record). North Coast archaeologistshave argued that institutionalized religious ideologywas reformulated to reinforce social responses toinitial ecological disruptions.

For instance, GarthBawden (1996)proposes thatsocial revolt, triggered in part by ecological calami-ties, induced the demise of the southern state and

the ensuing changes in Moche political structure.In his view, the drought and El Nino rainswhichpresumably choked canals and field systems,uprooted populations, ruined houses and temples,and led to general social and economic disloca-tionwere interpreted by Moche subjects as signal-ing the ultimate failure of elites to ensurecosmological equilibrium. That is, lordly statusand wealth were contingent on religious authorityand the ability to perpetuate social, natural, andcosmic order through sacrificial intercession. Pro-

tracted environmental disruptions were signs thatelites were no longer effective intermediaries withdivine ancestors, and it was considered morallyimperative to depose the ruling class and jettisonits discredited ideologies. This interpretation is sup-ported by the emergence of a form of religious icon-oclasm at the Late Moche city of Galindo whereintraditional modes of narrative art (such as the Sac-rifice Ceremony associated with the defunct south-ern state based at Cerro Blanco) and theestablished pantheon of deities were rejected by

elites and commoners alike. The adoption of radi-cally new politico-religious institutions at Galindorepresented an elite reaction to the ecological prob-lems of the preceding era. As Bawden (1982, 1994,1996, 2001)convincingly argues, these institutionalchanges are reflected in the pronounced diminish-ment of pyramid mounds, the construction ofenclosed compounds (cercaduras), and intensifiedsocio-spatial segregation represented by the archi-tectural separation of classes within the site. Theadoption of abstract ceramic art and changes inburial practices at Galindo also point to the

overhaul of Moche religious and political practicesin the Moche Valley.



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Bawden (1996, pp. 271275) contends that cli-matic perturbations were significant but nonethelesssecondary causes of the Late Moche revolution.In his view, the lack of administrative innovation,

such as the formation of a standing army or bureau-cratic institutions to control conquered and diverseregions south of Moche, rendered the ruling appara-tus inflexible. The ideological and material aggran-dizement of the elite evident in Phase IVoutstripped administrative readjustment, sowed theseeds of social unrest, and led to the ultimate down-fall of the southern state (Bawden, 1996). In the end,environmental stress simply accelerated the process.According to Bawden, Galindo elites reacted to eco-logical and social disruptions inaugurating the LatePeriod by promoting religious ideologies that dis-

tanced the ruling class from the cosmologicalresponsibilities which legitimated the theocratic sys-tem of the collapsed southern state.

Castillo (2001, 2003) identifies similar trends atthe ceremonial center of San Josede Moro in Jeque-tepeque during the Late Moche Period. He claimsthat the appearance of foreign Wari and Neveriaceramics in elite burial assemblages exposes theinsecurity of the ruling class, who adopted foreignideological systems to shore up precarious powerthreatened by the social and environmental instabil-

ity. Castillo further contends that this process wascharacterized by elite attempts to amplify andfurther differentiate their authority as a means toinsulate class privilege. He notes that prized Warifine wares (beyond possible crude imitations) wererarely if ever distributed to lesser elites in the Jeque-tepeque Valley. Thus he implies that stricter sump-tuary controls and status distinction werepromulgated at San Josede Moro. Moreover,Cas-tillo (2001) interprets the disappearance of mortalfigures in Late Moche art and the turn to exclusive

portrayals of supernaturals as indicating the apothe-osis of Moche lords at San Josede Moro. In otherwords, elites strove to augment their authority byrenouncing their former role as divine intermediar-ies and by claiming to be incarnations of the divin-ities themselves. Adopting a mandate of heaveninterpretive framework (similarly espoused by Baw-den), Castillo argues that leaders in the southernMoche state were deposed given their failure to pla-cate the gods, as manifested in the environmentalcalamities plaguing the early Middle Horizon. Asa consequence, elites instituted direct forms of

divine rule to avoid the political liabilities inherentin the intermediary construction of authority.

Similarly, iconographic replacement in the north-ern North Coast during the Late Moche Period hasalso been interpreted as evidence of ideologicaladjustments to protracted climatic abnormalities

(Bawden, 1996, p. 277). Several new and intercon-nected themes involving the established cast ofMoche divinities first appeared on fineline ceramicsduring the Late Moche Period in the northernNorth Coast (Donnan and McClelland, 1999). Theyinclude the Revolt of the Objects (Quilter, 1990,1997), the Burial Theme (Donnan and McClelland,1979), and the Tule Boat Theme (McClelland,1990). Scholars have interpreted these new icono-graphic narratives as indicating mythic rationaliza-tion of hardships endured during the final decadesof the Middle Moche Period (Bawden, 1996, pp.

282-283). For instance,McClelland (1990)contendsthat new iconographic themes in the Moche Vperiod reflect shifts in religious beliefs which accom-panied changing subsistence strategies and adapta-tion to environmental perturbations. She arguesthat the newfound emphasis on maritime themes,such as common depictions of the Tule Boat inthe Late Moche Period and the popularity ofspondylus shell offerings, is indicative of the psycho-logical and economic impact of devastating El Ninofloods. ENSO-precipitated environmental change is

first noted in increasing sea temperatures whichcauses the mass extermination of marine life andits replacement by tropical species of fish. McClel-land suggests, therefore, that the Moche reorientedreligious devotion toward the sea, acknowledgingits direct role in environmental prognostication.Shi-mada (1994, p. 257) notes, however, that the the-matic privileging of marine symbolism may just aslikely have signaled the desire to promote rainfallduring intense periods of drought.

Evidently, religious innovation in the Late

Moche Period is viewed primarily as redressiveand compensatory. Nevertheless, the adoption ofnew ideological practices was equally constitutiveof shifting ecological and political strategies, as thediscussion in the next section demonstrates. Indeed,foregrounding the causative primacy of environ-mental forces in explaining Late Moche culturaltransformations elides the diverse social, ecological,and ritual innovations that underscored the reinven-tion of Moche political order. Ultimately, suchissues are of greater relevance in interpreting prehis-toric social process and its relation to humanenvi-

ronment interactions (Brumfiel, 1992; Roscoe,1993).



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Ecological adaptation and decentralized subsistence

agriculture in Late Moche Jequetepeque

As described above, the sudden collapse of the

southern state, entailing the rejection of traditionalMoche ideology south of Jequetepeque, markedthe Middle to Late Period transition. Moreover,rapid re-urbanization in the valley necks of Mocheand Lambayeque represents the hallmark of PhaseV settlement reorganization. Centralized control offertile agricultural fields and canal intakes as wellas heightened social tension characterized this pre-cipitous urbanization process (Bawden, 1996; Shi-mada, 1994, p. 119). Agricultural production andsettlement also contracted in the lower portions ofLambayeque and in the central valleys of Moche,

Chicama, and Viru(Bawden, 1996, p. 263; Shimada,1994, p. 128).

However, the lower Jequetepeque region deviatessignificantly from this pattern of settlement attritionand political centralization. Research conducted byTom Dillehay and Alan Kolata has revealed anunprecedented growth of rural settlement, theexpansion of labor-intensive canal systems, andthe widespread use of small-scale and opportunisticagricultural constructions during the Late MochePeriod (Dillehay, 2001;Dillehay and Kolata, 1997,

2004a, pp. 43284329, 2004b;Dillehay et al., 1998,1999, 2001; Eling, 1987; see alsoCastillo and Don-nan, 1994). The numerous residential hamlets inthe hinterland are often found in close associationwith modest agricultural facilities and water-man-agement systems (Figs. 2 and 3). In fact, dispersedagricultural and hydraulic infrastructures proliferat-ed for the first time in Jequetepeque during the LateMoche Period (Dillehay, 2001; Dillehay and Kolata,1997, 2004a,b; Dillehay et al., 1998, 1999, 2001).These features often consist of stone check dams

or levees which diverted water into diminutive fieldsystems or tiered cultivation terraces. Survey alsoregistered a large number of agricultural terracesbuilt in ravines, arroyos, and hill slopes throughoutthe lower valley and especially on its expansivenorth side (Dillehay and Kolata, 1997, 2004a,b;Dillehay et al., 1998, 1999, 2001). They usually formlinear or semi-circular landings supported by stonewalls that follow the contours of washes or hill-sidequebradas(Fig. 2). They were built to pool excessrain water and also functioned as cultivation beds.

Many of these systems were designed for expe-

dient short-term use, when ENSO-driven rainsflooded the dry ravines and riverbeds of the

region (in normal periods of desert aridity, theywould have been ineffectual). These temporales(Kosok, 1965, p. 118) were used episodically andduring periods of unusual rainfall and could have

been maintained by a small number of farmers(Dillehay and Kolata, 2004a). Stacks of stonesforming round piles or crude columns were oftenfound on higher portions of the pampa adjacentto lower agricultural terraces constructed withinarroyos. They likely served as beacons markingthe location of abandoned terraces for future cul-tivation when conditions again permitted (Dille-hay and Kolata, 1997; Swenson, 2004,p. 410).The data indicate that Late Moche populationswere highly mobile, abandoning and re-foundingsettlements on a seasonal basis, as dictated by

environmental conditions and social prescriptions(Dillehay, 2001; Dillehay and Kolata, 2004a,b).As Dillehay and Kolata argue, these dispersed,piecemeal agricultural installations reveal that sub-sistence production became decentralized and con-trolled by semi-autonomous rural communitiesduring the Late Moche Period.2

Although it is exceedingly difficult to date canalsystems, Late Moche populations also seem to haveexpanded regionally integrated irrigation systemsand intensive agricultural production in the valley

(particularly north of the river but in portions ofthe south as well) (Dillehay and Kolata, 2004a;Eling, 1987). These networks were likely managedby cooperating groups of rural lineages, and thereis little evidence for their systematic administrationby Moche elites residing at centers such as CerroChepen, San Jose de Moro, or Talambo (Dillehayand Kolata, 2004a,b).

2 Dillehay and Kolata (2004a, p. 4328) write: These flexibleagricultural systems did not require large labor or technologicalinputs, and therefore could be rapidly reconstituted if affected bytransient environmental impact events. The spatial ubiquity ofthese systems, particularly on the north side of the valley, impliesthat at certain times local populations were maximizing agricul-tural production by placing as much arable land in production aspossible calibrated to available water resources. In Late Mocheand Post-Moche times (AD 7001000), periods of considerablepolitical fragmentation, the practice of agricultural production inremote locations may also reflect conflict avoidance. Theyfurther note: The Late Moche social landscape was character-ized by intense intra-valley competition for access to suitable

arable land and limited water resources, and by decentralizedforms of agricultural management practices (Dillehay andKolata, 2004a, p. 4329).



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Ideological innovation and rural ceremonialism in the

Jequetepeque hinterland

The diverse agricultural techniques adopted byrural populations in Jequetepeque can be accurately

characterized as adaptive and opportunistic, in thatthey effectively exploited climatic abnormalitiesincluding El Nino-driven rainfall (Dillehay and

Kolata, 2004a,b). Significantly, the decentralizationof agricultural production was accompanied by a

Fig. 2. Photograph of a cluster of crescent-shaped stone foundations (upper register) and stone-lined agricultural terraces built in anarroyo of the Pampa Rio Seco, north bank of the Jequetepeque Valley. These modest domestic constructions and opportunisticagricultural facilities first proliferated in Jequetepeque during the Late Moche Period.



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comparable political opportunism in the regionwhich recursively shaped ecological and economicpractices. That is, human ecology and sociopoliticaldevelopments were reciprocally constituted. TheLate Moche Period in Jequetepeque is distinguishedby the emergence and proliferation of ceremonialsites in the hinterland of prominent centers,

including San Jose de Moro and Cerro Chepen(Swenson, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007). These sites were

rare in earlier periods and are usually found in closeproximity on coastal hills overlooking productiveinfrastructures such as canals and field systems(Fig. 3). The settlements are readily distinguishedby their size but cannot be easily classified in termsof architectural quality or function (i.e., site distri-bution does not conform to traditional settlement-

political hierarchies) (Swenson, 2006). Due to theirclustered concentration, it has been difficult to

Fig. 3. Map of the Lower Jequetepeque Valley illustrating the location of ceremonial sites dating to the Late Moche Period.



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confidently link the numerous domestic settlementsand agricultural installations with specific ceremoni-al sites. However, it seems likely that the latterserved as nodes of religious congregation, economic

cooperation, and supra-local political organizationfor dispersed farming populations who inhabitedthe larger ceremonial settlements episodically orsemi-permanently. Future ceramic and radiometric

analysis is needed to determine possible territorialboundaries and shifting social dependencies relatingthese ceremonial agglomerations with neighboringagricultural hamlets.

Terraced platform mounds with prominent rampsare the most common type of ceremonial architectureidentified at Moche settlements in the Jequetepequecountryside (Fig. 4). Unlike the adobe ceremonial

Fig. 4. A Moche molded vessel (adapted fromMakowski (2000, p. 139)) and a fineline illustration (adapted fromHocquenghem (1989):Fig. 2C) portraying the Fanged Deity situated on a platform with ramp and dais. These structures depicted in Moche iconography aresimilar to platforms found in rural Jequetepeque (lower registers).



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constructions of Moche urban centers, theseplatformsarebuilt of stone andmounded earth(someof which were possibly plastered) (Swenson, 2004,2006, p. 117, 2007). Despite their diminished size in

comparison to urban pyramids, these ramped struc-tures were suffused with authoritative religious andpolitical symbolism (Bawden, 1982; Shimada,1994). The dais-topped platforms fronted by openpatios appear to be scaled-down versions of the mas-sive pyramids that dominated earlier Moche cities,and structures of this kind are commonly portrayedas loci of ritualexchange on decoratedMoche pottery(Bawden, 1982) (Fig. 4). Comparable ramped plat-forms, referred to as tablados by Bawden, wereamong the most important architectural forms atGalindo andPampa Grande, theprincipal urban cen-

ters of the Moche V Period (Bawden, 1982; Shimada,1994). However, they are restricted to the ceremonialcore of these cities, within or at the juncture of eliteprecincts (Bawden, 1982, 1996, 2001; Shimada,1994, 2001). In contrast, ramped structures in theJequetepeque Valley were more accessible and widelydistributed. Unlike the tablados of the centers, theyare usually found independent of elite architecturalcontexts. In other words, the intense ritualization ofthe Jequetepeque landscape defied the centralizedexclusivity of ceremonial space evident in neighbor-

ing valleys (Swenson, 2006, p. 122).These multiple ceremonial settlements exhibit

site-specific architectural variability, suggesting thatritual production became the prerogative of localcommunities and rural lineages. This is especiallysignificant given that the architectonics of the plat-forms prescribed set modes of ritual performanceand communication (proxemics) that differednotably at the inter-settlement level of comparison(thus greater uniformity in architectonics was docu-mented within specific ceremonial sites) (seeMoore,

1996a,b, for an excellent archaeological analysis ofarchitectural proxemics). For instance, the numer-ous ramped platforms dispersed throughout thelarge and complex site of San Ildefonso (JE-279)at the north end of the valley reflect a basic regular-ity in style unique to the site, despite minor idiosyn-crasies in size and form (Swenson, 2004, 2006, pp.122128, 2007). San Ildefonso occupied an area ofmore than 40 ha and was comprised of concentricstone ramparts, expansive domestic zones, contigu-ous compound structures, and multiple ritual plat-forms (17 in total) (Fig. 5). The ritual complexes

are found throughout the site at differing elevationsand behind all four perimeter walls.

The San Ildefonso platforms were usually limitedto synchronized (visually unified), axial movementalong a centrally placed ramp (Fig. 6). Individualsmoved from lower patios to higher daises, and the

experiential change in elevation, almost always pro-ceeding east toward the hilltop, likely enhanced thechoreography of ritualized acts. In fact, it appearsthat multiple, possibly confederated, rural commu-nities maintained separate shrines within thisimpressive site, while simultaneously adhering to arelatively standardized program of ritual perfor-mance and exchange (Swenson, 2004, 2007). Theplurality of ritual structures at San Ildefonso con-trasts markedly with the spatial configuration ofthe contemporaneous cities of Pampa Grande andGalindo. Unlike the massive adobe pyramid of

Huaca Fortaleza at Pampa Grande or the adobecercaduras of Galindo, no one structure dominatesSan Ildefonso in terms of architectural prominence,scale, location, or complexity. Varying spatial ideol-ogies, likely promoting contrasting political values,were promulgated at these three important LateMoche settlements (Swenson, 2006, 2007).

In fact, differing spatial programs are surprising-ly manifest in rural Jequetepeque. At the large siteof Catalina (JE-125), located on the south side ofthe Kanchape range (to the south of San Ildefonso),

multiple ceremonial platforms were also built on thesites towering hillside. However, they cluster on thelower slopes, plainly separated by a large perimeterwall from the principal and expansive domestic zoneoccupying the lower pampa (Fig. 5). This settlementlayout differs notably from San Ildefonso, whereramped platforms were found distributed through-out the site near residential areas, at all elevations,and behind every rampart. Radiometric analysis ofcharcoal samples procured from ceremonial struc-tures of the two settlements points to their contem-

poraneity (approximately 600750 AD), despitesubtle differences in ceramic styles and architecturalforms (Swenson, 2004, p. 699).

Moreover, the ritual platforms at Catalina con-sist of elongated landings which lack the linear inte-gration of terraces and long ramps characteristic ofSan Ildefonso architecture (Fig. 7) (Swenson, 2006,pp. 128132). Many of the terraces were designedfor movement along lateral rather than perpendicu-lar axes. At Catalina, ritual performance waspredicated on obstructed sight lines and compart-mentalized flow patterns. This limited regime of

structured movement contrasts with the potentialfor visibly unified procession and presentation on



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the ceremonial platforms at San Ildefonso. A com-

parison of three-dimensional plans of structuresfrom these two sites demonstrates that the architec-tural determination of ritual communication variedsignificantly between San Ildefonso and Catalina(Fig. 8).

Other ceremonial constructions in the valley alsoexhibit patterned differences in form and the archi-tectonics of ritual performance. JE-102, located onthe east side of Cerro Catalina north of the river,is also characterized by a plurality of ritual con-structions exhibiting site-specific architecturalforms. Asymmetrical U-shaped platforms, absent

elsewhere in the valley, predominate here (Fig. 9).However, unlike the configuration of many of the

other settlements, Platform A conspicuously stands

out in size, elaboration, and location (Fig. 9).Although constructed of stone and earth and small-er than urban pyramids, it is visible from all sectorsof the site and holds a commanding position withinthe settlement. Platform A staged public spectaclesinvolving a larger number of ritual participants thandid the more confined and exclusive platforms com-mon at other ceremonial sites in the countryside.Unlike San Ildefonso or Catalina, a primes interparesrelationship of authoritative space distinguish-es the ceremonial topography of JE-102. Evidently,rural communities in Jequetepeque differently

emphasized both private and public ritual spectaclesand variably manipulated ideologies of social

Fig. 5. Site maps of San Ildefonso and Cerro Catalina. Labeled sectors contain one or more ceremonial platforms.



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inclusion and exclusion (encompassing social sepa-ration and differentiation). The site-specific architec-tural differences in Jequetepeque underscore thelocal determination of ritual politics during the LateMoche Period (Swenson, 2004, 2006, 2007).

Despite inter-site variability in the religiousarchitecture of rural Jequetepeque, it is worth stress-ing that the ceremonial platforms represent varia-

tions on a strictly Moche theme. In other words,hinterland groups co-opted urban spatial ideologies

to legitimize newly established social power and tostake claims to productive infrastructures. Indeed,there was a generalized and popular push topromote Moche religious and political valuesnotwithstanding the local interpretation and manip-ulation of this ideological complex. The populari-zation of Moche religious practices and sacredspace contrasted with their more stringent monopo-

lization by elites at Galindo and Pampa Grande(Swenson, 2006, 2007).

Fig. 6. Architectural plans of ceremonial platforms at San Ildefonso.



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In the Jequetepeque hinterland, iconographic,ceramic, and architectural remains reveal that feast-ing and the celebration of Moche religious preceptsbecame widespread, even deregulated when com-pared to neighboring valleys (Swenson, 2004, 2006).Corn beer, or chicha, vessels were recovered in sta-

tistically higher proportions from rural ceremonialplatforms than from domestic zones in many ofthe hinterland sites, and it appears that the orches-tration of feasting rites constituted a major functionof these multiple hinterland shrines. Interestingly,feasting was an integral component of elite ceremo-nialism in the southern Moche state and at LateMoche Period centers as well (Arsenault, 1992; Cas-tillo, 2001; Shimada, 2001). The Jequetepeque jarsoften portray Moche divinities and lords, and theyundoubtedly served as important media of symbolicand ritual communication (Fig. 10). Excavation fur-

ther corroborates that feasting rites were staged onnumerous individual platforms at different sites,

notwithstanding their idiosyncratic forms (Swenson,2004, 2006, pp. 132135).3 Thus the content of cer-emony appears to have varied little between settle-ments despite divergent experimental frameworks

structuring ritual performance. The evidence sug-gests that feasting rites mediated competitive andheterarchical political relations in the lower Jeque-tepeque Valley during the Late Moche Period(Dillehay, 2001; Swenson, 2004). This scenario con-trasts notably with neighboring valleys, which expe-rienced rapid urbanization, the elite monopolizationof ceremonial space, and continued political central-ization during the Moche V Phase.

Ritual and agricultural production in the

Jequetepeque hinterland

Hinterland ritual appears to have been integral tothe establishment of political ties related to thecoordination of agricultural production. This infer-ence is supported by the fact that many of the cere-monial sites are located adjacent to prehistoriccanals or overlooking relic field systems (Fig. 11).Communities that maintained ritual architecture inthe countryside may have resembled religious andhydraulic organizations staking claim to land andwater through ceremonial feasting (Swenson,2006). Ritual feasts on specialized constructionsmaterialized access to resources and pooled thelabor and productivity of participants. Such feastsseem to have been critical to the organization ofproduction and to the local construction of politicalidentity and economic dependency. Indeed, ethno-historic accounts indicate that kin-based cults inthe Andes commonly legitimated the transmissionof goods and usufruct rights along genealogicallines (Lau, 2002, p. 281; see also Cobo, 1990[1653]; Isbell, 1997). Feasts and ritual spectacles

orchestrated at a number of the ceremonial sites inrural Jequetepeque may have coordinated inter-group canal maintenance, water scheduling, andhydraulic interdependency among communitiesthat drew water from the same trunk lines or feederchannels (see Lansing, 1991 for a description ofcomparable decentralized but ritually coordinatedirrigation practices in Bali). Such relationships were

Fig. 7. Architectural plans of two platforms at Catalina.

3 Hearths were often identified in excavated patios or highterraces of the ceremonial complexes in the countryside. They

contained the remains of a large variety of comestibles, includingllama bones, maize, Andean fruits, beans, and marine shell(Swenson, 2004, 2006).



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undoubtedly distinguished not only by cooperationbut by conflict and competition as well. The numer-ous fortifications in Jequetepeque dating to the LateMoche Period support this inference (Dillehay,2001). Lesser chiefs performed prestigious Mocherites and sponsored commensal tournaments atspecific ceremonial loci in an effort to solicit thefollowing and labor contributions of different com-munities in the valley. Such ceremonies may alsohave legitimized group rights to nearby agricultural

features used for short-term and opportunisticcultivation in times of El Nino rains.

Of course, the co-option and ruralization of theMoche complex involved inevitable modifications inbelief and practice. Although the presence of slingstones and fortification walls at several of the sitessuggests that warfare (possibly involving ritual bat-tle) shaped hinterland social and ritual engagements,excavation reveals that human sacrifice was not con-ducted at the numerous ceremonial outposts. Nosacrificed human remains,tumiknives, or ceremonialgoblets associated withtraditional Moche ideological

programs were recovered from excavated platforms(Swenson, 2007). This suggests that fundamental

Fig. 8. Three-dimensional plans of Platforms E-1 and C-3 at San Ildefonso compared with a similar plan of Platform 2B at Catalina.Arrows illustrate architectural differences in access patterns and ritual communication in the Jequetepeque hinterland.



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practices defining Moche ritual politics were recast inthe Jequetepeque countryside.4 Nevertheless, therecovery of fineline ceramics and drinking vessels at

hinterland sites depicting Moche divinities and elitefigures demonstrates that certain rituals (especiallyfeasting) were recontextualized as a means to both

reinvent and elevate local political interests.Indeed, it appears that ritual events staged on theMoche-derived structures dramatized essentiallyagricultural rites that regulated rural subsistence.These rites were more immanently and directlylinked to agricultural production than were the sac-rificial rituals performed by high lords in the citiesand ceremonial centers of the Moche realm.Certainly, concerns with cosmological orderingand fertility (though likely more abstract at the levelof elite performance) underscored generalizedMoche religious practices on the North Coast (as

it did for the Inka; Gose, 1993). Such emphasis onfecundity and rites of socio-cosmic reproduction

Fig. 9. Architectural plans of platforms at JE-15, JE-54, and JE-102.

4 Hinterland communities and chiefs may have offered van-quished prisoners of rural warfare to the priestess of San Jose deMoro (who conducted traditional sacrificial rites: Donnan andCastillo, 1994), perhaps to win the favor of the center and assertthe prestige of particular hinterland polities. Therefore, feastingassociated with warfare seems to have displaced sacrifice in thecountryside as the preeminent ritual spectacle. The sling stonesand massive defensive walls at several of the hinterland ceremo-nial sites (associated with real combat as opposed to thecharacteristically fragile wooden clubs and shields of the Mocheelite; Bourget, 2001) suggest that Jequetepeque communities

creatively adapted Moche ritual violence to legitimize prag-matic warfare and safeguard local political and economicinterests (Swenson, 2007).



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might explain the enduring appeal of the Mocheideological complex to lower-class farmers and fish-erfolk in the Jequetepeque countryside.

The connections between ritual practice, agricul-ture, and fertility rites are numerous in Late MocheJequetepeque. For instance, the platforms at Porta-chuelo de Charcape (JE-1/JE-2), found adjacent tothe large canal of the Farfan Norte system, and

the impressive tablado of Sector I at San Ildefonso,built under a spent spring (which was likely active in

prehistoric times), may have been conceived of aswater shrines (for purposes of comparison, seeSherbondy, 1992for a discussion of the ritual andpolitical significance of water sources among theInka). The presence of spondylus shell (spondylusprinceps) found deposited on several hinterlandplatforms suggests that agricultural fertility andecological concerns were central to hinterland cere-

monialism. At the time of the conquest, spondyluswas highly valued and extensively traded as a

Fig. 10. Decorated face-neck jars (upper five rows), figurines and musical instruments (lower two rows) in Moche style collected fromceremonial sites of the Jequetepeque hinterland.



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preeminent ritual object of agricultural ceremony.Spondylus offerings were revered for their magicalpower to draw fructifying water to planted fields(Gose, 1993; Pillsbury, 1996).

A brief description of the interesting ceremonialsite of Portachuelo de Charcape (JE-1/JE-2) revealsthat this settlement was intimately connected to thecoordination of irrigation agriculture, fertility ritual,and, by extension, the mediation of humanenviron-ment relations. JE-1/ JE-2 is located on a rolling pam-pa of the Portachuelo de Charcape, 9 km to the southof San Ildefonso, at a critical juncture between themajor coastal hills of Cerro Catalina and CerroHuaca Blanca (Figs. 3 and 12). This pass likelyformed an important avenue of traffic and communi-

cation in prehispanic times, connecting the coast tothe eastern side of the valley, which is divided by thelinear expanse of the Kanchape range.

A notable feature of the site is the presence of amassive canal (Elings FFNFarfan Norte andthe Heckers canal IV) that turns west through thepass and continues for more than 300 m tothe northwest (Figs. 12 and 13). This portion ofthe FFN canal represented the northern extensionof a complex irrigation system which transportedwater from the Jequetepeque River 17 km to thesouth, irrigating fields on the east and west sides

of the coastal hills (Eling, 1987, pp. 317321; Dille-hay and Kolata, 1997; Hecker and Hecker, 1985,

1991a, p. 93; Ubbelohde-Doering, 1967, p. 16)(Fig. 11). The canal segment which cuts throughJE-1 was excavated into the granite bedrock to adepth of 23 m and measures more than 1 m in

width at its widest points (Fig. 13). This impressiveconstruction required a formidable investment oflabor and engineering skill (as did many of thecanals of the North Coast), and the section bisectingPortachuelo is one of the more impressive examplesfound in the valley.

Portachuelo de Charcape contains four majorceremonial structures, three of which consist ofunusual U-shaped platforms with ramps and centraldaises (JE-1A, 1B, and JE-2A) (Fig. 14). Evidenceof intense domestic activity, including multiple

hearths and large quantities of surface remains,reveals that people inhabited the site permanentlyor episodically. Recent excavations by Luis JaimeCastillo and his team at Portachuelo de Charcapedemonstrated that Sector A, a broad bluff immedi-ately west of the main platforms, was the locus ofan elaborate residence for elite figures, presumably,lower-level curacas (chiefs) (Johnson, 2004).

The three U-shaped platforms of Portachuelo arevery similar to small ramped structures depicted inMoche fineline iconography, which typically showselite figures being presented with goblets, offerings,

and prisoners (seeFig. 4). They are also reminiscentof the smaller tablados documented by Bawden

Fig. 11. Location of rural ceremonial sites in relationship to canal systems on the north bank of the Jequetepeque Valley (map adaptedfromEling (1987), Fig. 45).



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(1982)at Galindo. In fact, JE-1C closely resembles aclay model of a religious structured buried in a tombat San Josede Moro (located 10 km to the north-east) (Swenson, 2006, p. 121) (see Fig. 14). Theconfiguration of these edifices suggests that theyserved to stage rites of presentation and supervision.The principal terrace with dais connected by theramp likely served as a landing where respected fig-ures presided over ritual, distributed chicha, conse-crated offerings, and formally received individuals

and groups who came to pay respect and conferhonor. The peculiar U shape of the structures

(distinguished by ornamental arms that frame smallplazas) is unique to the site, pointing to the decen-tralized and local control of ritual production inthe valley (see above).

The four principal ceremonial mounds of JE-1/JE-2 were probably involved in fertility rites associ-ated with the canal and the surrounding peaks ofthe coastal cerros. The discovery of spondylus shellon the basal platform of Structure 1B and a ritualcache of 26 notched stones (fishing nets weights)on the south wall of the canal, 65 m northeast ofstructure 1C, supports this view (Fig. 13). In fact, aconsiderable amount of spondylus shell was encoun-tered in collection transects throughout the site(Swenson, 2004). Spondylus, harvested from thetropical waters off the coast of Ecuador, was among

the most preeminent of sacred objects in the Andesand is found almost exclusively in ritual contexts(Cordy-Collins, 1999, p. 17). It was symbolicallyassociated with water, fertility, female procreation,and regeneration and served as an important offerto-ry medium, among other ritual uses (Cordy-Collins,1999; Pillsbury, 1996). The 26 notched weights werecached within the south wall of the canal and consistof carefully pecked stones of varying colors andshapes. These stones were used primarily as sinkersfor fishing nets (Hecker and Hecker, 1991b, pp.

96107). They are commonly found at many of thehinterland sites in Jequetepeque, including Catalinaand San Ildefonso, often placed on the terraces ofceremonial platforms (Swenson, 2004).

On one level, the ritual cache clearly signifies anattempt to conflate the productive powers of irriga-tion with the productive potential of the sea. Thecanal was both a means and symbol of fertility,and the incorporation of the net weights in its con-struction was likely intended to transfer the gen-erative power of agriculture to the maritime

economy, ensuring the seas continued abundance(and vice-versa).5 Evidently the canal and notched

Fig. 12. Map of the JE-1 and JE-2 components of Portachuelo deCharcape. Note the U-shaped configuration of the three principalramped platforms (1B, 1C, and 2A).

5 ENSO events disrupt both agricultural production and themaritime economy. Devastating rains which flood crops anddestroy canals are accompanied (and essentially caused) by thewestward movement of the Humboldt current, which displacescold-water species of fish and anchovies. Therefore, the oceanand land were seen as intrinsically interconnected in the Andes. Infact, the Inka viewed the ocean as the ultimate source offructifying water, which was channeled cyclically to the land inthe form of rain (Sherbondy, 1992). The close association of

spondylus, a maritime organism, with agriculture and fresh waterprovides additional evidence of the symbolic conflation offarming and fishing.



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stones conveyed the symbolic significance of watertwofold, accentuating its fundamental importanceto agriculture and fishing, the pillars of the NorthCoast economy.

In light of this evidence, it is tempting to inter-pret the U-shaped structures as sacred lightning-rods that reigned in and socialized the fecundpower of the surrounding cerros. Ethnohistoricand ethnographic records indicate that mountainpeaks were traditional spaces of water, fertility,

and divinity in the Andes (Bastien, 1978; Gose,1994; Salomon and Urioste, 1991; Uceda, 2001).

In fact, U-shaped architecture has a long historyin ancient Peru, and scholars have inferred fertilitysymbolism from the massive U-shaped pyramidsconstructed during the Initial Period and EarlyHorizon (1800200 BC) (Burger, 1992; Isbell,1977; Lathrap, 1982; Moseley, 1992). The threedifferent platforms at Portachuelo seem to havecommemorated an individual peak, architecturallychanneling and uniting their sacred potency withinthe confines of the site. Excavation suggests that

the arms are primarily ornamental, functioningmore to orient than to provide a surface for

Fig. 13. Photograph of the large canal bisecting Portachuelo de Charcape and the cache of notched fishing weights (lower register)discovered in the interior wall of the same canal.



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staged performances. Each of the three U-shapedplatforms points in a different direction toward aspecific peak. JE-1C faces the south end of CerroHuaca Blanca; JE-1B follows the north-south axisof Cerro Huaca Blanca and points in the directionof the distant Cerro Santa Rosa; and JE-2A facesthe eastern side of Cerro Catalina. Of course, thisattractive hypothesis is difficult to prove and relies

ultimately on analogy with ethnohistoric and eth-nographic models.

In any event, it is clear that JE-1/JE-2 was animportant ceremonial locus, most likely involvedin fertility rituals associated with the canal and theveneration of huacas, perhaps embodied by the

coastal hills. A larger quantity of face-neck jarsand fineline ceramics was found at JE-1 than atany other hinterland site, underscoring its tremen-dous ritual significance. In fact, decorated waresare more frequently encountered on the surface herethan in many of the large centers, including Pacat-namuand San Josede Moro. Although the anoma-lous U shape might indicate that ritual practices atJE-1 differed in purpose from religious productionat contemporaneous hinterland ceremonial sites,the ceramic and architectural data nonetheless sug-gest certain parallels in the structure, communica-

tive restraints, and spatial organization ofceremony. Rites of presentation and supervision(and to a lesser extent, procession) prevailed, andthe high quantity of serving jars point to the impor-tance of feasting events involving chichaproductionand consumption. A large array of Moche utilitari-an sherds were found here, and it is likely that JE-1was the site of supra-local congress; different com-munities may have assembled here in festivals tocommemorate inter-group worship and coopera-tion, perhaps involving repairs to the hydraulic sys-

tem. Such events might have been crucial tocompetitive negotiations over rights and responsi-bilities to fields, water, and canal use. The consider-able number of fineline sherds and face-neck jarsindicates that lesser lords or prestigious lineagesexchanged symbolically charged items and spon-sored feasts in spectacles of conspicuous consump-tion. This may have been instrumental incementing agreements between allies or securingpolitico-economic advantage over rivals. In contrastto JE-1, the utilitarian ceramics of many of the sites

built on the neighboring hills contain a more limitedrepertoire of types, perhaps suggesting that moresectarian and group-exclusive practices occurred atthese settlements (seeSwenson, 2004).

Interpretations and conclusion

Anthropologists have long held that the analysisof ritual is essential for deciphering the intricaciesand transformations of cultural institutions. Sys-tems theory analysts, for instance, have concoctedelaborate flow-chart models of culture to interpret

the mechanical and functional interconnections ofdiscrete components of social process (Flannery,

Fig. 14. Ceramic model of a platform recovered from a burial atSan Josede Moro (upper register) (adapted from Castillo et al.(1997), Fig. 11), and an architectural map (lower register) of a

similarly configured structure at Portachuelo de Charcape locatedseveral kilometers to the south.



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1972; Wilson, 1992). Societies function and changethrough a complex series of feedback responsesbetween these components; initial and primaryadjustments to the environment affect religious atti-

tudes among other ranked categories, and suchtransformations in turn impact ecological, social,and economic structures in the perpetual movetoward system equilibrium. In such perspectives,however, the material conditions and ecologicaladaptations are ranked first, usually determiningthe substance of religious belief and structure of rit-ual practice. Hence, the examination of religiousbelief and ritual acts is deemed necessary to unlocka cultures perception of and successful adaptationto the natural environment (Drennan, 1976; Harris,1985; Rappaport, 1971). This mechanical and com-

partmentalized rendering of the social has beenrightly criticized along with the extreme functional-ism of such perspectives which emphasize homeo-static operations. In a comparable manner tosystems analysis and other structural-functionalisttheories (despite obvious differences in theoreticalorientation), traditional Marxian approaches alsotend to hierarchically rank economic, social, andideological forces; material production is consideredprimary or infrastructural, directly determiningboth religious ideologies and political arrangements

(Roscoe, 1993, p. 113). Such barrel model con-structions of culture explain the common relegationof religious life to the sphere of epiphenomenalcompensation, reaction, or legitimization.

Indeed, scholars are increasingly critical of func-tionalist explanations, wherein ritual is conceived asa conservative, compensatory force that serves tomitigate social tension, mystify inequalities, or recti-fy ecological imbalance destabilizing the structuralintegrity of a cultural system (Bell, 1992; Morris,1987). Certainly the argument that the ideational

represents a reflective derivation of material andsocial realities (whether in a benign functional senseor a more cynical Marxian perspective) is common-ly rejected by anthropologists and archaeologistsinfluenced by Structural Marxist and PracticeTheory interpretations (Bourdieu, 1977; Conradand Demarest, 1984; Godelier, 1978; Ortner, 1984;Roscoe, 1993; Sahlins, 1985).

In fact, the notion that ritual acts to integratesocial order, consolidate politico-economic privi-lege, or optimize adjustment to environmental con-ditions underscores Durkheims enduring legacy in

differing approaches to the study of religion. Ofcourse, these assumptions impart an active and

dynamic role to ritual experience, and Durkheimstremendous contribution to sociological studies ofreligion cannot be underestimated. His argumentthat ritual promotes social solidarity not so much

through articulating shared beliefs but ratherthrough the seduction of collective ceremonial expe-rience implicitly acknowledges the fundamentalpolitical aspects of ritual practice (Durkheim,1965; Kertzer, 1988, p. 76). If ritual provides theglue that holds society togetherin Durkheimsview, through the celebration (worship) and legiti-mization of social relationsone can immediatelygrasp how it ultimately empowers agents tomanipulate environmental and social conditions.Such empowerment, however, cannot be reducedto functional postulates (the principal weakness in

Durkheims formulations), for one must considerconflicting interests, historical contingencies, andcultural differences in the ideological constructionof identity, social alterity, philosophical worldview,and humanenvironmental dependencies (Asad,1993; Bloch, 1989; Cohen, 1981; Comaroff andComaroff, 1991; Kertzer, 1988; Sahlins, 1985; Swen-son, 2003; Weber, 1965, pp. 59, 107).

Ritual is instrumental in creating political subjec-tivity and promotes differing understandings of thenatural, social, and divine worlds (Kertzer, 1988;

Smith, 2001). The acknowledgment that religionconstructs political consciousness is not far removedfrom Durkheims understanding of the ritual inte-gration of society; the main difference, however, isthe more explicit recognition of the potential forcreative agency and the ideological implications ofreligious experience. As is readily apparent in thecontemporary world, ritual can serve as a powerfulmedium of either social unity or divisive struggle(Bell, 1997, pp. 7681; Comaroff, 1985; Kertzer,1988, p. 75; Leach, 1954; Smith, 1987). In fact, as

an analytical category, ritual often provides morethe key to contestation than the key to culturein a normative sense (contra Geertz, 1973; seeBell,1992, p. 7).

Anthropologists emphasis on the propensity ofritual to differentiate has been acknowledged forsome time (Bell, 1992; Bloch, 1989; Gluckman,1963; Leach, 1954; Rappaport, 1999), but recentformulations of this kind are particularly insightfulin placing the ideological aspects of ritual in theforeground of analysis. Ritual is thus often under-stood as a signifying practice that defines, autho-

rizes, and empowers (Comaroff and Comaroff, 1993;Kelly and Kaplan, 1990). Such processes were



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clearly in play in the Jequetepeque Valley: the ritualcelebrations performed on the numerous religiousstructures in the hinterland competitively createdpolitical subjects while delineating shifting social

boundaries and economic resources. The case studydemonstrates the futility of hierarchically disentan-gling the material and ideational (Kolata, 2003, p.471). Moreover, it reveals that no singular determin-ing factor, whether environmental (adaptive), polit-ical, or religious, propelled the sociopoliticaltransformations of the Late Moche Period.

In considering the Jequetepeque data, one canconfidently conclude that hinterland ceremonialismactively structured ecological behavior and econom-ic practices in Late Moche times. In fact, the evi-dence suggests that the assertion of local religious

expression was linked to the greater autonomy ofrural populations in coordinating production inthe valley (Dillehay and Kolata, 2004a). The appro-priation of Moche ceremonial space indicates thatlocal groups attempted to consolidate economicand political interests by manipulating widelyrespected religious tenets (Swenson, 2004). Since rit-ual served as a technology of production (Kolata,2003, p. 464) in coordinating the social organizationof farming in rural Jequetepeque, feasting and thedecentralized celebration of Moche religion clearly

represented more than secondary responses to ini-tial economic and ecological adjustments; in acertain sense, the ideological strategies made the lat-ter possible.

Although partly an effect of pan-regional envi-ronmental change, the reinvention and populariza-tion of Moche religion in Jequetepeque weredirectly implicated in the political reorganizationof the valley during the Middle Horizon. Theseideological practices reconfigured sociopoliticalaffiliations and facilitated the regulation of wide-

spread and diverse agricultural projects. Therefore,the striking over-engineering of the rituallandscape in the Jequetepeque Valley cannot beinterpreted as an after-effect of adaptations toenvironmental perturbations. Instead, it is emblem-atic of the important role played by religious ideol-ogy in the social, political, and ecologicalreconstitution of the region during the Late MochePeriod.

To conclude, a reviewer of the article raises aninteresting point in questioning how the religiouslandscape in Jequetepeque would have been differ-

ently configured if ritual practices and ideologicalstrategies were indeed reactive or adaptive to chang-

ing ecological conditions (as opposed to ideologyplaying a direct mediating role). Although it is diffi-cult to construct such hypothetical scenarios, thequery raises important theoretical issues for archae-

ological studies of social process.To begin with, if one accepts the functionalistpremise that religious ideology redressively adaptsto initial shifts in material and ecological conditions,then one would expect more uniform sociopoliticalreconstitution throughout the Moche world. Thedroughts, El Nino rains, and dune encroachmentsaffected much of the coast, and Jequetepeque wasnot spared this environmental upheaval (Dillehayand Kolata, 2004a; Shimada et al., 1991). Indeed,the argument that politico-religious ideologiesdynamically shaped ecological strategies is demon-

strated by striking divergence in the reconfigurationof Late Moche power relations and economic struc-tures within specific northern valleys. To restate theinter-regional comparison, the Moche and Lam-bayeque Valleys, unlike Jequetepeque, experiencedrapid re-urbanization and pronounced political cen-tralization. In Moche, religious and political pro-grams were reformulated to such an extreme thattraditional ideologies were largely rejected (Bawden,1996). In Lambayeque, greater religious continuityis witnessed at Pampa Grande, but this massive city

also deviated remarkably from the preceding Mid-dle Period in terms of economic and political order(see discussion above) (Shimada, 1994). In Jeque-tepeque, the situation could not have differed moreplainly; rural settlements expanded, intra-regionalwarfare intensified, and multiple ceremonial lociproliferated for the first time, indicating a popularappropriation and recontexualization of Moche val-ue systems. Moreover, the great variety of farmingpractices within Jequetepeque suggests that otherfactors (political, religious, etc.), beyond environ-

mental imperatives, influenced cultural responsesto climatic shifts (Dillehay and Kolata, 2004a). Ifhumanenvironment relations exclusively dictatedideological, political, and economic practices, thenone would be hard-pressed to account for this for-midable diversity in the constitution of power rela-tions and religious institutions. Of course, even ifJequetepeque did experience rural collapse, rapidurbanization, political centralization, and theexpansion of large canal systems at the expense ofdecentralized agricultural technologies (thus con-forming more closely to developments in neighbor-

ing valleys), a strictly functionalist interpretationwould still be unsatisfactory. The intensification of



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social conflict and inequality throughout much ofthe North Coast suggests that political factorsplayed an equal or more important role

Swenson 2007 Adaptive strategies or ideological innovations?

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Transcript of Swenson 2007 Adaptive strategies or ideological innovations?