Wikijunior:Ancient Civilizations/Moche

What country did they live in?

They lived in Peru between 200 and 700 A.C.

What did their buildings look like?

The Moche developed monumental and impressive architecture, among which are distinguished from each public and other household type. Public structures were built, usually on platforms square or rectangular, with terraces, decorated ceilings, painted walls with a variety of colors and pictures. The domestic places, however, are much simpler, and were made ​​up by sets of rooms arranged one after the other.

What did they eat?

The most powerful people were able to obtain greater variety of foods (meat of camels, fish, and various vegetables), costume made ​​of materials from distant regions, and so on. From this perspective, the Moche diet studies, also help to identify what were the social groups that lived in the city located between the two huacas or temples.

Ceramics

These ceramics are like books, as we read the lives of its people. They are in white cream and red Indian, the forms can be a human body figure, animals or fruit.

What did their writing look like?

According to studies some studies, the Moche knew and used a type of writing called pallariforme. According to Hoyle (the man who studied this theory), this script would record lines, dots, zigzags and other figures with different meanings in the Peruvian beans painted and in many ceramic vessels, as they have various designs that suggests maybe an original system of numbers. Other scientists prefer to think that it would be a board game or something similar.

What did they believe?

The god they believed in was called Aia'paec (powerful), worshiped the moon (yes), and the Ocean (ni). On the death of a person they made a big ritual, the death person was buried in the temple where the sacrificial ceremony was performed, taking to the grave the objects used in ritual.