Dying to Rule: Sex and Power in Moche Society – 2007
Vasija: Representación de genital masculino, pene circuncidado en estado Flácido. Museo Larco, Lima - Perú I ML004204
Botella asa-estribo: Guerrero asiendo por el cabello a prisionero desnudo con soga al cuello. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino/ 1146
Vista general de vitrina
Vista general de vitrina
The Sacrifice Ceremony
The vanquished warrior was disarmed, undressed and led to a hilltop or an island by a rope tied around his neck. The Sacrifice Ceremony began with the captive, nude and without his ear ornaments, kneeling down with his hands tied behind his back and accompanied by a bundle containing his clothing and weapons. The ceremonial official then cut the captive’s jugular, and the blood flowing from the wound was caught in a bowl, then poured into a goblet, from where it was drunk by individuals with supernatural features. The execution of high ranking warriors in the prime of their lives was a blood offering to the gods in preparation for the dead Ruler’s journey from the World of the Living to the World of the Dead. The bodies, heads and limbs of those sacrificed were thrown off a high promontory and then buried in the deepest part of the pyramid.