@@AncientAmericas whoo! I was just sucked into you "moche" video! Lol. I look forward to the video, my fathers side of the family is purepecha so im stoked. Sub'd as well!
I enjoy the contrast between the lifelike, naturalistic pottery and the stylized figures they painted. It really drives home how cultural development in art isn't some sort of straight line of progress from "primitive" iconography to realism. Moche artists clearly had a very good handle on what people "really" looked like. They just didn't always choose to depict them that way.
I think that’s the case for many ancient cultures (the Egyptians, Sumerians, etc): sculptures of people are more naturalistic while 2 dimensional pictures are more stylized. I think it has to do, at least partially, with the nature of the mediums themselves. A 3-dimensional sculpture of a 3-dimensional person is more true-to-life, while a 2-dimensional depiction obviously has to make some significant changes. For early cultures without a history of art to look back on and learn from, it was probably harder to conceptualize a way to flatten the image of a person. That’s my theory, anyway
Some FYI: I've seen a cheaply made book on Moche pottery cheaply made because (with plastic spirals) because it was not published for the public view. Why? Because it was Moche PORN pottery. Twas pretty common & very eXXXplicite.
If you're Native American or First Nation from the U.S and above, then of course by all of means you have never heard of it. The Northern American race believes the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans to be myths and don't "recognize them as tribes."
I'm Chilean and went to Northern Peru years ago, and was very impressed visiting some of these sites ( also the beaches and the food, lol). I consider myself a history nerd but for some reason I barely knew anything about the Moche! It's weird us here in Chile - at least until de 1990s, when I was a kid - aren't taught about these cultures, beyond just the Inca, when we're so close to this area. I hope kids nowadays and in the future have greater knowledge of all the different cultures there were in South America
Soy peruana, pero algo he leído sobre las culturas Pre-hispánicas de Chile, como Los Mapuches y Los Araucanos. Me sorprendió ver unas momias de barro que hacían con los huesos y restos de los fallecidos, leí que ese tipo de momias son únicas en el mundo. Saludos desde Lima ! :)
Im Panamanian. We are recently descovering a culture here that used to work splendid pieces of gold. Im very fascinated by the Moche and it is sad that we are briefly educated about the Incas and that's it.
I would have loved to have been in the room the first time someone noticed that the face with the scar lip was actually the same person, I'll bet it was a lovely exciting eureka moment!
I love learning about my ancestors!!! The Moche artwork displayed here is truly impressive among the Americas. Loved seeing the images in Sipán too! Thank you for this great video and all the work you put into them!
One thing I love is that the moche clearly depicted captured warriors from the area between them and the Recuay culture, generally shown with more facial hair and round dangling earings. The iconography show Moche man fighting warriors wielding stone mace, used in the Highlands but not by the moche, and wielding slings, unlike the moche who used spear throwers. Finally these foreigners wear on their back or front some sort of bags covered with/containing heads, potentially shrunken heads of enemies, a recurring motif in Recuay art of warriors. So will one shouldn't go as far as to say their is an attested war between the two cultures, the Moche definitely fought very similar cultures and even knew that they used poporos, which are not common in Moche's hand but are seen used by these foreigners.
oh gosh i love the portrait vessels! i love seeing ancient art that's so realistic bc it really helps to drive home that ancient peoples were just as capable of realism as modern folk which helps to avoid stereotyping ancient folk as "lesser" (also they just look really fucking cool)
They are exquisite! There are hundreds of gorgeous portrait vessels you can see online. This was one of the few episodes where there was so much amazing art I wanted to cram into the video but couldn't.
I have been there, honestly very interesting culture , you should add the Dama of Cao a queen priest who was very powerful, I visited all that part of Peru ..there is a lot of information about the artwork , I have been studying the iconography for years and using it on my art I would recommend visit there
A NEW ANCIENT AMERICAS VIDEO??? I was literally just rewatching about the mesoamericans, i would love to hear what research you could find on the ktunaxa people who became the kootenai tribe? the kootenai area is the only mediterrainian climate in the inland north west, and it wouldve flooded just like the nile from egypt before the damn was put in libby.
Moche culture is one of my favorite of my country. Some years ago my family and I went to a roadtrip to visit some moche sites. We kinda got lost looking for la señora de Cao museum, we ended in the huaca cortada site xd. One of my favorites museums is the tumbas reales de Sipán :D
I love learning about my ancestors, makes me feel more connected, I feel like I have more of an identity around my families past the more I learn. Going to la huaca de la Luna was a crazy experience
As Peruvian, i have to say glad for this video. 2:14 Ayapaec: The AE sounds more like german ö. A E I O U AE (six vowels) Ayapaec really means 'creator' in muchic. Its quechuan counterpart is Pachakamaq. Muchic language its tricky (there was a whole consonant palatalization phenomenon going on). It was evolving. During Tawantinsuyu period muchic was one of the main languages. Thrived for long time until its extinction in 30's. (P.D. I''m quechuan) 4:46 Yanantin-masintin philosophy. ** Yanantin: Like ying-yang are opposites to each other they are one. One needs the other to exist. Black/white, man/women, north/south, warm/cold and so. YANA: Complement, help, pair. -NTIN: together(ness). When joined like a wedding, they encounter "Tinkuy". ** Masintin: Same distinct entities in not relation of pairing forbeing in the same category like between brothers. Many entities in a group having a relation for being in that group (Ex. 1, 2, 3, 4 are numbers). MASI: same. -NTIN: together(ness) . There was a lot contact between quechuan kingdoms and muchic ones. Culturally and commercially. Even that there are a differences of way of thinking between north and south Peru until today. SULLPAY!!
Any comments on the twin pipe vases? They remind me a bit of the Navajo (?) Marriage Jar in that both betrothed drink out of it to symbolize the two of them becoming one.
Glad to see you're still putting out awesome content! Hoping to reach back out soon! I've had the privilege of seeing loads of Moche Ceramics and metalwork twice now, and they're some of the coolest pieces I've ever seen, even as somebody who is really into Mesoamerica. And Huaca de La Luna and Cao Viejo? What photos I''ve seen of them are straight up gorgeous. Also, while I know that Mesoamerican-Andean contact has little evidence aside for some potential trading between West Mexico and Ecuador via coastal sea traders and i'm not suggesting otherwise, I find it interesting how there's a fair bit of (at least superficial) iconographic similarities between some of their cultures, especially in Moche art: The famous step fret shows up in Moche (and Chimu) pretty much exactly as it does in Mesoamerica, and Moche art seems to use the gripping of a captive's hair in the same manner seen in some Mesoamerican, especially in Aztec/Nahua iconography. Snake weapons, wielded like Huitzliopotchli does Xiuhcoatl, also seems to come up, as does an association between warriors and hummingbirds! Again, it NEEDS to be stressed here for other viewers that this doesn't mean the Moche and the Nahuas had contact: In fact, the chronology wouldn't work out anyways; but It's still interesting and makes me wonder how much of this stuff might be Pan-american motifs, I'm REALLY interested in reading a paper that tracks the evolution and geographic spread of the Step Fret in particular, as I haven't seen it show up in Central American art between Mesoamerica and the Andes despite both regions having it. I wish I had more to add about the Moche themselves, but it's not quite my area. I do have a lot of photos I can shoot over information I got from presentations and displays. Down the line maybe we can add a pinned comment with some of it? Also, re: 24:40 with Flower wars: We do have records of them being used in the traditional ritualistic understanding to cement alliances and political marriages such via mutual consent (though sources claim that may not have been apparent to the soldiers themselves) when preformed against allied states or existing subjects; but against enemy states, while they certainly COULD be used to "farm" captives' sacrifices (which is Cortes says Moctezuma II told him when asked why they hadn't conquered Tlaxcala yet), they had pragmatic purposes, too: Firstly, as a way for polities to "dip their toes" into a conflict against one another to size each other up without committing to a full scale war, and then either backing down or escalating. This is what happened during some conflicts between Tenochtitlan and Chalco. The Mexica of Tenochtitlan also tended to use them (though they really were primarily used against Tlaxcala, Huextozinco, and a few other states) as a way to wear down enemies before conquering them directly: They'd conquer the areas around the target, and then wage flower wars against it. Flower wars, due to their ostensibly ritual purpose, occured at smaller scales then full invasions, and meant that they could be waged all year round, wheras warfare in Central Mexico normally had to be seasonal due to the climate and timing harvests. So targets would be faced with year-round conflict and slowly whittled down, wheas the Mexica invariably had more military manpower and would be less impacted. It's also been suggested that it was a method of keeping soldiers trained and fit, and encouraging participation/zeal for warfare, as it enabled combatants to advance militarily and socially via gaining captives and earning land grants and elite goods (for nobles) or titles of honorary/"meritocratic" nobility to commoners. Some researchers, such as Micheal Smith, have even argued that Flower Wars were entirely a revisionist attempt by the Mexica to explain their inability to conquer Tlaxcala. I don't think i'd go THAT far, but I'm convinced it's a little of column A and column B of having both ritual and very real martial utilities.
Hmm...I've heard of some connection such as in the Lenca people that are currently around the Salvadorian-Honduran border. I've heard mention of them being from Ecuador although they inhabited that area for perhaps 7000 years.
Es elegante las culturas del peru la ultima cultura por el año 1200 d.c . Asta 1534 callo el imperio inca cuando los españoles robaron y mataron a los incas robaron todo el oro antes de los incas avia muchas culturas como el primer imperio wari la cultura mochica o la cultura nazca dejaron las lineaz de nazca etc soy peruano de lima 😮😮😮😮😮😮
Thank you gor introducing this; my history if the Americas knowledge is really spotty but it's so interesting! I've been learning so much from your videos lately, and I'm glad to start filling in the gaps
This is one of the best channels on history and archeology on UA-cam and it covers topics that I'd never learnt about elsewhere. Also, Moche art is amazing. I've never saw more impressive pottery. Thank you AA
How about a video about the Chimú or Chimor culture that flourished in northern Peru after the collapse of the Moche culture? And the Sican or Lambayeque culture? Thanks for your wonderful videos.
The work this channel does is so very important. I consider myself an American man of above average education and before this video I had no knowledge of Moche art, which is concerning. Keep up your under-appreciated, excellent work.
There were a lot of small erotic art sculptures in classical Greece, too. There were a couple of small shops in Athens that had a variety. Next to the religious icons and candles!
Thanks so much for this! This is the content I specifically search for and find so little of. I was there two years ago. I’ve been obsessed with learning more about the coastal cultures of Peru ever since. Yet after all I’ve learned, your content has taught me a few new things, and opened many new doors to explore. Thanks!
@@AncientAmericas I married a Peruvian girl 15 years ago and have been spending a month in Peru every year since. I really got into the Incas and the Andean culture that is now my children’s heritage. But two years ago I finally made it up to Trujillo and visited the huacas de Luna y sol. I saw Chan Chan, Sipan, El Bruja, and much more. Now I am on a quest to learn more about the coastal cultures. I’ve also been to Paracas and Caral and Pachacamac and many other sites around Lima. My sister in law’s house is next door to a neglected random pyramid, lost in a sea of urban sprawl. I love how sophisticated and rich these cultures are, and yet so much that we are learning is very new. A tour guide from Trujillo that I now call friend, spent an afternoon describing how she watched these places emerge from the sand as she was growing up. As she did, we were sifting sand with our fingers on a beach, finding beads and pottery shards, and even a little piece of silver that might have been a piece of jewelry. I’ve seen enough sites to believe Peru was much like Ancient Greek city states. With certain regions growing in power and influence only to give way to another. Sometimes diverging with new ideas and traditions, yet all of these places being in contact with each other and sharing a lot of religion and culture. Currently it seems archeology wants to digitize them into separate defined entities, but I feel it was all much more integrated and connected. I’ve seen the Chakana and the fanged diety or the two staffed god from Ecuador to Bolivia, from the sea to the jungle. It’s a lot of amazing culture and history to wrap your head around. And so much more is yet to come. While at Caral I saw several dozen sites being excavated, a guide there told me that Caral might not have been the most significant site in the Suppe valley. My guide friend from Trujillo scoffed at the idea that Caral was the mother culture, she says there are many sites around Trujillo that predate Caral. This year we’ll do the Machu Pichu/ Puno/ Tiwanaku tour again with friends. But the trip after that I am pushing for a return to Trujillo. Sorry to ramble on… but I get so excited about this stuff! Thanks again for all the work that you do. UA-cam needs a lot more content like yours to balance out the Brien Fosters of the world! Cheers!
@@warrendourond7236 you've definitely got the right idea. None of these cultures existed in a vacuum. They all form a grand continuum. I really hope I can visit Peru someday. It's on the bucket list.
@@AncientAmericas I hope you get that chance too! Every site in Peru is known from a dozen different post card pictures. But there is a hundred times more outside of the picture frame than inside it. To understand the moon pyramid in Trujillo you must look out from atop it, across the fertile valley, to the vast modern city of Trujillo which is entirely within the ancient city of Chan chan. The scope demonstrates how civilized and sophisticated these people were. And to feel the climate and eat the food, you come to understand how well these people lived. All contrasted by the bleak uninhabitable desert around. There is unfortunately a necessity to be there in order to understand. Peru is a difficult country to travel, and hits us North American hard with many of its less appealing aspects. But it can be done cheap, it just takes time. 15 years of travelling there and still there is so much I haven’t seen. And unfortunately there is an urgency too. So much is being developed for tourism. My first trip to Machu Pichu, I could walk around quiet areas alone, I could touch the hitching post of the sun, and lay in the Sappa Inka’s bath. Now everything is fenced off, and you must be close to your mandatory guide, that takes you through a set path. A lot is being reconstructed, often on the cheap with methods and materials unlike anything the Inca used. I encourage you to make going a priority. Peru will enchant your heart, and forever capture your imagination. It changed my life, and I am forever greatful.
Ah.. love it. Took enough classes in college for a minor in anthropology. Loved archeology and history of South America. Moche, Chimu, the Inca. How the Spanish came to control the empire was also interesting. The notable feature of the cultures on the West coast was how the toppled the tidy theory of civilization development. Totally wrecked the agricultural to pottery to weaving “progression” found in the Levant.
By the gods, your each video is a blessing, the amount of research and care you put into the videos is amazing and it's always worth the wait for a new one
Great videos. Been watching for a while now and have really enjoyed your content. You bring very good obscure facts that usually aren't mentioned in common places for information on the places and people you discuss. I thank you for doing your part in keeping the native peoples of America's history alive. EDIT- in particular stuff like those tiles. Hearing it from other places they make the most wild conjecture. Rarely is it mentioned that marking contribution on bricks was a thing. The way the people of this area ( past and future people pre Columbian times) worked together was amazing their logistics made the Roman's look like amatuers.
I am peruvian, so they teached me about this guys in school, I remember I've always considered them extremely interesting, much more interesting than the more famous Inca, this guys where way older and had amazing advances, I consider them probably the most important culture of Peru because of seniority and inspiration.
I think the same. North COast cultures got me fascinated more than The Incas. Maybe because they leave us more graphics register about their societies for learning.
I'm really surprised by the great artistic capacity that the Moches had, they were able to portray realism that they could achieve in ceramics (and not just any realism, I am talking about real realism, without the intervention of aesthetics or beauty requirements, they were not afraid to represent even the slightest wart on the face) , while giving equal attention to their abstract and simplified representations, they could see beauty in the harmonious geometry and colorful patterns. It's a shame that we can never appreciate all his works that were lost in time.
Loved it as always. This channel is a gem. One thing I really took from the Wengrow/Graeber book is that societies are so varied that we should suspect that our initial hunches that a culture fitted into a neat, well-known pattern known from the last few millennia of Eurasian culture - such as patriarchal king-led states - is more likely to be proven wrong than not. Societies show themselves to be almost as varied as they are numerous. I wonder if the particular style of Moche pottery was associated with a discredited form of rule or society-structure, such that people abandoned it for other things even if they retained the skills to continue it.
Great video. Moche pottery is amazing and to think that they were doing this amazing art while the people here in the Southwest were just getting started with ceramics!
Such a great video! If I’m not mistaken Pete Kelly of History Time made a vid on Moche shark hunters and fishermen. These pre Inca civilizations are amazing, especially because of all the metallurgy and organic materials that survived to this day. Thanks for making this!
I don’t know if I’ve ever left a comment on this channel yet but I just wanted to say I love all y’all videos! Watched them all and I’m so glad u put a new one out 😁 I’m very interested in this kind of stuff but I know little about it, so I really appreciate the hard work U put into the videos! Keep it up
The Moche portrait vessels must be up there with the Jaina figurines as some of the most amazing ceramic work ever done in the Americas. Mad respect for the artisans.
me and my bf just revisited this video after visiting the larco museum and its a wonderful companion to the things we saw there :-) we like your channel very much and the work you do is super interesting and rich. thanks for the excellent stuff!
I am so appreciative of this video documentary series. I am a student of pre-European history and these documentaries are excellent! I lived in el Peru and was fortunate to visit so many of the sites referred to here. There is a museum in Lima which has a display of Moche artifacts, especially their exquisite pottery. There is a special room of Moche pottery which requires one to be over 18 years to enter because the pottery was quite frank in their depiction of sexual acts.
Thank you! Was it the museo larco? I worked with their staff to get pictures of certain pieces for my moche and Nazca episodes and they were wonderful to work with.
That pottery is STUNNING, I never knew such art existed in South America, I really love how your channel breathes life into Pre-Columbian South America, your videos show the progression of society without the usual narrative of “And then a great catastrophe happened after which great cities were abandoned and society collapsed” Thanks a lot for making such high quality videos, until the next one!!
En peru hay mas culturas o ubo como la cultura paracaz la cultura nazca mochicha el imperio wari etc iltimo fue el imperio inca soy peruano y peru es elegante
Excellent summary! Fascinating about the individuals being recognized through their pottery portraits at different stages of their lives, and the part about anti-coagulant fruits. I read somewhere that a series of El Niño floods and La Niña droughts may have caused the decline of the Moche as a cohesive civilization.
Thank you. There was a big El niño that happened in 600ish and that's thought to have been particularly destructive and led to some sites being abandoned but others were able to continue.
That sculpture of the blind man at 6:09 was absolutely amazing. Whoever the artist was, he had a gift. Did the Moche speak the same or similar language of the Inca?
As AncientAmericas said, they would have spoken Mochica/Muchik. There were many other languages spoken in the region as well, such as Quingnam (a major language of the Chimú), Lengua Pescadora (may have been a dialect of Quingnam), Culle/Culli/Kulyi, Sechura/Sek, Olmos, Catacao, Colán, Chira/Lachira, Tallán/Atalán (Catacao, Colán, and Chira/Lachira might be subsumed into this language as dialects/varieties), Cat (attested to by toponyms), Contumazá/Guzmango/Den (also attested to by toponyms), and likely a variety of other unattested and/or poorly known languages. There are actually ongoing language revitalization/revival efforts for Mochica/Muchik, and the language is being taught in various schools in Peru, namely in the historic Moche region (Lambayeque etc.). As a result, around 80 people can speak Mochica/Muchik today. :)
Thank you very much for this amazing video and congratulations! The Moche culture rocks big time! What skilful sculptors some of them were! These realistic, beautiful sculptures are exquisite masterpieces! Precolumbian art is amazing, state of the art, some of the most refined and gorgeous in all the world. Long live the ancestral peoples´ culture, knowledge and art!
Oo I hope you’ll do Chinchorro culture! I’ve heard about the mummies, but considering that they’re a pretty flashy headline, that’s literally all I know about them.
Thanks for the video! Peru and the Andes region have such a rich history, so it's always great to learn more about them. I'd love to see you tackle my ancestors, the indigenous peoples from coastal Ecuador, like the Manteño-Huancavilca cultures or the very ancient Valdivia culture. There is some very interesting stuff about their ceramics and their navigation techniques.
Gary , I'm interested in Valdivia culture. I heard it's one of the oldest cultures as Caral. Saludos desde Lima, Perú a la hermana TIerra de Los Spondylus :) !
Well done, I've always been impressed by the realism in the Moche ceramic figures. Have you also done-or do you plan to do-an overview of the Sipan culture? I'm interested as they were probably the preeminent metallurgical culture in the Andes and probably all the America's. Thanks.
@@AncientAmericas Yes, Sican-my fingers were disconnected from my brain. I'm really interested in learning more about metallurgy in the Americas before the Europeans arrived. Thank you!
@@AncientAmericas pre-contact American history is so fascinating! I really love the astounding craftsmanship on display in Meso- and South American cultures (not that the more northern groups didn’t have their own wonders of course)
Moche pottery is, legitimately, some of the most impressive art of it's kind ever. The detail and realism rivals contemporary Roman statuary, possibly even rivaling later Renaissance. Their drawn and painted art is stylized and simple, on the other hand, yet clearly still had a lot of effort put into it. I wish I had a time machine.
These nameless potters are Masters of the highest possible level. And I feel humbled by their perfection. I would say a platitude , but you better think twice before calling any culture " primitive". Thanks for this impressive video spot .
Having visited a museum that had entire rooms of the erotic pottery in Peru, I am almost certain that it was simply meant to be humorous, especially as they often seemed to be of slightly lower quality than other non-erotic pottery and they frequently *were* rather funny scenes. When you have such a prolific culture of pottery that is available even to the non-wealthy, I don’t think it unusual to have some fun with it. We see that with objects like Greek drinking cups, and Greek writing allows us to confirm that they were indeed meant merely to be amusing. It’s not that unusual if the skills and materials are abundant and the end product is accessible to most of the populations.
Apart from appreciating the art and the power of history to recreate, I also want to note I like the landspace they live in. Like, all cultures first of all come from their landscape which is the the first factor on how they live, how they feel etc. Egyptians lived along one huge river with a great monolithic kingdom along it, Greeks lived in some rocky peninsulas and many smaller islands, and so with other folks and it creates way different atmosphere, different stories of their lives. And I like how they lived in many little parallel rivers streaming to the same sea. How many untold stories are behind it? How it influenced the mythologies and real lives? How they travelled and contacted, how they saw neighours? Very interesting.
Is there any chance we will ever see a video about geographical knowledges of native Americans? Did they trade with each other, did they have maps, how much of America have they discovered? Did Incas know about the Mapuche? Did Miskitos know about the Mayans? Did Arawaks know about the Tainos? Did Inuits know who lived in the woodlands? Or did Aztecs know who roamed the Great Plains? Maybe peoples of Andes contacted the Polynesians? Or maybe native Alaskans met the inhabitants of Aleut islands and Chukotka? That would make an interesting video topic, because no one really explains it.
Thanks for explain our peruvian cultures! I was in most of those places and they are amazing when you are not at school trying to understand the peruvian history! It's a real nightmare to learn about the pre Hispanic cultures at school! Our culture is so beautiful, special and complicated but ignored by other countries in America (the continent) and in the world! We now more about the less developed cultures of North America like apaches, siox, lakotas depicted on Hollywood films and US Tv series (sorry but it's true that the US and Canada American Indians cultures are very low in comparison to the other North American culture like Aztec and Maya, and the South America cultures that were flourish from South Columbia to North Chile and Argentina, being it center located mostly in Peru! It's sad that our original American history is ignored by ourselves and let that low cultures cover the great developments from Aztec, Maya, pre Inca and Inca cultures! All these is saying with respect to the other original American cultures.
You're welcome! I wouldn't call those North American nations less developed, rather they just show their qualities differently. Their cultures are every bit as interesting and intricate as the grand cultures of Peru and Mexico. Appreciate the comment!
Check out Kayleigh's video on the Lord of Sipan here! ua-cam.com/video/dZCX2_ANWhU/v-deo.html
Kayleigh sent me
I saw you comment on a video saying you wanted to cover the purepecha, Still a possibility?
@@armandosoria7993 a very strong possibility. You may want to stay tuned.
@@AncientAmericas whoo! I was just sucked into you "moche" video! Lol. I look forward to the video, my fathers side of the family is purepecha so im stoked. Sub'd as well!
I enjoy the contrast between the lifelike, naturalistic pottery and the stylized figures they painted.
It really drives home how cultural development in art isn't some sort of straight line of progress from "primitive" iconography to realism. Moche artists clearly had a very good handle on what people "really" looked like. They just didn't always choose to depict them that way.
EXACTLY!! 👏
People forget that, presumably, ancient cultures had different 'genres' existing contemporaneously, the same way we do today.
Presumably there was also a range of skills in the artists themselves. They would likely have gravitated toward do what they were best at.
I think that’s the case for many ancient cultures (the Egyptians, Sumerians, etc): sculptures of people are more naturalistic while 2 dimensional pictures are more stylized. I think it has to do, at least partially, with the nature of the mediums themselves. A 3-dimensional sculpture of a 3-dimensional person is more true-to-life, while a 2-dimensional depiction obviously has to make some significant changes. For early cultures without a history of art to look back on and learn from, it was probably harder to conceptualize a way to flatten the image of a person. That’s my theory, anyway
What til you see the more graphic pottery 🤭
I have to admit I had never heard of the Moche, but that pottery is simply incredible. I had no idea something like that existed.
Right!?
Our pre Inca civilizations were good at pottery each one in their own style.
For real. These vessels look like stuff that was made today. Incredibly well preserved and an incredible technique.
Some FYI: I've seen a cheaply made book on Moche pottery cheaply made because (with plastic spirals) because it was not published for the public view.
Why? Because it was Moche PORN pottery. Twas pretty common & very eXXXplicite.
If you're Native American or First Nation from the U.S and above, then of course by all of means you have never heard of it. The Northern American race believes the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans to be myths and don't "recognize them as tribes."
My jaw actually dropped seeing some of this art. I'm so happy that you keep introducing me to such fascinating cultures and archeology.
I remember my jaw dropping when I first saw those pieces years back. There's so much more gorgeous art out there that you can see.
I'm Chilean and went to Northern Peru years ago, and was very impressed visiting some of these sites ( also the beaches and the food, lol). I consider myself a history nerd but for some reason I barely knew anything about the Moche! It's weird us here in Chile - at least until de 1990s, when I was a kid - aren't taught about these cultures, beyond just the Inca, when we're so close to this area. I hope kids nowadays and in the future have greater knowledge of all the different cultures there were in South America
Soy peruana, pero algo he leído sobre las culturas Pre-hispánicas de Chile, como Los Mapuches y Los Araucanos. Me sorprendió ver unas momias de barro que hacían con los huesos y restos de los fallecidos, leí que ese tipo de momias son únicas en el mundo. Saludos desde Lima ! :)
Im Panamanian. We are recently descovering a culture here that used to work splendid pieces of gold. Im very fascinated by the Moche and it is sad that we are briefly educated about the Incas and that's it.
The pottery faces are absolutely jaw-dropping
I know, it's amazing!
I would have loved to have been in the room the first time someone noticed that the face with the scar lip was actually the same person, I'll bet it was a lovely exciting eureka moment!
Some of these are practically having a photograph of these people....what a hugely valuable thing to have historically
I love learning about my ancestors!!! The Moche artwork displayed here is truly impressive among the Americas. Loved seeing the images in Sipán too! Thank you for this great video and all the work you put into them!
It's among the finest ancient artwork in the Americas. Truly beautiful stuff.
@@AncientAmericas totally agree!!
One thing I love is that the moche clearly depicted captured warriors from the area between them and the Recuay culture, generally shown with more facial hair and round dangling earings. The iconography show Moche man fighting warriors wielding stone mace, used in the Highlands but not by the moche, and wielding slings, unlike the moche who used spear throwers. Finally these foreigners wear on their back or front some sort of bags covered with/containing heads, potentially shrunken heads of enemies, a recurring motif in Recuay art of warriors. So will one shouldn't go as far as to say their is an attested war between the two cultures, the Moche definitely fought very similar cultures and even knew that they used poporos, which are not common in Moche's hand but are seen used by these foreigners.
Very good observations!
YES!!! I have been excited for you to cover the Moche. They are so fascinating and Huaca de la Luna is amazing
Yes it is!
@@AncientAmericas Have you been able to visit Museo Larco's erotic gallery? Some are downright hilarious.
@@QUIRK1019 I have not personally visited but I've seen a lot of the erotic art.
oh gosh i love the portrait vessels! i love seeing ancient art that's so realistic bc it really helps to drive home that ancient peoples were just as capable of realism as modern folk which helps to avoid stereotyping ancient folk as "lesser" (also they just look really fucking cool)
They are exquisite! There are hundreds of gorgeous portrait vessels you can see online. This was one of the few episodes where there was so much amazing art I wanted to cram into the video but couldn't.
I have been there, honestly very interesting culture , you should add the Dama of Cao a queen priest who was very powerful, I visited all that part of Peru ..there is a lot of information about the artwork , I have been studying the iconography for years and using it on my art I would recommend visit there
Thank you! I am always excited to see a new video!
You're welcome!
A NEW ANCIENT AMERICAS VIDEO??? I was literally just rewatching about the mesoamericans, i would love to hear what research you could find on the ktunaxa people who became the kootenai tribe? the kootenai area is the only mediterrainian climate in the inland north west, and it wouldve flooded just like the nile from egypt before the damn was put in libby.
Hmmm. I'll have to look into that.
@@AncientAmericas i would love it if you could, their name was the ktunaxa :)
@@patriotpizzaman the kootenai live in usa and canda check your facts
Moche culture is one of my favorite of my country. Some years ago my family and I went to a roadtrip to visit some moche sites. We kinda got lost looking for la señora de Cao museum, we ended in the huaca cortada site xd. One of my favorites museums is the tumbas reales de Sipán :D
Fascinating people and their art is incredible. I'm so intrigued by their warfare and their religious beliefs. Great video, thank you.
Thank you!
I love learning about my ancestors, makes me feel more connected, I feel like I have more of an identity around my families past the more I learn. Going to la huaca de la Luna was a crazy experience
This is such a ridiculously high quality educational UA-cam channel.
Thank you!
As Peruvian, i have to say glad for this video.
2:14 Ayapaec: The AE sounds more like german ö. A E I O U AE (six vowels)
Ayapaec really means 'creator' in muchic. Its quechuan counterpart is Pachakamaq.
Muchic language its tricky (there was a whole consonant palatalization phenomenon going on). It was evolving.
During Tawantinsuyu period muchic was one of the main languages. Thrived for long time until its extinction in 30's.
(P.D. I''m quechuan)
4:46 Yanantin-masintin philosophy.
** Yanantin: Like ying-yang are opposites to each other they are one. One needs the other to exist.
Black/white, man/women, north/south, warm/cold and so.
YANA: Complement, help, pair. -NTIN: together(ness).
When joined like a wedding, they encounter "Tinkuy".
** Masintin: Same distinct entities in not relation of pairing forbeing in the same category like between brothers. Many entities in a group having a relation for being in that group (Ex. 1, 2, 3, 4 are numbers).
MASI: same. -NTIN: together(ness) .
There was a lot contact between quechuan kingdoms and muchic ones. Culturally and commercially. Even that there are a differences of way of thinking between north and south Peru until today.
SULLPAY!!
Thank you!
Any comments on the twin pipe vases? They remind me a bit of the Navajo (?) Marriage Jar in that both betrothed drink out of it to symbolize the two of them becoming one.
Lucuferic duality
Glad to see you're still putting out awesome content! Hoping to reach back out soon! I've had the privilege of seeing loads of Moche Ceramics and metalwork twice now, and they're some of the coolest pieces I've ever seen, even as somebody who is really into Mesoamerica. And Huaca de La Luna and Cao Viejo? What photos I''ve seen of them are straight up gorgeous. Also, while I know that Mesoamerican-Andean contact has little evidence aside for some potential trading between West Mexico and Ecuador via coastal sea traders and i'm not suggesting otherwise, I find it interesting how there's a fair bit of (at least superficial) iconographic similarities between some of their cultures, especially in Moche art: The famous step fret shows up in Moche (and Chimu) pretty much exactly as it does in Mesoamerica, and Moche art seems to use the gripping of a captive's hair in the same manner seen in some Mesoamerican, especially in Aztec/Nahua iconography. Snake weapons, wielded like Huitzliopotchli does Xiuhcoatl, also seems to come up, as does an association between warriors and hummingbirds!
Again, it NEEDS to be stressed here for other viewers that this doesn't mean the Moche and the Nahuas had contact: In fact, the chronology wouldn't work out anyways; but It's still interesting and makes me wonder how much of this stuff might be Pan-american motifs, I'm REALLY interested in reading a paper that tracks the evolution and geographic spread of the Step Fret in particular, as I haven't seen it show up in Central American art between Mesoamerica and the Andes despite both regions having it.
I wish I had more to add about the Moche themselves, but it's not quite my area. I do have a lot of photos I can shoot over information I got from presentations and displays. Down the line maybe we can add a pinned comment with some of it?
Also, re: 24:40 with Flower wars: We do have records of them being used in the traditional ritualistic understanding to cement alliances and political marriages such via mutual consent (though sources claim that may not have been apparent to the soldiers themselves) when preformed against allied states or existing subjects; but against enemy states, while they certainly COULD be used to "farm" captives' sacrifices (which is Cortes says Moctezuma II told him when asked why they hadn't conquered Tlaxcala yet), they had pragmatic purposes, too:
Firstly, as a way for polities to "dip their toes" into a conflict against one another to size each other up without committing to a full scale war, and then either backing down or escalating. This is what happened during some conflicts between Tenochtitlan and Chalco. The Mexica of Tenochtitlan also tended to use them (though they really were primarily used against Tlaxcala, Huextozinco, and a few other states) as a way to wear down enemies before conquering them directly: They'd conquer the areas around the target, and then wage flower wars against it. Flower wars, due to their ostensibly ritual purpose, occured at smaller scales then full invasions, and meant that they could be waged all year round, wheras warfare in Central Mexico normally had to be seasonal due to the climate and timing harvests. So targets would be faced with year-round conflict and slowly whittled down, wheas the Mexica invariably had more military manpower and would be less impacted.
It's also been suggested that it was a method of keeping soldiers trained and fit, and encouraging participation/zeal for warfare, as it enabled combatants to advance militarily and socially via gaining captives and earning land grants and elite goods (for nobles) or titles of honorary/"meritocratic" nobility to commoners. Some researchers, such as Micheal Smith, have even argued that Flower Wars were entirely a revisionist attempt by the Mexica to explain their inability to conquer Tlaxcala. I don't think i'd go THAT far, but I'm convinced it's a little of column A and column B of having both ritual and very real martial utilities.
Thank you! Great to hear from you as always! Please reach out to me as soon as you can so we can work together again!
Hmm...I've heard of some connection such as in the Lenca people that are currently around the Salvadorian-Honduran border. I've heard mention of them being from Ecuador although they inhabited that area for perhaps 7000 years.
@@AncientAmericas I'd love to hear more about any Ecuador/Lenca connection.
Their art is off the charts!! Later cultures couldn't made it that beautiful.
Es elegante las culturas del peru la ultima cultura por el año 1200 d.c . Asta 1534 callo el imperio inca cuando los españoles robaron y mataron a los incas robaron todo el oro antes de los incas avia muchas culturas como el primer imperio wari la cultura mochica o la cultura nazca dejaron las lineaz de nazca etc soy peruano de lima 😮😮😮😮😮😮
Thank you gor introducing this; my history if the Americas knowledge is really spotty but it's so interesting! I've been learning so much from your videos lately, and I'm glad to start filling in the gaps
I'm glad you're enjoying them!
This is one of the best channels on history and archeology on UA-cam and it covers topics that I'd never learnt about elsewhere. Also, Moche art is amazing. I've never saw more impressive pottery. Thank you AA
Thank you!
Just want to say thank you for all of the obvious care and attention you put into these videos!
You're welcome!
I've actually never heard if this culture. That detail is crazy!
Ah yes, I remember when I saw my first Moche pot.
This video is so extremely well done. Bravo👏👍 you've gained a new subscriber for life!
Thank you!
How about a video about the Chimú or Chimor culture that flourished in northern Peru after the collapse of the Moche culture? And the Sican or Lambayeque culture? Thanks for your wonderful videos.
Yes, they are on my radar. There will be an episode on Chimor someday.
The work this channel does is so very important. I consider myself an American man of above average education and before this video I had no knowledge of Moche art, which is concerning. Keep up your under-appreciated, excellent work.
Thank you!
I love explicit ancient erotic art. I think it should be talked about more often cause they one of the most humanizing artifacts of ancient people.
You'll love the Khajuraho temples in India then (you can easily look up pictures of the sculptures online). :)
There were a lot of small erotic art sculptures in classical Greece, too. There were a couple of small shops in Athens that had a variety. Next to the religious icons and candles!
i like to think that some moche pottery guy got some fantastic tail one day and decided to memorialize that shit LMAO
Thanks so much for this! This is the content I specifically search for and find so little of. I was there two years ago. I’ve been obsessed with learning more about the coastal cultures of Peru ever since. Yet after all I’ve learned, your content has taught me a few new things, and opened many new doors to explore. Thanks!
You're welcome! Where in Peru did you visit?
@@AncientAmericas I married a Peruvian girl 15 years ago and have been spending a month in Peru every year since. I really got into the Incas and the Andean culture that is now my children’s heritage. But two years ago I finally made it up to Trujillo and visited the huacas de Luna y sol. I saw Chan Chan, Sipan, El Bruja, and much more. Now I am on a quest to learn more about the coastal cultures. I’ve also been to Paracas and Caral and Pachacamac and many other sites around Lima. My sister in law’s house is next door to a neglected random pyramid, lost in a sea of urban sprawl. I love how sophisticated and rich these cultures are, and yet so much that we are learning is very new. A tour guide from Trujillo that I now call friend, spent an afternoon describing how she watched these places emerge from the sand as she was growing up. As she did, we were sifting sand with our fingers on a beach, finding beads and pottery shards, and even a little piece of silver that might have been a piece of jewelry. I’ve seen enough sites to believe Peru was much like Ancient Greek city states. With certain regions growing in power and influence only to give way to another. Sometimes diverging with new ideas and traditions, yet all of these places being in contact with each other and sharing a lot of religion and culture. Currently it seems archeology wants to digitize them into separate defined entities, but I feel it was all much more integrated and connected. I’ve seen the Chakana and the fanged diety or the two staffed god from Ecuador to Bolivia, from the sea to the jungle. It’s a lot of amazing culture and history to wrap your head around. And so much more is yet to come. While at Caral I saw several dozen sites being excavated, a guide there told me that Caral might not have been the most significant site in the Suppe valley. My guide friend from Trujillo scoffed at the idea that Caral was the mother culture, she says there are many sites around Trujillo that predate Caral. This year we’ll do the Machu Pichu/ Puno/ Tiwanaku tour again with friends. But the trip after that I am pushing for a return to Trujillo.
Sorry to ramble on… but I get so excited about this stuff! Thanks again for all the work that you do. UA-cam needs a lot more content like yours to balance out the Brien Fosters of the world! Cheers!
@@warrendourond7236 you've definitely got the right idea. None of these cultures existed in a vacuum. They all form a grand continuum. I really hope I can visit Peru someday. It's on the bucket list.
@@AncientAmericas I hope you get that chance too! Every site in Peru is known from a dozen different post card pictures. But there is a hundred times more outside of the picture frame than inside it. To understand the moon pyramid in Trujillo you must look out from atop it, across the fertile valley, to the vast modern city of Trujillo which is entirely within the ancient city of Chan chan. The scope demonstrates how civilized and sophisticated these people were. And to feel the climate and eat the food, you come to understand how well these people lived. All contrasted by the bleak uninhabitable desert around. There is unfortunately a necessity to be there in order to understand. Peru is a difficult country to travel, and hits us North American hard with many of its less appealing aspects. But it can be done cheap, it just takes time. 15 years of travelling there and still there is so much I haven’t seen. And unfortunately there is an urgency too. So much is being developed for tourism. My first trip to Machu Pichu, I could walk around quiet areas alone, I could touch the hitching post of the sun, and lay in the Sappa Inka’s bath. Now everything is fenced off, and you must be close to your mandatory guide, that takes you through a set path. A lot is being reconstructed, often on the cheap with methods and materials unlike anything the Inca used. I encourage you to make going a priority. Peru will enchant your heart, and forever capture your imagination. It changed my life, and I am forever greatful.
Ah.. love it. Took enough classes in college for a minor in anthropology. Loved archeology and history of South America. Moche, Chimu, the Inca. How the Spanish came to control the empire was also interesting. The notable feature of the cultures on the West coast was how the toppled the tidy theory of civilization development. Totally wrecked the agricultural to pottery to weaving “progression” found in the Levant.
.I love your channel. I share these episodes often. Many thanks
It's amazing that they virtually perfected pottery techniques thousands of years ago
By the gods, your each video is a blessing, the amount of research and care you put into the videos is amazing and it's always worth the wait for a new one
Thank you!
Great videos. Been watching for a while now and have really enjoyed your content. You bring very good obscure facts that usually aren't mentioned in common places for information on the places and people you discuss. I thank you for doing your part in keeping the native peoples of America's history alive.
EDIT- in particular stuff like those tiles. Hearing it from other places they make the most wild conjecture. Rarely is it mentioned that marking contribution on bricks was a thing. The way the people of this area ( past and future people pre Columbian times) worked together was amazing their logistics made the Roman's look like amatuers.
Thank you!
I am peruvian, so they teached me about this guys in school, I remember I've always considered them extremely interesting, much more interesting than the more famous Inca, this guys where way older and had amazing advances, I consider them probably the most important culture of Peru because of seniority and inspiration.
I think the same. North COast cultures got me fascinated more than The Incas. Maybe because they leave us more graphics register about their societies for learning.
Incas are probably more famous because they interacted with Europeans and, henceforth, we have written records of their cultures.
Great content as usual.
Thanks man!
@@AncientAmericas keep up the good work. My pet cockatiel seems to like your voice.
It’s always so cool to learn something new through your videos!
Thank you!
I'm really surprised by the great artistic capacity that the Moches had, they were able to portray realism that they could achieve in ceramics (and not just any realism, I am talking about real realism, without the intervention of aesthetics or beauty requirements, they were not afraid to represent even the slightest wart on the face) , while giving equal attention to their abstract and simplified representations, they could see beauty in the harmonious geometry and colorful patterns. It's a shame that we can never appreciate all his works that were lost in time.
I was lucky enough to go to Señor de Sipan Moche museum. It was absolutely amazing
Thank you for a study of a culture I was not all that familiar with. Your work is stellar.
You're welcome and thank you!
Loved it as always. This channel is a gem. One thing I really took from the Wengrow/Graeber book is that societies are so varied that we should suspect that our initial hunches that a culture fitted into a neat, well-known pattern known from the last few millennia of Eurasian culture - such as patriarchal king-led states - is more likely to be proven wrong than not. Societies show themselves to be almost as varied as they are numerous.
I wonder if the particular style of Moche pottery was associated with a discredited form of rule or society-structure, such that people abandoned it for other things even if they retained the skills to continue it.
Thank you! Thats a good question and much ink has been spilled on it.
Similar to the fall of the Mayas City States. The Mayas live in the same places as their ancestors, they just stopped following the ruling theocracies
Your video and Kayleigh's covered Moche well providing me with enough knowledge base to help in me to big my own discovery of literature. Thanks.
Great video. Moche pottery is amazing and to think that they were doing this amazing art while the people here in the Southwest were just getting started with ceramics!
Thank you!
Such a great video! If I’m not mistaken Pete Kelly of History Time made a vid on Moche shark hunters and fishermen. These pre Inca civilizations are amazing, especially because of all the metallurgy and organic materials that survived to this day. Thanks for making this!
Thank you! I'll have to check out that video!
The portrait sculptures are amazing, absolutely wonderful !
I’m thinking of making a wood carving of one.
I don’t know if I’ve ever left a comment on this channel yet but I just wanted to say I love all y’all videos! Watched them all and I’m so glad u put a new one out 😁 I’m very interested in this kind of stuff but I know little about it, so I really appreciate the hard work U put into the videos! Keep it up
Thank you!
The Moche portrait vessels must be up there with the Jaina figurines as some of the most amazing ceramic work ever done in the Americas. Mad respect for the artisans.
Right!?
I love all your videos. Don't mind waiting long gaps between posts because the content is always thorough and well-researched. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
This has to be one of the best channels on the platform.
Thank you!
Moche art is so expressive, stunning portraits. Wow!
Moche art is among my favorite in all the Americas. It's absolutely exquisite.
me and my bf just revisited this video after visiting the larco museum and its a wonderful companion to the things we saw there :-) we like your channel very much and the work you do is super interesting and rich. thanks for the excellent stuff!
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Also, the staff there was very helpful in getting me pictures for the episode so shout out to them.
I am so appreciative of this video documentary series. I am a student of pre-European history and these documentaries are excellent! I lived in el Peru and was fortunate to visit so many of the sites referred to here. There is a museum in Lima which has a display of Moche artifacts, especially their exquisite pottery. There is a special room of Moche pottery which requires one to be over 18 years to enter because the pottery was quite frank in their depiction of sexual acts.
Thank you! Was it the museo larco? I worked with their staff to get pictures of certain pieces for my moche and Nazca episodes and they were wonderful to work with.
That pottery is STUNNING, I never knew such art existed in South America, I really love how your channel breathes life into Pre-Columbian South America, your videos show the progression of society without the usual narrative of “And then a great catastrophe happened after which great cities were abandoned and society collapsed”
Thanks a lot for making such high quality videos, until the next one!!
Thank you!
En peru hay mas culturas o ubo como la cultura paracaz la cultura nazca mochicha el imperio wari etc iltimo fue el imperio inca soy peruano y peru es elegante
thank you for this video, my family is from pacasmayo - la libertad Perú 🇵🇪 and they descend from muchik culture
Excellent summary! Fascinating about the individuals being recognized through their pottery portraits at different stages of their lives, and the part about anti-coagulant fruits. I read somewhere that a series of El Niño floods and La Niña droughts may have caused the decline of the Moche as a cohesive civilization.
Thank you. There was a big El niño that happened in 600ish and that's thought to have been particularly destructive and led to some sites being abandoned but others were able to continue.
Thank you for the video
I'm happy that atleast some people now know about one of the many cultures of my country Perú
:D
You're welcome!
Can never lose your canteen when it literally has your face on it : D
Right on, superman.
It’s for his beer at the pub👍
That sculpture of the blind man at 6:09 was absolutely amazing. Whoever the artist was, he had a gift. Did the Moche speak the same or similar language of the Inca?
No, they would have likely spoken muchika or some related language and the Inca would have spoken quechua.
@@AncientAmericas Thanks for the quick response. Love your videos, keep up the good work!
As AncientAmericas said, they would have spoken Mochica/Muchik. There were many other languages spoken in the region as well, such as Quingnam (a major language of the Chimú), Lengua Pescadora (may have been a dialect of Quingnam), Culle/Culli/Kulyi, Sechura/Sek, Olmos, Catacao, Colán, Chira/Lachira, Tallán/Atalán (Catacao, Colán, and Chira/Lachira might be subsumed into this language as dialects/varieties), Cat (attested to by toponyms), Contumazá/Guzmango/Den (also attested to by toponyms), and likely a variety of other unattested and/or poorly known languages. There are actually ongoing language revitalization/revival efforts for Mochica/Muchik, and the language is being taught in various schools in Peru, namely in the historic Moche region (Lambayeque etc.). As a result, around 80 people can speak Mochica/Muchik today. :)
Thank you for another wonderful video. I love hearing about these ancient cultures. The Americas have such a rich history !
Thank you!
@@AncientAmericas you're welcome. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for this amazing video and congratulations! The Moche culture rocks big time! What skilful sculptors some of them were! These realistic, beautiful sculptures are exquisite masterpieces! Precolumbian art is amazing, state of the art, some of the most refined and gorgeous in all the world. Long live the ancestral peoples´ culture, knowledge and art!
Oo I hope you’ll do Chinchorro culture! I’ve heard about the mummies, but considering that they’re a pretty flashy headline, that’s literally all I know about them.
I'm sure I'll get to them at some point. I'm not sure if I'd cover them on their own or if I'd showcase them as part of mummification in Peru.
Took you a while to get this live! Glad to see it out :)
Yeah, I had to fix a few tiny errors and then waited so Kayleigh and I could release together.
Finally UA-cam algorithm worked for me! Great content and great way to portray them to your viewers!
Thank you!
Just when I was about to go to sleep, I see this video appear in my subscribe list. Well, I am not that tired I guess.
The Curse of the Timezones strikes again!
Same thing happens to me all the time.
came over from History with Kayleigh. Thanks for this video as I have always been interested in preSpain America
You're welcome! And welcome to my humble channel.
That owl vessel is amazing.
I know right?!
They are fascinating. I got a high interest for cultures that loved their metalworks.
Thanks for the video! Peru and the Andes region have such a rich history, so it's always great to learn more about them.
I'd love to see you tackle my ancestors, the indigenous peoples from coastal Ecuador, like the Manteño-Huancavilca cultures or the very ancient Valdivia culture. There is some very interesting stuff about their ceramics and their navigation techniques.
Thank you! I do need to cover Ecuador someday but that probably won't be for a while.
Gary , I'm interested in Valdivia culture. I heard it's one of the oldest cultures as Caral. Saludos desde Lima, Perú a la hermana TIerra de Los Spondylus :) !
I came from Kayleigh. Thank you for this very interesting video. I had not heard of the Moche before today.
You're welcome!
such phenomenal art
I love your channel. I share these episodes often. Many thanks.
Thank you!
Great video! I really enjoy the way you present the pictures and then leave them up so they can be studied while you talk. Bravo!
Thank you! I am very much a visual learner and I think they are very important to understanding these cultures.
Well done, I've always been impressed by the realism in the Moche ceramic figures. Have you also done-or do you plan to do-an overview of the Sipan culture? I'm interested as they were probably the preeminent metallurgical culture in the Andes and probably all the America's. Thanks.
Thank you. I believe that you are referring to Sican culture and yes, someday I do want to cover them.
@@AncientAmericas Yes, Sican-my fingers were disconnected from my brain. I'm really interested in learning more about metallurgy in the Americas before the Europeans arrived. Thank you!
Thank you fro this video, amazing work and information about the culture. Your channel is amazing!
Thank you!
Fascinating stuff. You should absolutely do an episode on Francisco de Orellana's journey on the Amazon
Thank you! I don't have an episode on that but I do discuss that voyage in some detail in my Marajoara episode.
Another brilliant video and I didn't tune in just to hear someone say 'Jequetepeque' a lot of times. Thank you.
Thank you. I probably have 2 entire minutes of "Jequetepeque" outtakes.
I’m always glad to see new vids from you!
I'm always glad to see people appreciating the history!
@@AncientAmericas pre-contact American history is so fascinating! I really love the astounding craftsmanship on display in Meso- and South American cultures (not that the more northern groups didn’t have their own wonders of course)
Moche pottery is, legitimately, some of the most impressive art of it's kind ever. The detail and realism rivals contemporary Roman statuary, possibly even rivaling later Renaissance. Their drawn and painted art is stylized and simple, on the other hand, yet clearly still had a lot of effort put into it.
I wish I had a time machine.
This is my favorite episode yet!
Thank you!
So glad I stumbled on this video and channel, I can't believe I never knew about these people until now
6:05 please make a video about that tangent!
Maybe it'll be my first youtube short.
Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video.
Could you please make a video about the Chachapoyas culture in the Peruvian Amazon?
Someday! Until then, patience.
Wow! By sheer coincidence I’ve been to the museum in Lima 😄
I continue to be struck by how similar in development the S American civilizations are with those of the Tigris Euphrates.
Me too!
The pottery with pictures in reminds me to Greek pottery in some way :)
The art is sooo good the pots you showed were amazing shame we might never know their meaning
Cool. Love your videos. First Nations cultures... so fascinating.
Thank you!
These nameless potters are Masters of the highest possible level. And I feel humbled by their perfection. I would say a platitude , but you better think twice before calling any culture " primitive". Thanks for this impressive video spot .
You're welcome!
tiquy! i just learned about that. in particilar how the confluence of two rivers was also consided sacred. like the cuyahoga and tinkers creek ;)
"All cultures must decline and the Moche were sadly no exception."
[The captives in line to be sacrificed]
"Ohhhh nooooo...."
"Erotic pottery" is not a phrase I ever expected to hear.
Having visited a museum that had entire rooms of the erotic pottery in Peru, I am almost certain that it was simply meant to be humorous, especially as they often seemed to be of slightly lower quality than other non-erotic pottery and they frequently *were* rather funny scenes.
When you have such a prolific culture of pottery that is available even to the non-wealthy, I don’t think it unusual to have some fun with it. We see that with objects like Greek drinking cups, and Greek writing allows us to confirm that they were indeed meant merely to be amusing.
It’s not that unusual if the skills and materials are abundant and the end product is accessible to most of the populations.
They didn't vanish. They sailed North to escape the Chimor invasion. They became the Purepecha in Mexico.
That would be pretty interesting!
I see they took "Fancy Gravy Boats" to a whole new level
Apart from appreciating the art and the power of history to recreate, I also want to note I like the landspace they live in. Like, all cultures first of all come from their landscape which is the the first factor on how they live, how they feel etc. Egyptians lived along one huge river with a great monolithic kingdom along it, Greeks lived in some rocky peninsulas and many smaller islands, and so with other folks and it creates way different atmosphere, different stories of their lives.
And I like how they lived in many little parallel rivers streaming to the same sea. How many untold stories are behind it? How it influenced the mythologies and real lives? How they travelled and contacted, how they saw neighours? Very interesting.
Is there any chance we will ever see a video about geographical knowledges of native Americans? Did they trade with each other, did they have maps, how much of America have they discovered? Did Incas know about the Mapuche? Did Miskitos know about the Mayans? Did Arawaks know about the Tainos? Did Inuits know who lived in the woodlands? Or did Aztecs know who roamed the Great Plains? Maybe peoples of Andes contacted the Polynesians? Or maybe native Alaskans met the inhabitants of Aleut islands and Chukotka? That would make an interesting video topic, because no one really explains it.
Yes, I do want to cover trade and exchange across the Americas at some point.
Well done. Kudos.
Thank you!
Fantastic thanks
Thanks for explain our peruvian cultures! I was in most of those places and they are amazing when you are not at school trying to understand the peruvian history! It's a real nightmare to learn about the pre Hispanic cultures at school! Our culture is so beautiful, special and complicated but ignored by other countries in America (the continent) and in the world! We now more about the less developed cultures of North America like apaches, siox, lakotas depicted on Hollywood films and US Tv series (sorry but it's true that the US and Canada American Indians cultures are very low in comparison to the other North American culture like Aztec and Maya, and the South America cultures that were flourish from South Columbia to North Chile and Argentina, being it center located mostly in Peru! It's sad that our original American history is ignored by ourselves and let that low cultures cover the great developments from Aztec, Maya, pre Inca and Inca cultures! All these is saying with respect to the other original American cultures.
You're welcome! I wouldn't call those North American nations less developed, rather they just show their qualities differently. Their cultures are every bit as interesting and intricate as the grand cultures of Peru and Mexico. Appreciate the comment!
Make one about the ecuadorian cultures, specially Valdivia!
They are on the list but I'm not sure when I'll get to them.