Mochica

Mochica , ancient Native American civilization on the coast of N Peru. Previously called Early Chimu (see Chimu ), the Mochica were warriors with a highly developed social and political organization. They built temples, pyramids, and aqueducts of adobe brick, were skilled in irrigation, and produced remarkable ceramics. In their stirrup jars, painted with scenes of everyday life, and their figure-modeled portrait jars they revealed fantasy and humor and achieved an astonishing fidelity to human forms. The civilization, which began c.100 BC, is believed to have lasted 1,000 years.

Mochica (or Moche) A culture that developed (c.200–700 AD) in the Moche and Chicam valleys of PERU. The earliest major civilization on the northern coast, it expanded into adjacent valleys, but was eventually eclipsed by the Huari culture to the south. Its rulers built huge pyramids of adobe bricks, known as Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Sun) and Huaca de la Luna (Temple of the Moon), south of Trujillo, which were painted with polychrome murals. They also constructed extensive irrigation works and fortifications round their ceremonial centres. Craftsmen mass-produced pottery bottles and bowls, including fine-quality water jars, painted with a variety of religious, military, and everyday scenes and its metal-smiths produced cast, alloyed, and gilded artefacts.