Power, status and identity of two female characters of the Moche elite found on the upper platform of the Huaca Cao Viejo, El Brujo Complex

Abstract

From the archaeological findings of Sipán, in the year 1987, in the northern valleys of Peru, new discoveries of tombs of female individuals of the Moche elite during the Early Intermediate Period (200-850 AD) were revealed. One of these finds is two superimposed burials of women of high social rank who played an important role in power and in the ceremonies carried out in the Huaca Cao Viejo of the El Brujo Complex. The richest and oldest tomb belongs to the third building, it is a painted chamber that originally held a female individual associated with offerings of fine ceramics from the Moche II-III styles or the Middle Moche Period. The second tomb has affiliation with the fourth building, associated with ceramic vessels belonging to the female individual and reused ceramic vessels from the oldest tomb, associated with the Moche IV or Late Moche Period. In this article, the excavation of the juxtaposed burial chambers with their content, their associated elements and the results of said discovery are presented. Also, the nature of each tomb is discussed, its chronological implications and the difference in status between both and the possible identity of each individual according to the associated goods and its comparison with Moche iconography.