Funerary structures and human remains were found during excavations at the moche site in Huaca Bandera in the northern Peruvian region of Pacora, according to the country’s Ministry of Culture. These new discoveries show that the site could have been an important site in the life and death of the elite Moche people, a pre-Inca society that existed between 100 and 700 CE.
The project was funded by the Peruvian government to create jobs for working class people in the area. At the Huaca Bandera site, excavations focused on Walled Complex 2. There, the research included both field and desk work such as preventive conservation practices, archaeometric research, and radiocarbon dating.
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The complex would have been used by the ruling elites of the lower valley from La Leche-Motupe in 850 BC, during the transition from Mochica to Lambayesque. A mud and mud site likely served as a ceremonial center.
The team documented the design and architectural elements of a pyramidal podium, particularly the upper portion, located in Walled Complex 2.
“Here, we found a red and cream ceremonial seat, a wall perforated with rows of niches – in the same colors – in reverse order, and a burial place located in the central part of these structures,” said Manuel Coro, archaeologist and project manager.
Notable items also found on the Mochica ship depict an elite burial ceremony. The scene shows a coffin being placed in a roped tomb by two mythical figures. This depiction is consistent with burials at the site.
Researchers believe that the similarities can likely confirm that this is the site where Mochica’s powerful elite worked and was later buried.
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