The Vicús-Mochica relationship

Abstract

The Vicús-Mochica relationship seems to be dominated by a number of important contradictions. Vicús, a non-Peruvian style of undefined (presumably northern) origin is confronted by Mochica, a classic style from the distant core area on the northern coast of Peru, in the Upper Piura Valley, a frontier region between the Central and the North Andean culture areas. This classic Mochica style, most appealing to modern observers because of its superb realism with explicit references to violence and sex, differs notably from the Vicús style characterized by a charming primitivism. In popular scenarios, hypothesized cultural superiority and political power from the south lead to the conquest of the less evolved north (elite vs. non-elite populations), and so begins the Vicús induction into the Central Andean world, reinforced with later conquests by the Chimú and Inca states. Such processes of political aggression result in oppression, assimilation and the eventual absorption of local populations. © 2006 Springer.