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Brian Billman
ANTH | UNC | CH | USA

BURIAL THEME

The above drawing (Donnan and McClelland 1979:27 shows the burial theme depicted on the Moche stirrup spout bottle pictured at left (Donnan and McClelland 1979:15). Click here for a closeup view of the burial theme (486 KB).

The burial theme depicted on Moche pottery includes four scenes, including the burial scene, the assembly scene, and the sacrifice scene, the conch shell transfer. The provenience of the Moche stirrup spout vessels from which the burial theme has been studied is unknown, although there is some indication that they come from the Jequetepeque Valley, north of the Moche River Valley itself.

Keep in mind that these images show one rendition of the Moche burial theme as it has been painted on stirrup spout bottles. There are other depictions of this theme on other Moche pots. Many characteristics of these images are the same on different pots. Nevertheless there is some diversity in the way that the burial theme is depicted. For a view of different versions of the burial theme, including photos of the pots themselves and rollout drawings of the iconographic scenes, consult The Burial Theme in Moche Iconography (Donnan and McClelland 1979).

This drawing (Donnan and McClelland 1979:27 shows the burial scene. Click here for a closeup view of the burial scene (115 KB).

This drawing (Donnan and McClelland 1979:28 shows the assembly scene. Click here for a closeup view of the assembly scene (121 KB).

This drawing (Donnan and McClelland 1979:29 shows the sacrifice scene. Click here for a closeup view of the sacrifice scene (103 KB).

This drawing (Donnan and McClelland 1979:30 shows the conch shell transfer. Click here for a closeup view of this scene (144 KB).