Latin America

Built by the Moche people in the seventh century, the stunningly painted space shows signs of heavy use, including an eroded throne and traces of human hair

Sonja Anderson
Daily Correspondent

October 1, 2024



A wall painting of a crowned woman with scepter (upper left), a procession of men behind her carrying objects (upper right) and a textile workshop (below) Lisa Trever


Archaeologists have discovered a richly decorated throne room on the northern coast of Peru that may have belonged to a female ruler of the Moche culture some 1,300 years ago.

The room is located in Pañamarca, an archaeological site built and occupied by the Moche, an Indigenous civilization that flourished between roughly 350 and 850 C.E.—centuries before the better-known Inca built Machu Picchu to the southeast. Rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1950s, Pañamarca contains monumental adobe platforms, walls and temples, as well as elaborate, colorful murals.



A painting of an enthroned woman speaking to a bird-man occupies a pillar next to the throne in the Hall of the Moche Imaginary. Lisa Trever


Peruvian and American researchers associated with the Archaeological Landscapes of Pañamarca research program have been studying the ancient Moche site since 2018. During their most recent field session, they found an adobe throne room dating back to the seventh century inside Pañamarca’s so-called Hall of the Moche Imaginary. According to a statement, the room’s walls and pillars are covered in painted scenes involving a “powerful woman.” In one work, she receives a line of visitors; in another, she’s seated upon a throne.

These ancient murals “could indicate it was a woman who used the space, possibly a ruler,” project director Jessica Ortiz Zevallos tells Reuters.

The woman in the paintings appears to be linked to the sea, the crescent moon and craftsmanship. One of the recently uncovered murals shows a workshop full of women spinning and weaving, along with a line of men carrying textiles and “the female leader’s crown, complete with her braids,” per the statement.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-newly-uncovered-throne-room-peru-may-have-belonged-ancient-queen-180985173/