Characterizing Sican Culture-libre

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Who were the Sicn? Part 1 1 Izumi Shimada

Who were the Sicn?

Their Development, Characteristics and Legacies

Izumi Shimada

This is the English text of the introductory chapter (pp. 25-61) of the 2009 exhibit catalog

entitled The Golden Capital of Sicnthat was edited by Izumi Shimada, Ken-ichi Shinoda,and Masahiro Ono, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Tokyo. It was published in Japanese.


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INTRODUCTION

Travel to almost any tourist destination in Peru and you are likely to see for sale

countless souvenirs in the form of the ceremonial tumi(Quechua for knife) and golden

mask with distinctive upturned or almond-shaped eyes (Fig. 1). Long adopted as the

symbols of the modern nation of Peru, you will also see their images widely used for

commercial products and by institutions such as the national petroleum company,

PetroPer, the now-defunct national airline, AeroPer, and the national rugby team (Los

Tumis). So, who made them and how were they used? you may ask questions given

their ubiquity throughout Peru. It is curious to find hardly anyone, including souvenir

vendors, who can correctly answer these questions.

Today, we know definitively that they were the products of the prominent and

influential Middle Sicn culture, the focus of this exhibit and chapter, that flourished

some 1000-years ago ( on the north coast of Peru (Fig. 2) in the

Andean region of western South America.

In the pages to follow, you shall come to know how this culture developed until

its demise at the end of the 14th

century; that is, its economy, technology, religion, social

and political organizations and other features. We will also examine how it influenced

both contemporaneous and later cultures of the Andes.

THE NAME SICNThe termsicnin the indigenous Muchik language that was recorded on the northern half

of the north coast of Peru in the Colonial era signifies the "house" or "temple" of the moon (si).

Depending on how the word is transcribed, it may be written as signanorsian. The same name


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also has been applied to the Middle Sicn religious-civic capital located in Poma. Given that the

pre-Hispanic Andean civilization did not develop any writing, probably we will never know the

true name of what we today call Sicn.

It was the name of a location, most likely one or a group of ancient temples or huacas

(Quechua word meaning a sacred object or place),in what is today the National Historical

Sanctuary of Poma Forest in the central La Leche Valley (Fig. 3) ca. 32 km northeast of the city

of Chiclayo. The sanctuary (ca. 60 km2in extent) contains some 30 scattered, small and large

huacasin the extensive dry thorny forest dominated by algarrobo (Prosopis spp.) trees (see

chapter xx and yy by Elera and Goldstein, respectively). In fact, an early Colonial deed for the

land that encompassed much of what is today Poma was known for ancient treasures and idols.

The latter probably subsumed polychrome murals that decorated the top of the aforementioned

temples, some of which survived in to the mid-20th

century. The treasures probably referred to

precious metal and other sumptuous objects looted from elite Sicn tombs in Poma.

Before our scientific and comprehensive investigation into the Sicn culture began in

1978, this culture was variously and confusingly known as Chim, Eten, or Lambayeque.

Some 15 years of investigation by the Sicn Archaeological Project (PAS) revealed that most of

the above temple mounds in Poma were constructed around A.D. 1000 by a single pre-Hispanic,

indigenous culture with a distinct art style and sophisticated technologies, among other notable

characteristics. Thus, in 1983, I named it Sicn adopting the indigenous name for what I believed

to be the core area of this culture. In addition, by naming it so, I sought to put an end to then the

widespread error of identifying Sicn products as Chim, a later culture that conquered the Sicn

around A.D. 1375. The Chim took advantage of the Sicns superior technologies and artisans

for their own ends. What resulted then were objects such as fine ceramics that were produced for


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the Chim overlords with the Sicn technologies and, I suspect, by Sicn artisans forcefully

relocated to Chim centers. No wonder even purely Sicn objects produced prior to the Chim

conquest were mis-identified as Chim.

The name Eten never gained much following. While the term Lambayeque that

designates the extensive and productive Sicn heartland (see Chapter xx by Shimada) has been in

use for over a half century, it is associated with uncritical application of a legendary Lambayeque

dynasty recorded in the 16th

century (see Chapter xx by Shimada). Rather, we consider the 600-

year span of the Sicn culture as the florescent era of the longer Lambayeque cultural tradition

that continues to today.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE SICN CULTURE

The Sicn culture as a distinct, independent and autonomous culture lasted about

600 years starting around A.D. 800-850 until its conquest about A.D. 1375 by the

northward expanding Chim Empire centered in the Moche Valley (Fig. 2). The total

span of the Sicn culture is divided into three periods, based on major cultural changes

documented through our excavations (Table 1). Numerous, corrected radiocarbon dates

obtained from samples from secure primary contexts at many Sicn sites throughout

Lambayeque allow us to assign dates of A.D. 800-900, 900-1100, and 1100-1375 to the

Early, Middle, and Late Sicn periods.As we have seen above, the Chim conquest of

the Sicn people did not obliterate the prominent and distinct Sicn tradition. There are

no signs of massive killing or depopulation of the Sicn people even in its heartland of

the Lambayeque region (see Chapter xx and xx by Hayashida and Tschauner,

respectively). In fact, we see a hybrid Sicn-Chim art style co-existing with imperial

Chim and provincial Chim (locally produced Chim products) styles until the conquest


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of the entire north coast by the Inka Empire around A.D. 1470. Under the Inkas, much the

same phenomenon of incorporating preceding technologies and craftsmen seen under the

Chim occurs, resulting in the coexistence of Sicn-Inka, provincial Inka and Imperial

Inka styles. The Spanish conquest that began in 1533 in the former Sicn domain was

another watershed point culturally and biologically speaking. As Elera (Chapter zz)

observes, however, even after 500 years of Spanish domination and associated

hybridization, we can still recognize distinct cultural practices and beliefs that likely date

back to Sicn times, if not much earlier.

What follows is a chronologically ordered discussion of Sicn cultural

developments and features that characterize each period. The Middle Sicn discussion is

the most comprehensive as it is the period of the Sicn cultural florescence and has been

most studied.

SICN CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS AND FEATURES

Early Sicn (A.D. 800-900)

The Sicn appeared to have developed primarily in the Lambayeque and

surroundings areas on the northern half of the north coast of Peru. It owed much of its

remarkable development to the tremendous agricultural capacity of the Lambayeque

region and advanced, antecedent north coast cultures, particularly the Northern Moche

(ca. A.D. 100 to 750) and selected adoption of religious concepts introduced there by the

Wari Empire (see below) and its allied cultures.

At present, however, we cannot meaningfully speak of the formative Early Sicn

culture because what we know is essentially limited to a handful of burials and an


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evolving art style from a few sites on the northern north coast (Fig. 3). These Early Sicn

remains have all been found buried deep under floors and constructions of later Middle

Sicn period. Thus far, we have not found any major architecture that would indicate the

mobilization of substantial labor or the presence of an effective political leadership. We

do see, however, a good deal of commingling of varied art styles derived locally as well

as from areas in the north highlands, central coast and farther south.

This appears to have been a period of gradual adjustment in response to a series of

the unprecedented environmental and cultural developments; namely, a severe three

decade-long drought during the late 6

th

century, followed by a catastrophic mega-El Nio

event at the end of the 6th century with resulting major population shifts and eventual

political collapse of the Northern Moche by ca. A.D. 750.

There were also concurrent (or resultant) waves of coastward expansion of the

Wari Empire. The empire was centered in the south-central highlands of Peru around the

location of modern city of Ayacucho and flourished ca. A.D. 650-800. The Wari Empire

owed much of artistic and ideological foundation to the Tiwanaku culture that dominated

the high plains around Lake Titicaca (the Peru-Bolivia-Chile border region) and

surrounding areas between ca. A.D. 300-1100.

Under the lasting and combined effects of environmental deterioration, population

dispersal and decline, and collapse of social and political leadership, and waves of Wari

expansion, efforts to re-establish organizations capable of unifying and directing people

apparently took a long time. Such was the context of slow Early Sicn cultural

development.


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In essence, the Early Sicn was a long-term consequence of unprecedented inter-

regional interaction and population movements that brought together the two major

Andean cultural traditions of the northern coast and southern highlands. It was a

transformational era when existing (local) as well as introduced values, beliefs,

technologies, and institutions were assessed and selectively adopted, modified and/or

rejected. What emerged can be called a truly Andean culture as it forged a new identity

through a selective fusion of elements of the most prominent northern and southern

traditions of the Andes.

Middle Sicn (A.D. 900-1100)

We know much more about the Middle Sicn period (A.D. 900-1100) as we have

focused much of our attention and research effort on it. This focus was conditioned by the

sheer quantity, quality, and variety of artifacts produced during this period. They range

from numerous, major, multi-level platform mounds (commonly called huacas), and

literally tons of copper and gold alloys, to mold-made, highly lustrous, black ceramics

distributed widely along the coast.

The decline of the Wari Empire (ca. A.D. 800-850) and consequent weakening of

its influence set the stage for the rapid emergence of Sicn political and religious identity

and autonomy. It seems within the first 50 years (AD 900-950) of this period, the

foundation of technologies, ideologies, and social and political institutions that

underwrote the remarkable growth of Middle Sicn economic and political power and

social and religious prestige was rapidly and concurrently established. Some elements

represented a logical refinement of antecedent developments, while others constituted


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cultural innovations; that is, we see the innovative blending of old and new ideas,

institutions, materials, and technologies into a new configuration we call the Middle

Sicn. At the same time, the site of Sicn in the Poma Sanctuary emerged as the pre-

eminent civic and religious center of the Lambayeque region.

Notable developments of the early Middle Sicn culture that are discussed at

length below are their (a) distinct art and religion, (b) innovative technologies and

unprecedented, large-scale production of a wide variety of ceramic and metal products,

and (c) resurgence of monumental temple mounds and religious authority. By ca. A.D.

1000, the Middle Sicn culture boasted additional distinctions, including (d) multi-ethnic

composition and clearly demarcated social hierarchy, (e) elite shaft tombs of

unprecedented dimension and material wealth, and (f) a far-reaching trade network that

secured an array of exotic, prestigious items from Ecuador and Colombia to the north and

Andean Amazonia to the east in exchange for local agricultural and metallurgical

products. These characteristics together attest to a productive economy, marked social

differentiation, and influential religion that underwrote a powerful and influential

theocratic state.

By about A.D. 1000, the Middle Sicn polity had also established its domain over

the entire northern north coast spanning at least from the Piura Valley to the north to the

Chicama Valley to the south, a distance of ca. 350 km (Fig. 2). There are indications that

their domain may well have included the Moche Valley (the seat of power of the earlier

Souther Moche and the later Chim Empire) as well. Further, it exerted strong artistic,

religious and probably economic influence over a much larger area as far north as the

Tumbes Valley to the north and perhaps to the Ica Valley to the south, a total span of ca.


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1300 km (Fig. 2). In many areas of this extensive sphere of influence we see not only

diagnostic Sicn ceramics and textiles imported from the Sicn heartland in the

Lambayeque region but their local imitations as well (Fig. 4). As detailed below, its trade

network stretched much farther north. This rapid, extensive distribution of an array of

highly diagnostic Middle Sicn products ca. A.D. 1000 constituted what archaeologists

call a cultural horizon.

As explained in a greater detail later, we believe the Middle Sicn polity

established its territory and sphere of influence not by means of military conquests and

accompanying colonization, but through a more nuanced approach that varied from

largesse (rewards), economic partnership, ideological and military threats, and/or co-

option. I argue that the acceptance of the Middle Sicn religion centered on the Sicn

Deity (see below) and political and economic patronage assured local groups of a variety

of material and social benefits.

1. Art and Religion:

Defining and understanding pre-Hispanic religion without the aid of written

accounts by people who practiced it is challenging to say the least. One avenue of

investigation is to look for its expression in their art, particularly the relationships among

key icons or concepts in composition. Anthropomorphic representations of key concepts

such as deities certainly facilitate their comprehension by the masses. Another avenue is

look for material clues of behaviors that were presumably guided by religious beliefs;

that is to say, rituals and funerary customs (see Chapter xx by Shimada). We will use

internal analysis of these two lines of evidence as the primary basis for our discussion


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of Middle Sicn religion and minimize our reliance on information derived from oral

tradition collected over 500 years later during the Spanish colonial era.

Middle Sicn art is largely representational in style; that is, it portrays

recognizable objects. Iconographically, it was essentially a religious art best described as

"fusional" or "syncretic" in that it blended earlier Wari and Moche religious concepts,

motifs and artistic conventions into a new overall configuration. Integration of these

doubtless well-known ideas and icons would have given prestige and legitimacy to the

emergent Middle Sicn religion. Although the father of scientific archaeology in the

Andes, Max Uhle, characterized the art style as epigonal (meaning the less

distinguished successor of an illustrious generation, i.e., the Wari), we now know this

label is inappropriate given the highly distinct and in many ways unique and innovative

character and prestige of the Middle Sicn style.

Like the North Coast antecedent cultures, sculptural representations remained

popular in ceramics while keeping to one to three colors. In fact, lustrous black pottery

(Fig. 5) is its most characteristic ceramic product. How Middle Sicn potters consistently

achieved this finish is discussed later. Murals and textiles, on the other hand, used up to 6

colors (Fig. 6, 7). Although preserved textiles are rare in the Sicn heartland of

Lambayeque, there are fine examples from the more arid areas farther south. The

pictorial composition that characterized late Moche art was retained in some murals,

painted cloth, and ceramics.

Images are shown in frontal, profile or combined frontal-profile views. The range

of subject matter represented is relatively narrow and depictions of the daily activities of

ordinary people are rare and largely restricted to painted textiles (Fig. 8).


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The hallmark of Middle Sicn art is the ubiquitous mythical personage with

masked face, upturned or almond-shaped eyes and elaborate headdress (commonly

crescent shaped) whom I call the "Sicn Deity (Fig. 9, 10). This icon in full figure or

just the head decorates all artistic media; e.g. fine and some utilitarian ceramics, precious

and base metal objects, textiles, and murals. In full figure representations, he is usually

shown standing in frontal view sometimes holding a trophy head in one hand and a tumi

on the other. At other times, he holds unidentified objects in both hands. He is also often

shown with wings on both sides of his body, and even talons on his feet. Much more

commonly, particularly on ceramics, only his head or face is depicted accompanied by a

variety of animals and/or stretched-out human attendants. It appears it was not necessary

to depict the entire figure of well-known icons such as the Sicn Deity; his diagnostic

face is sufficient to convey to the beholder of his significance.

So, what was the significance of the Sicn Deity? Some scholars have argued that

the avian features enumerated above identify the bird as an owl or other nocturnal raptor,

and the avian personage as having personified the moon that held sway over the Pacific

and controlled the wellbeing of marine life and fishermen. This view was clearly based

on Colonial documents, which recorded the importance of the moon and the Pacific

among Chim people. Indeed, Father Antonio de la Calancha recorded in the 17 thcentury

that in Pacasmayo [Jequetepeque Valley just south of the Sicn heartland] the moon was

the most venerated divinity; believed to have controlled the weather than growth of crops

and to have been more powerful than the sun because she appeared by night and by day.

What we do not know is whether the earlier Sicn people also held such beliefs.


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Drawing on ethnohistoric analogy, other scholars have concluded that the

mythical avian personage isNaymlap, avian progenitor of the legendary founder of the

Lambayeque dynasty of the same name. Others have argued that the winged personage is

a representation of the legendary founder, Naymlap himself, who, upon his death, grew

wings and flew to the sky, according to the same legend; in other words, Naymlap

transformed into a mythical creature and ancestor to be venerated. Also thought to relate

to Naymlap are Middle Sicn artistic representations of a personage (without avian

features) riding a raft propelled by four swimmers, reminding us of the account of how

the legendary founder arrived on the coast of the Lambayeque Valley by a raft. The

preceding interpretation assumes Middle Sicn art is a graphic narration of a known local

legend (i.e, that of Naymlap).

The above would appear to answer the question regarding the significance of the

Sicn Deity. Although sounding plausible, this explanation has serious problems. For

one, the same basic scene of a well-dressed personage on a raft with accompanying

swimmers appears in Moche art at least 500 years earlier. Even the upturned eyes what

some interpret as eyes with wings appear on the earlier Moche anthropomorphized feline,

suggesting that it was a long standing artistic convention to indicate mystical character.

Some scholars correctly point out that the Sicn Deity, particularly in full figure, is a

fusion of "Moche Lords" (i.e., major deities) with the principal male Wari deity. In

addition, the ornithomorphic incarnation of the Sicn Deity has an Early Sicn precursor

as shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 11).

It is more likely that artistic representations related to the Sicn Deity are the

Middle Sicn visualized version of an age-old legend of a culture hero or ancestor, who is


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credited with establishing an important dynasty. Such an account could have served to

legitimize the special status and power of the reigning leader. In the Andes there are

various legends of a founder from across the sea or even emerging from the sea, as in the

case of one of at least four legends about the founder of the Inka dynasty.

It is also likely that the Sicn Deity embodied much more broad cosmic

significance as suggested by the painted cloth that lined the interior of a major tomb in

the south sector of Huaca Las Ventanas (Fig. 12). This composition effectively shows the

Deity occupying the nexus between the earthly and celestial worlds holding a tumiand a

trophy head. The sun and the moon at the two extremes of the painting seem secondary to

the Deity. It would seem that he was the hub of the cosmos and governed life and death.

His various representations under the night sky and radiating sun, at times with avian or

feline (jaguar based on pelage; Fig. 13, 14) suggest his omnipresence and transformative

power.Frequent depictions of trophy heads and warriors carrying a war clubs andtrophy heads (Fig. 15) reinforce the idea of life-death duality or death begets life.

Ubiquitous depictions of the Sicn Deity and their seemingly invariable character

explain why it is often believed that Sicn society was ideologically unified by its

devotion to a rigid, monolithic religion centered on this Deity. As explained above, I

believe veneration of this Deity was promoted by the Middle Sicn elites to justify their

claim of divine power and status. It is uncertain whether the masses worshipped him by

choice.

The Deity had an earthly alter ego whom I call the Sicn Lord, a collective term

for Sicn leaders. They are shown wearing the mask of the Deity with upturned eyes but

without any supernatural features such as wings and talons. It is the image of the Sicn


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Lord that decorates sumptuous gold objects that accompanied the male elite personage

found at the center of the Huaca Loro East Tomb (Fig. 16, 17). I hypothesize the Sicn

Lord, upon death, was believed to become one with the Sicn Deity, achieving the lasting

status of mythical ancestor to be venerated. In this interpretation, the winged mythical

personages that were painted on the interior face of the enclosure wall atop the Huaca

Loro temple mound (Fig. 18) represented Sicn leaders who were buried below and

around this mound and had transformed into venerated ancestors.

A complex society with clear social stratification and multi-ethnic composition is

likely to have correspondingly multi-layered and faceted religious beliefs. Indeed, this

seems to have been the case for the Middle Sicn religion. A glimpse of this complexity

is seen in icons that accompany the Sicn Deity. Earthly creatures such as toads (Family

Bufonidae) and Spondylus princeps, and, to a lesser degree, bees, iguanas (serrated back),

and parrots often flank the image of the Sicn Deity. They appear (sometime rather

abruptly in large numbers) with the warming of the coast accompanied by occasional

rains and arrival of water in rivers, particularly runoff from the regular annual rainfall in

the adjacent highlands, typically in the month of December, and during El Nio events.

In essence, I believe they symbolize the pervasive concern of farmers for secure supply

of water and successful harvest. There are, indeed, Sicn painted cloths that depict maize

and other plants (Fig. 19).Related to this concern for water is the row of dots below eacheye of the Sicn Deity (which is an adopted Wari trait). Given the celestial importance of

the Deity, these "tears" probably symbolized rain. The use of translucent green emerald

beads for the pupils of the eyes of the gold masks worn by the earthly Sicn Lords is also

believed to relate to this water symbolism.


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In addition, it is worth noting that the presence of readily recognizable Moche

motifs and themes in Sicn art attests to the persistence of Moche ethnic identity within

the Middle Sicn society.

Overall, available artistic and funerary evidence portrays the Middle Sicn

religion as fundamentally syncretic, combining beliefs and concepts derived from earlier

Moche and Wari religions centered around (1) the omnipresent, powerful Sicn Deity,

and (2) a focus on water and abundance that probably predates the Sicn. The former

embraced the elites attempt to legitimize their privileged status and convince the masses

of their transformative power to become mythical ancestors to be venerated.

Undoubtedly, the Middle Sicn religion encompassed other important beliefs that we

have not yet captured; for example, the apparent differentiated use of silver and gold (Fig.

20) may relate to complementary pairs of sun and moon or male and female. Sicn art

was not only the means for expressing these ideas but also for expressing the persistence

of different ethnic groups that were integrated into the Middle Sicn society. When the

Middle Sicn theocracy collapsed around A.D. 1100, veneration of the Sicn Deity

abruptly ended, but the remainder of the religion persisted throughout the Late Sicn

period.

2. Crafts and Technology:

Along with its religion and art, the most influential Middle Sicn legacies are its

advanced and innovative ceramic and metallurgical technologies. Its lustrous black

ceramics were unsuccessfully but widely emulated, while its large-scale copper alloy


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production was responsible for ushering in a bronze age to much of northern Peru that

continued even during the Inka domination.

Middle Sicn ceramics have a number of stylistic and technological

characteristics: (1) use of molds to form small decorated vessels (single- and double-

spout bottles and shallow bowls) and figurines (Figs. 21, 22); (2) perfection of reduction

firing in semi-closed kilns to produce large numbers of fine vessels [described in (1)] in a

true black finish; (3) use of hand-shaped clay coils and decorated paddles (wooden and

ceramic) in conjunction with an anvil stone (usually a smooth, oval river cobble hand

held against the interior of the vessel) to simultaneously form and decorate utilitarian

vessels of varied size known commonly as cermica paleteada, and (4) consistent and

persistent use of the pedestal base on fine vessels and serving dishes (plates and shallow

and deep bowls).

These features together allow us to readily identify Middle and Late Sicn

ceramics. Ubiquitous depictions of the Sicn Deity and Lord commonly with animal or

human companions make the identification of Middle Sicn ceramics even easier. Even

after the purge of Sicn Deity and Lord images at the end of the Middle Sicn period, the

other features persisted even after the Chim conquest of the Sicn people.

The two most important Middle Sicn ceramic innovations and legacies by far are

the first widespread use of the (a) paddled decoration (paleteada) and (b) lustrous black

finish. The paddle-and-anvil technique predates the Sicn culture, perhaps going back as

early as the beginning of the first millennium B.C. The addition of designs to the paddles,

however, can be traced back to the beginning of the Middle Sicn period. Middle Sicn

paddled designs, both geometric and logographic (Figs. 23, 24), were used to decorate


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jars and ollas (globular cooking vessels). The logographic designs were simplified

miniature representations of symbolically important figures and objects such as the Sicn

Deity face, seated felines, double-spout bottles, tumi-knives, iguanas, and the sun. Sicn

Deity designs have been found to date only at the capital of Sicn, suggesting that some

icons even on utilitarian vessels were restricted to certain social contexts. While these

logographic designs are a Middle Sicn diagnostic, they are essentially restricted in space

to the areas close to the Sicn heartland (from the Motupe to the north to the north bank

of the Jequetepeque Valley to the south). Only geometric designs without apparent Sicn

political and religious overtone spread south of the north bank of the Jequetepeque Valley

at least to the south end of the north coast . Geometric designs continued well into the

periods of Chim and Inka domination of the north coast. The tradition of paddle-and-

anvil vessel formation and paddled decoration continues to this day among modern

potters in Lambayeque and Piura.

Although the archaeologist casually speaks of black pottery, well-made, truly

black ceramics were relatively rare in pre-Middle Sican era in the Andes. Early in the

Middle Sicn period, Sicn potters perfected lustrous black pottery production by using

levigated, fine clay, thoroughly burnishing the surface, and firing it at a temperatures over

800C under strongly reducing conditions created by tightly sealing a relatively small

(typically 100-150 m long, 50-70 cm wide, and 30-40 cm high), teardrop-shaped kiln

with incurving walls (Figs. 25, 26). When pottery is fired for at least one hour at a

temperatures of 900C or higher, carbon from thick smoke generated by organic fuel

such as green firewood not only penetrates potterys surface to a depth of a few

millimeters, but also forms layers of graphite crystals on the surface, resulting in a shiny


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and truly black finish. We suspect that this finish may have been an emulation of the

appearance of highly valued precious metal objects.

Whatever the motive for the strong Middle Sicn preference for black finish, the

rapid spread of its black pottery decorated with hallmark religious icons along much of

the Peruvian coast (from Tumbes to the north to at least as far south as the Lurn Valley)

was responsible for the unprecedented vogue for monochrome blackware. At the same

time, it seems Sicn potters were careful not to divulge their sophisticated ceramic

technology as provincial imitations never approached the Sicn originals (Table 2). The

spread of blackware ceramics that went hand-in-hand with the Sicn religion and other

novelties (see below) completely reversed not only the earlier emphasis on polychrome

ceramics, but, more broadly, the direction of cultural influence from the preceding south

to north to north to south.

Black and gray pottery remained popular on much of the Peruvian coast up to the

time the Spanish Conquest. Without doubt, the prestige of the Middle Sicn religion and

power and wealth of its political leaders (see below) on one hand, and the popularity of

the black pottery, on the other, reinforced each other.

Manufacturing

technique Forms Finish Paste FiringMiddle Sicn one or multiple

pairs of molds;

thin wallsSymmetrical,

standardized

proportions of

various parts

Highly polished;

often with a

metallic sheen;

evenly black

Fine paste

consisting of

prepared clay

(levigated) and

fine sand

First in an

oxidizing

atmosphere, then

under reducing

conditions at ca.

800CProvincial Modeled by

hand; relatively

thick wallsAsymmetrical,

proportions not

standardizedPoorly polished;

dull; often not

evenly blackSomewhat

coarser paste Undefined


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The Middle Sicn culture also excelled in metallurgy. Though their precious

metal objects commonly attract public attention, technologically speaking, what

distinguished Middle Sicn metallurgy was its unprecedented, large-scale smelting and

diverse use of arsenical-copper alloys. These alloys permanently replaced pure copper as

the metal of late prehispanic cultures of northern Peru. While today the word arsenic

typically elicits a worried look from the listener, in comparison with pure copper,

arsenical copper offerssuperior ductility (the ability of a material to be deformed without

breaking), tensile strength (ability to withstand the longitudinal stress without tearing

apart), casting, hardness (ability to work-harden), and resistance to corrosion. Their

melting points are somewhat lower than that of copper (1083C), an important

consideration for smelting without the benefit of efficient bellows. Further, alloy products

produce clear, pleasant sounds when struck. Depending on arsenic concentration, they

can present the appearance of gold or silver (above 4-5% arsenic by weight). Its color

was potentially an important factor for a society so preoccupied with precious metals and

their golden and silvery appearance.

It is still not clear whether any or all of these utilitarian or symbolic factors

contributed to the Middle Sicn effort to perfect arsenical copper smelting technology. Its

origin may even have been as an unintentional byproduct of the earlier but highly

sophisticated, copper-based Moche metallurgy, which is known to have produced some

arsenical copper objects. Pure copper can be obtained relatively easily by smelting copper

oxide ores such as high-grade, bright green malachite [CuCO3!Cu(OH)2] that are simple

to mine as their deposits usually occur close to the ground surface. As these superficial

deposits became exhausted, Moche miners would have had to dig deeper and in process


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may have accidentally mixed arsenic-bearing ores (such as low grade arsenopyrite,

FeAsS) with the copper oxide ores that they sought. Moche metallurgists may even have

recognized distinct properties of arsenical copper but not persisted with its

experimentation.

As noted earlier, re-assessment and selective adoption of traditional beliefs,

conventions, institutions and values inherited from the Moche and introduced by the Wari

and their creative synthesis around A.D. 900 provided the foundation of what we call

Middle Sicn. It was this particular social context and interest in experimentation with

something unconventional that I believe led to successful, intensive, Middle Sicn

arsenical copper production.

Arsenical copper smelting was carried out in small pear-shaped furnaces (Fig. 27;

measuring ca. 30 cm long, 25 cm high, 25 cm wide, and having an operational capacity of

1.25 to 3.50 liters)with forced draft laboriously supplied by human lung power through

blow-tubes tipped with tuyeres (Fig. 28). The smelting charge was prepared from locally

available ores. Specifically, it consisted of copper oxides (the copper source; ca. 30% Cu)

and hematite or limonite (flux), with a small amount of scorodite, a weathering product

(oxidized form) of arsenopyrite (arsenic source). The ores were crushed by rocking

smooth, round stones called chungosin shallow concavities in the centers of large, stable

anvil stones called batnes (Fig. 29). The whole smelting process was not only time

consuming, but required a heavy investment of labor and material resources. Our

smelting experiments (see Fig. 28 above) suggest that each smelt would have required 4-

5 persons working continuously in close coordination for ca. 3 hours, consuming at least

2 kg of charcoal fuel per hour.


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Smelting was probably far from an exact science and elaborate ritual offerings of

camelid fetuses and buried bowls associated with furnace construction suggest it was

shrouded in mysticism at least at the beginning of this new technology. Abandonment of

furnaces was yet another occasion for offerings of bowls (presumably containing food)

covered by plates (Fig. 30).

The arsenical copper thus produced was used for both utilitarian (e.g.,

undecorated tumis, "awls", spindle whorls, "digging stick tips", hoe blades), as well as for

ritual, ornamental and funerary objects (Fig. 31; e.g., funerary masks, I-shaped sheet

metal objects locally known as naipes (see below). The presence of technically and

artistically very well made arsenical copper tumisin elite tombs (Fig. 32) indicate that we

cannot impose our judgment of this metal as simply utilitarian or base.

Middle Sicn metallurgy also was distinguished for its unprecedented scale of

precious metal production and use. Following age-old North Coast tradition, Sicn smiths

emphasized and excelled in sheet metal working, producing uniformly thin (commonly

0.1 to 0.3 mm thick) sheets using only stone hammers and anvils. Many gold foil squares

sewn onto cloth were only 0.03 to 0.05 mm in thickness. Cast precious metal objects are

rare. Chasing-repouss (embossing) and cut-out were the primary decorative techniques

for sheet metals. To produce three-dimensional objects (Fig. 33), cut sheet pieces were

joined together using mechanical techniques such as crimping, stapling, and inserting

tabs into slots. Soldering was rare; instead Sicn smiths utilized a chemical joining

technique called "proto-brazing," a superbly simple method of joining gold or silver

alloys that utilized either the copper in those alloys or copper acetate mixed in an organic

glue (in a semi-solid form).


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Probably reflecting the importance and diversity of ceremonial activities as well

as differentiated access to different metals as a social status marker (discussed later),

Sicn smiths produced a wide array of ornaments and ritual paraphernalia (e.g., rattles

and staffs) and correspondingly diverse alloys made up of arsenical copper, gold and/or

silver. Each alloy offered different mechanical properties to effectively produce the

desired effects or overcome manufacturingchallenges.Thus, for example, while the gold

mask (Fig. 34) was fashioned out of a ductile (the ability to be deformed without

breaking) sheet high in gold and silver and low in arsenical copper, the "feathers" were

made of an alloy with a relatively high arsenical copper content that provided an

appropriate amount of springiness.

The uses of precious metals increased to an unprecedented point. For example,

thin sheets of low karat (less than 12) gold-silver-arsenical copper alloys known as

tumbaga were used to wrap ceramic vessels (Fig. 35). By then treating the surface of

tumbaga sheets with an acid, one could selectively delete copper and/or silver near the

surface to produce a richly golden appearance that defies the fact that the sheet in reality

contains relatively little gold (as low as 2-3 karats or 8.3 to 12.5% gold by weight). In

essence, tumbaga sheets combined with this depletion gilding (aka surface

enrichment) technique produced seemingly high-karat gold objects without using much

gold. Depletion gilded tumbaga sheets were also extensively used to line the backs of

framed cotton cloths with religious images that were used as portable space dividers to

define outdoor ceremonial settings. These sheet metal backed cloths were also used to

line the interiors of elite shafttombs (see Fig. 12).


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Overall, the Middle Sicn can be called a metallic culture as metalspermeated

all facets of it, not only serving as the prestigious medium of political and religious

expression, but also as social status markers.

There is no doubt that weaving, wood working and lapidary were also extensively

practiced. The first two are not well studied because of the poor preservation of their

products. While a few preserved examples of Middle Sicn textiles from the heartland are

woven from fine cotton, there are fine woolen tapestries with Middle Sicn style

imageries such as the Sicn Deity and mythical felines said to have been recovered from

the site of Pachacamac, just south of the City of Lima. In spite of these undeniably

Middle Sicn icons, we cannot be certain that these tapestries were, indeed, woven by

Middle Sicn weavers in the Lambayeque region.

Beads made from a few species of tropical marine shells, particularly Spondylus

princeps and calcifer and Conus fergusoni and a wide variety of semi- and precious

stones (such as amber, amethyst, emerald, fluorite, quartz, sodalite, turquoise) were used

to make bracelets, necklaces, and pectorals, as well as inlays of nose and ear ornaments.

Semi- and precious stones were invariably perforated using rotary drills probably

together with sand grains, leaving behind characteristic bipolar conical holes.

3. Subsistence Economy

Sicn art and analyses of animal, human and plant remains recovered from

excavations all agree that the Middle and Late Sicn subsistence economy had three

complementary components: Intensive irrigation agriculture, fishing and shell-fish

gathering, and domesticated camelid husbandry. As discussed in Chapters xx and yy by

Shimada and Hayashida, agriculture was clearly dependent on water supplied by


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extensive irrigation networks that expanded those established by the Moche people. New

canals (e.g., in Pampa de Chaparr) were also built during Middle Sicn times.

The wide array of plants cultivated for food was what we would expect from a

relatively late culture on the north coast and included maize (Zea mays), beans

(Phaseolus vulgaris), lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), squash (Cucurbita maxima), aj

peppers (Capsicum sp.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

(Figs. 8, 40). These were supplemented by fruits such as lcuma (Pouteria lucuma),

guanbanaor cherimoya (Annona sp.),and pacae (Inga feuillei). Also cultivated were

utilitarian, ritual and medicinal plants as cotton (Gossypium barbadense), gourd

(Lagenariasp.) and coca (Erythroxylum novogranatense).

Domesticated camelids were integral to the Sicn domestic economy providing a

variety of resources and playing diverse roles. There are numerous ceramic and textile

representations of these camelids in use, including those with harnesses carrying (Figs.

41, 42). Excavated skeletal remains show evidence of processing (butcher marks, cracked

bones) aimed at maximizing removal of meat and bone marrow. Long bones such as

tibias from hind legs were sometimes saved to make tools and musical instruments such

as awls and flutes. Camelids of different ages from fetuses to adults - served as ritual

offerings, while their dung was a good renewable fuel and fertilizer. Although it is likely

that other unpreserved body parts were also utilized (e.g., sinews and fiber for making

ropes and textiles).

Meat from other domesticated animals, dogs (presumably those of hairless breed,

Canis lupus familiaris), guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), and Muscovy ducks (Cairina


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moschata), and, to a much more limited degree, wild animals (both terrestrial and marine)

supplemented that of the domesticated camelids.

Fishing is amply illustrated in Middle Sicn art. Relatively large totora reed boats

typically with two oarsmen (Figs. 7, 43) were used to catch a wide variety of deep and

shallow water fish of all sizes, as well as marine birds and animals too many to list

here.

Overall, examination of food remains as well as skeletons of Sicn people (see

Chapter xx by Muno) indicate that, in general, they had a nutritious diet and relatively

and enjoyed relatively good health.

4. Long-Distance Trade:

An important Middle Sicn achievement was the establishment of a trade network

that wasunprecedented in geographical extent, and perhaps range of goods as well. The

Middle Sicn elite both intensified trade with coastal Ecuador and the north coast, and

expanded its reaches further north to Colombia and east to the Maraon drainage (ca.

1000 and 200 kms away, respectively). To the west, Middle Sicn navigators may well

have reached 972 km west of Ecuador to the Galapago Islands where black ceramic

fragments found at various sites. There may well be those of Middle Sicn pottery,

rather than Chim as described by the discoverer, Thor Heyerdahl. Although described

as Chim by the discoverer, Thor Heyerdahl, these small, inconclusive fragments, may

well be Middle Sicn.

The southern reach of the Middle Sicn trade network remains unclear, although

it clearly extended beyond the central coast and may have encompassed their Tiwanaku


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counterparts centered on the altiplano (high plateau) around Lake Titicaca. Suggestive

lines of evidence include: (1) importance and formal similarities of flaring ritual cups

known as keros, (2) production and use of arsenical copper, (3) depictions in Sicn art of

four-cornered hats used extensively in Tiwanaku territory, and (4) temporal coincidence

(ca. A.D. 900-1100) of the Middle Sicn with the expansive phase of the Tiwanaku

Empire. Additionally, the discovery of remains of balsa rafts on far north coast of Chile

and other lines of evidence that suggest long distance maritime contact between there and

the north coast of Peru during this time period. The possibility of the two most powerful

cultures occupying the north and south ends of the Central Andes interacting with each

other is quite plausible.

Many items found in the Huaca Loro East and West tombs and other Middle

Sicn elite tombs attest to the extent of the trade network; for example, exotic minerals

that include amber, amethyst, cinnabar, emerald, fluorite, quartz, sodalite, and turquoise

(Fig. 44). In general, archaeologists rarely consider the North Andes as a potential

source of minerals and other items valued by ancient Peruvians. Our analyses indicate

that translucent green emeralds (the pupils of the eyes of the gold mask from the Huaca

Loro East Tomb) probably came from a mine in the Muso region of the Colombian

highlands near the city of Bogot, while amber likely came from a heretofore

undocumented source in the Amazonian jungle in northeast Colombia. In regard to

turquoise, in spite of detailed analysis, we have not been able to match their chemical

composition to any known source in or outside of Peru.

The Ecuadorian coast, as a whole, was the primary supplier of tropical seashells

of Spondylus princeps and Conus fergusoni (Fig. 45). Cinnabar, gold nuggets, sodalite,


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and turquoise may have been imported from the geologically complex Azogues-Cuenca

region in the southern Ecuadorian highlands. This area has been long known for looted

deep shaft tombs that apparently contained repous gold ornaments (e.g., masks and

crowns) formally and stylistically similar to their Middle Sicn counterparts. At least

some of the gold nuggets, we suspect, came from the upper tributaries (e.g., Chinchipe

and Maraon rivers) of the Amazon River that have been long known to be a source of

gold nuggets. We posit that some of the black Chim ceramics found along the

Maraon River drainage may well be mis-identified Middle Sicn blackware.

The establishment and operation of this inter-regional network went hand in hand

with the growth of Middle Sicn religious and political power and prestige as well of the

regional economy in the Sicn heartland. The last refers primarily to the intensive

production of arsenical copper and secondarily, mold-made, lustrous black ceramics and

agricultural produce from intensive, irrigation agriculture.

More specifically, what is suggested is a two-phase, administered trade

arrangement (specialized traders sponsored by regional political leaders to acquire

specific items on their behalf) involving groups in three geographic areas: Ecuador and

areas farther north, the Sicn heartland, and areas east and south of the heartland. In this

conception, the Middle Sicn polity and its heartland served as the hub of this network.

We see this inferred trade as having been established when the polity offered their

superior and innovative arsenical copper products (i.e., naipes and other similar products

see below) to metal-poor contemporaneous Manteo and Milagro populations on the

central and southern coast of Ecuadorprimarily for desired natural products that were

abundantly available there and farther north.


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On coastal Ecuador, Spondylus princeps and Conus fergusoniwere used as raw

materials for making beads; only when they were imported to Peru, did they acquire

special ritual and social significance. There was a significant increase in artistic

representations and numbers of these shells used during the Middle Sicn period

compared to preceding eras; depictions including scenes of their harvest by divers

appeared in nearly all media of Middle Sicn art. In essence, their monopoly in arsenical

copper production, together with their northerly location, gave the Middle Sicn polity

control over the procurement of the shells from Ecuador and their subsequent distribution

to areas east and south. We suggest that the polity effectively exploited this situation by

coupling the distribution of shells with the spread of its religion centered on the Sicn

Deity; i.e., access to valuable ritual and status items such as Spondylus and Conuswas

contigent upon acceptance of Sicn religious and political dogma by local elites. This

arrangement was mutually beneficial as the Middle Sicn polity was able to validate its

religion, while local elites could maintain their legitimacy and prestige.

This inferred arrangement also accounts well for the rapid southward expansion

and impact of the Middle Sicn religion and polity, including the distribution of black

pottery and painted cloths bearing images of the Sicn Deity and Lord. With no

alternative means and routes for the exchange of shells and arsenical copper, the trade

persisted until the collapse of the Middle Sicn polity around A.D. 1100.

It is worth briefly discussing Middle Sicn arsenical copper products called

naipes that we believe served as a standardized medium of exchange (primitive coins).

Like coins in other countries and eras, naipeswere portable, durable and standardized in

size, shape, weight, manufacturing method and raw material (Fig. 46). They were made


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from durable and valuable, hand-forged arsenical copper sheets. At present, five roughly

standardized naipesizes are known, ranging from ca. 2.8x4.5cm to 7.0x9.5cm. Thickness

varies from ca. 0.1 (smallest) to 1.0mm (largest). Their original weights are difficult to

determine because of corrosion.Naipesalso could have been used as blanks or re-melted

to make a variety of objects.

Naipeshave been found only as grave goods in the Middle Sicn heartland region

of Lambayeque and areas as far north as Tumbes near the Peru-Ecuador border. They are

also found as caches on the Ecuadorian coast where the contemporary cultures of

Manteo and Huancavelica flourished. Typically, 9-11 naipesof a single size are stacked

and tied together to form a bundle. The number of bundles varies in accordance with the

inferred status of the deceased, ranging from a single bundle of small naipes for a

commoner to over 1500 bundles of medium naipesin the Huaca Loro East Tomb.

5. Funerary Customs and Social Structure

By social structure, we are talking about relatively stable relationships and

patterns of behavior among different groups within a society. Such groups include those

based on gender, age, occupation, status, beliefs and ethnicity. But, how can we define

social structure in the case of non-literate Sicn society? Our approach has been based

primarily on artistic depictions and variation in funerary treatment (see Chapter xx by

Shimada). The discussion to follow focuses on the stratified and multi-ethnic nature of

Middle Sicn society and presents some of our supporting evidence.

Middle Sicn society was rigidly and hierarchically structured. Most telling in this

regard are artistic depictions, differential funerary treatments, and health.Notable


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differences existed in regard to material possessions and life styles, including health

among people of the different social strata we defined.

The most notable differences can be seen in the funerary treatment of the 80

Middle Sicn burials excavated thus far by the Sicn Archaeological Project at the capital

site of Sicn (62) and the ceramic and metal workshop-residential sites of Huaca Sialupe

(9) and Huaca del Pueblo Batn Grande (9). We have observed that different kinds of

metals used in the manufacture of artifacts interred in burials co-vary with regularity

with other material aspects of the same grave, thus creating the four groups seen in the

accompanying table. These aspects include type of pigments, beads and ceramic vessels

present. Other important variation is described later.

First Tier:

High Elite

Second Tier:

Low Elite

Third Tier:

Commoner

Fourth Tier:

Captives,

Servants?

Grave goods

High-karat gold alloy objects x

Low-karat gold and/or silver

(tumbaga& Cu-Ag) objectsx x

Copper-arsenic objects x x x

Cinnabar paint x x

Ochre (hematite) paint x

Painted cloth x x

Precious (emerald) stone objects x

Semi-precious stone objects x x

Imported shells (Spondylus princeps,

Conus fergusoni)x


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Shell beads x x

Double-spout bottles x x

Single-spout bottles x x x

Utilitarian plain and/or paddle-

decorated (paleteada) potteryx x

The fact that the material possessions of the First and Second Tiers are rarer and

more exotic than those of the Third and Fourth Tiers supports the idea of a hierarchical

social structure.We find only arsenical copper objects in commoner burials. Importantly,

the only metal objects found in inferred commoners residential areas with simple,

impermanent quincha (wattle-and-daub) walls and compacted dirt floors, for example,

those attached to the Huaca del Pueblo Batn Grande smelting workshop, were of

arsenical copper. Low Elite had access to objects made of tumbagaand arsenical copper-

silver alloys in addition those of arsenical copper. High Elite who had access to all the

preceding metals plus high karat gold alloys. The fact that individuals in the inferred

higher social positions generally enjoyed the best health as determined by examination of

their skeletons offers important independent support for these hierarchical groupings (see

Chapter xx by Muno).

Middle Sicn commoner burials are found usually in simple, shallow subfloor pits

in residences or workshops. Size and shape vary but pits do not exceed 2 m in any one

dimension.

By far, the most notable aspect of the Middle Sicn funerary customs is the elite

shaft-tombs. Deep shaft-tombs with wall niches (sometimes described as boot-shaped)

pertaining to various cultures are found on the northern north coast of Peru, highlands of


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Ecuador and Colombia and Western Mexico. Middle Sicn shaft-tombs may have

evolved out of earlier Northern Moche elite tombs (e.g., at Sipn and San Jos de Moro

in the Lambayeque and Jequetepeque valleys, respectively), although the presence of at

least one large niche suggests a closer connection to earlier Vics tombs in the Upper

Piura Valley to the north. Middle Sicn shaft-tombs are, however, unprecedented in terms

of the sheer quantity of grave goods found, not surprising given the productivity and

power commanded by the elites.

The impressive material accumulation possible in Middle Sicn elite tombs is

exemplified by the Huaca Loro East Tomb. The 3 x 3m burial chamber and two of the

seven niches in the four surrounding walls contained five individuals (one adult male,

two adult females, and two juveniles) and ca. 1.2 tons of diverse grave goods, over 2/3 of

which, by weight, were arsenical copper, tumbaga,and high-karat gold alloy objects (Fig.

47). Grave goods were arranged concentrically and superimposed in layers on, around,

and beneath the body of a robust, male personage, some 40-50 years of age, placed at the

center of the mat-lined, square-shaped floor (Figs. 48, 49).

Among the notable contents of the upper levels was a chest containing at least 24

superimposed layers of over 60 major gold, gold-silver, and tumbaga ornaments and

ritual paraphernalia (e.g., rattles, crowns, head bands, and crown-top ornaments, such as

gold feathers Figs. 50-53). These precious head ornaments and ritual paraphernalia were

most likely used in life by the principal personage and the two accompanying women.

Though these individuals wore various gold ornaments, none was buried wearing head

ornaments. However, the crowns and headbands had different circumferences, which

approximated the sizes of their skulls, and showed use-wear.


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Others features include 15 bundles of 489 cast arsenical copper implements (ca.

200 kg) and three large scrap piles of tumbagasheet metal along the edges of the burial

chamber. Toward the center of the burial chamber were two piles of Spondylus princeps

and Conus fergusonishells (total of 179 and 141, respectively).

Further below, at the center of the burial chamber floor was the principal

personage with his ornaments and staffs. He wore full regalia and was found in a seated

and inverted position. He wore a nose clip, ear spools and two other sets of ear

ornaments, a large mask - all of gold - and at least 4 layers of mineral and shell bead

pectorals (Fig. 54). His body was underlain by a large mantle long since perished that

had some 2000 small gold foil squares sewn on, six pairs of gold earspools, a pair of gold

shin covers, a pair of nearly one meter long, ceremonial gold gloves, a staff decorated

with gold and feathers, and a gold forehead ornament among other items (Figs. 55-58).

The aforementioned mask was a masterpiece of Sicn goldsmithing (Fig. 59). It had been

fashioned out of a single 13-karat, silver-rich gold alloy sheet measuring 46 x 29 cm and

0.5 to 06 mm in thickness and weighing 677 g. Its eyes were made to resemble human

eyes with whites, irises, and pupils represented by the silver alloy, polished,

semispherical amberbeads, and pierced, spherical emerald beads, respectively.

The power wielded by the principal personage buried in the East Tomb can be

fathomed not only by the impressive quality, quantity, and diversity of exotic and status

goods, but also by the estimated labor required to have produced and acquired them. The

Making of tens of thousands of polished and perforated beads (over 75 kg; quartz,

amethyst, sodalite, turquoise, florite, agate, amber, Spondylus and Conus shells) alone

was a tremendous labor investment. Then, consider the 500 kg of hand-hammered,


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uniformly thin (mostly about 0.05 to 0.1 mm) tumbagasheet scraps probably generated

over months of work by dozens of skilled goldsmiths and their apprentices.

There are only a few objects in the East Tomb bearing religious motifs; rather,

what predominate are representations of the Sicn Lord (see Figs. 16 and 17). The close

match between the appearance of the principal personage of the tomb and the Sicn Lord

shown on these objects (that he used in life) suggests that they are one and the same. It is

through the passage from the living world to that of the ancestors that the Sicn Lord

transforms into the Sicn Deity.

The material wealth and labor investment seen in the East Tomb by no means

represents a unique case. The looted Huaca Menor shafttomb (ca. 600 m east of Huaca

Loro) is reported to have contained an estimated 500 kg of arsenical copper objects

(including thousands of naipes) in addition to caches of gold foil and other items. As seen

below, the West Tomb presents another impressive case.

For our aim of reconstructing Middle Sicn social structure, information afforded

by the West Tomb was highly valuable, attesting to the multi-ethnic composition of the

Middle Sicn society.

The West Tomb was symmetrically situated from the East Tomb across the north-

south longitudinal axis of Huaca Loro.The West Tomb was physically imposing with acomplex, two-tier, nested construction, literally a tomb within a tomb (Fig. 61). A 10 x 6

m Antechamber lay 12 m below the surface and had ten wall niches and 12 small,

rectangular sub-floor pits (Figs. 62-63). Two of the niches near the northeast corner each

contained a young, adult female with accompanying goods as did nearby pit burials. One

central niche contained a 12-13 year old boy.


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The square and rectangular sub-floor pits were laid out in two symmetrically

opposing groups of six each on the north and south sides of the Central Chamber. Each

pit contained one or two skeletons of young adult women (mostly 18-22 years old; Fig.

64). Each group, referred to as the North and South Women, respectively, had a total of

nine women, each of whom was accompanied by a handful of ceramic vessels, textiles,

arsenical copper objects, and/or a few other grave goods. Some of these women were

found to be missing one or more terminal phalanges and were accompanied by broken

and incomplete ceramic vessels. In some burials, bones were disarticulated to a degree

difficult to account for by natural shifting after burial. Small, ovoid puparial (larval)

casings, presumably of muscoid flies, were found in direct association with two burials.

Taken together, these lines of evidence suggest at least several bodies were either

preserved in mummified form or exhumed from earlier graves and then buried in the

West Tomb.At the center of the Antechamber, the tomb continued down to 15 m below

surface to a 3 x 3 m Central Chamber with a pair of symmetrically opposing niches on

the north and south walls. The Chamber had an elaborate roof composed of at least three

layers of woven mats supported by wooden beams and east and west walls that were

covered with painted cotton cloths.

The Central Chamber was reserved for the principal personage and his grave

goods. The personage, a robust man ca. 40 years of age with a serious perhaps terminal

- puncture wound on his pelvis, was placed at the center of the mat-lined floor in a cross-

legged, seated position. He wore full regalia that included a large tumbagamask, an

elaborate head ornament and a pectoral of a silver alloy plate with semi-precious stone


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inlays. His head had been thoroughly covered with cinnabar paint but faced west contrary

to our hypothesis that he would be looking east to face the East Tomb principal

personage.

A diverse range of grave goods surrounded this personage, including the remains

of nine rolls of narrow cloth, two wooden staffs, at least 111 hand-made, crude miniature

clay vessels, and four decorated ceramic vessels completely wrapped with tumbaga

sheets. There were also the heads and articulated feet of at least 25 camelids of various

age.

Flanking the principal personage, were two symmetrically opposing niches in

each of which was an adult woman. The cross-legged and seated woman in the south

niche had cinnabar paint on her face, wore a shell bead pectoral, and was accompanied by

numerous ceramic vessels. In contrast, the north side woman was without her own grave

goods, tightly flexed and buried beneath a large cluster of shell beads and a basket

containing some two-dozen tumbaga ornaments and ritual paraphernalia.

Our analysis of mitochondrial DNA extracted from teeth of burials in the West

Tomb showed that the North and South Women not only were physically separate in the

tomb but were genetically distinct as well (Fig. 65). This analysis enables us to identify

kinship but only along maternal lines. Independent support of this interpretation came

from a statistical analysis of inherited tooth forms that allows us to infer the relative

genetic affinity of individuals being compared. Results of these two analyses further

indicated that the principal personage and the inferred elite woman in the south niche of

the Central Chamber were both biologically much closer to the South Women than the

North Women. The north niche woman, on the other hand, was related to two of the


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North Women. The South Women were genetically quite alike, most probably the

products of endogamy, which is the custom of marrying within ones own group. The

North Women, as a group, were much more genetically dissimilar. Considering that they

were accompanied by ceramics and textiles (Fig. 66) that showed strong stylistic affinity

to the earlier Moche style, we hypothesize that they represented a Moche ethnic group

that had been incorporated into Sicn society. In fact, various chemical and physical

analyses of ceramics associated with the North Women revealed that potters of inferred

Northern Moche ethnicity at the Huaca Sialupe made them. In contrast, the South

Women were accompanied by exclusively Sicn goods and are presumed to belong to an

ethnic Sicn population.

Overall, the organization of the West Tomb seems to symbolize not only the gulf

that existed between people of different social status (and perhaps gender), but also the

integration of multiple ethnic groups under the Sicn leadership (i.e., principal

personage). Multi-ethnic composition is not surprising considering Middle Sicn

integration of much of the north coast. We believe there were at least three ethnic groups

integrated into Middle Sicn society: the Sicn, the Northern Moche, and the Talln. The

last, at the time of Spanish Conquest, occupied the Piura region north of Lambayeque.

The aforementioned statistical analysis of inherited dental forms also revealed that elite

individuals within and between the East and West tombs were closely related,

particularly the two male principal personages. They may have been uncle and nephew.

While the East and West tombs both hint that the social status of women was

subordinate to that of men in Sicn society, the 2006 excavation at the west base of the

Huaca Loro mound that exposed 24 graves containing at least 27 individuals clearly


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attests to the high social standing enjoyed by some women. For example, in West Central

Tomb 1 (Figs. 67-68), a woman of ca. 20 years of age was interred in her own 3.4x3 m, 5

m deep shaft tomb with numerous and diverse grave goods as well as an adult female

companion. Two infants were buried at the mouth of her tomb at the time it was sealed.

Further, at least five (Fig. 69) lesser graves containing males and females and a cache

offering of sumptuous goods were placed around the tomb over a 50 to 100 year period

following her interment, suggesting a lasting social memory of this elite woman.

6 The Religious City and Theocratic State of Sicn

What was the nature of the Middle Sicn polity? Was it a secular state with

territorial ambition and centralized power? I consider Middle Sicn leadership to have

been straddling both secular and sacred domains and to have had a strong kinship basis.

Further, I believe it was not monolithic or static with power residing in the hands of a

single elite lineage; rather, I see six elite lineages each with its own social and political

identity and major temple mound and associated cemetery at Sicn (six such temple

mounds at the site) - that competed and/or allied at different times to gain and/or retain

power. At the same time, I also envision these lineages as ideologically unified around

the worship of the Sicn Deity, which gave them a collective identity. This shared

ideology exerted a centrifugal force counteracting any centripetal tendency born out of

the maneuvering and competition for power. Thus, I consider the dynamic

interrelationships generated by this flexibility and constraint to have been the stimulus for

the vitality and creativity of the Middle Sicn culture. At the same time, the Middle Sicn

polity was not a typical theocracy, which implies a government or a state by divine


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guidance. It had a strong secular character, underwriting its prestige, wealth and power

with a pragmatic and robust economic strategy.

What are the supportive lines of evidence for the above assertions? First, let us

briefly consider the Middle Sicn capital and what it can tell us about its leadership and

polity.

The site of Sicn has a T-shape configuration (1.6 km east-west and 1 km north-

south) delineated by six major multi-level platform mounds and six smaller, auxiliary

mounds. The node of its architectural organization was the "Great Plaza," ca. 600 m

north-south and 250 m east-west, defined by the major platform mounds of Huaca Loro,

El Moscn, Las Ventanas, and La Merced, the last of which was largely washed away by

the 1983 El Nio flood. The principal mounds of Huaca El Corte and Las Ventanas are

perfectly aligned along an east-west axis in spite of the 1-km distance that separates

them. Associated ceramics and radiocarbon dates suggest that the aforementioned

mounds at Sicn were built between ca. A.D. 900-1050. Huaca Rodillona and Soltillo

situated northwest of the Great Plaza date somewhat later to ca. A.D. 1000-1100.

At the center of the east-west axis between Huacas El Corte and Las Ventanas is

an unusual conical stone outcrop, a natural huaca, that had been partially sculpted,

suggesting religious importance. In fact, I suggest that the mounds at the site together

configure a gigantic tumi(Fig. 70) with the aforementioned east-west axis forming the

handle. The outcrop occupies the center of the tumi.

At Sicn and elsewhere in the Lambayeque region, three basic categories of

Middle Sicn mounds are recognized based on form, access, and inferred function: (1)

tall truncated pyramids with relatively steep sides, long zigzag ramps, and a precinct


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enclosed by walls with polychrome religious murals at the top, (2) relatively low, T-

shaped mounds with a centrally placed, short, direct ramp and a back wall similarly

decorated with polychrome religious murals at the top, and (3) rectangular mounds that

combine key features of the other two types. The first type is believed to have been the

setting of exclusive and private ceremonies, while the second served for more public

rituals.

These Sicn mounds represented not only a large investment of manpower and

material resources, but also a remarkable resurgence of the earlier North Coast tradition

(dating back to the second millennium B.C.) of monumental mound building following a

hiatus of some 200 years after the construction of the gigantic Huaca Fortaleza at the

northern Moche capital of Pampa Grande at the neck of the Lambayeque Valley.

Although the preceding discussion evokes an impression of a largely vacant

ceremonial center, it appears that the site of Sicn was characterized for much of the year

by diverse and intense activities akin to what would be seen in a city. In addition to

public and private religious activities centered on worship of the Sicn Deity and

deceased leaders, there may have been near constant construction, maintenance, and

remodeling of dozens of small and large ceremonial mounds as well as preparation of

dozens of elite tombs. The high frequency of decorated serving dishes, presence of

hearths associated with food remains, stacks of unused adobe bricks, sherd-lined canals,

and small platforms, all in the Great Plaza, attest that it was the setting of diverse

activities, ranging from feasting to preparation for repairs, remodeling and/or

construction of new buildings.


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Additionally, three large metalworking areas (both precious metals and arsenical

copper) and at least two elite residential sectors (south sides of Huacas El Corte and Las

Ventanas) would have required continuous labor and logistical support. The latter areas

are characterized by spacious rooms with thick adobe walls, solid roofs, and plastered

and/or flagstone floors. The resident population at Sicn, however, appears to have been

quite small. The nearest, major habitational settlement to Sicn was Huaca Arena some 1

km to the north. There, commoners residences featured simple quinchaconstructions

and an array of diagnostic Middle Sicn products, including paddle-decorated vessels,

mold-made black ceramics, and arsenical copper implements.

In sum, the site of Sicn can be characterized as a major religious center with a

relatively small group of elite residents supported by a range of workshops. I suspect

laborers for their domestic support and construction activities came from residential

settlements that surrounded the capital at a distance of 0.5 to 2.5 km. The presence of six

major platform mounds each with distinct form and size and accompanied by elite tombs

argues for a corresponding number of elite lineages. At least for each of the Huaca Loro

and Las Ventanas mounds, documentation of at least one closely associated metal

workshop reinforces this argument. Although poor state preservation does not allow us to

test this idea, I hypothesize that enclosure the walls atop at least the Huacas Las

Ventanas, Loro, Rodillona and Soltillo had murals of the deceased leaders of the

associated elite lineage.

Analysis of inherited dental traits indicates a close kinship relationship between

the principal personages of the East and West tombs at Huaca Loro and lends support to


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the notion that the elite tombs surrounding each major mound pertained to a single

lineage.

Consider that Middle Sicn settlements throughout the heartland lack defense

features such as large-scale parapets, deep trenches and hordes of weapons (e.g.

slingshots). Outside of the heartland, neither Middle Sicn enclaves nor an imposed

multi-level settlement hierarchy (the sort documented for the Lambayeque Valley) have

been reported. While there are artistic depictions of trophy heads and osteological

remains of human sacrifices (see Chapter xx by Klaus), physical evidence of widespread

acts of violence is missing. In fact, I would not expect these features given the Middle

Sicn inferred strategies for the expansion of political and religious power that effectively

made access to desirable ritual and utilitarian products conditional to the acceptance of

their religion. In other words, outside of the heartland, the Middle Sicn polity seems to

be more interested in regulation of material access and ideological influence than in

direct territorial control or occupation through heavy resource investment.

We find various indications of a government that tolerated a good degree of

autonomy in day-to-day productive activities even among local populations in the

heartland. For example, we see variation in technical and even stylistic details of ceramic

and metallurgical production. There is also a surprising degree of variation in burials such

as the orientation and position of the body. Another example is the diversity in size,

shape, texture (soil), and identification marks found on adoble bricks (Fig. 71). Because

of this variation in adobe bricks, Middle Sicn builders had to use huge quantities of clay

mortar, often 30 to 40% of the total volume. While the concept of standardization existed

as seen in naipesas well as the ability to standardize given that molds were extensively


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used for adobe, ceramic and metallurgical production, we do not see any evidence of the

imposition of rigid, pre-determined sets of quality standards.

I argue that the basic thinking underlying Middle Sicn government was an

extension of that governing the organization of economic production. The Middle Sicn

had a modular organization of production, which involved largely self-contained artisans

or groups of artisans each working in close proximity but largely independent of each

other to produce a similar or essentially identical array of products. While the productive

capacity of each workshop was limited, the aggregate total would have been impressive.

The same artisans were involved in much, if not the entirety, of the production process.

This approach contrasts with modern assembly-line, segmented production organization

specialized workers under close supervision, each have a specific task and station within

a linear production sequence and layout.

The modular approach afforded important administrative advantages to the

Middle Sicn polity. A small, discrete work force could have been recruited along

kinship lines and economic specialization, preserving a sense of group identity, unity and

continuity and promoting integration of different ethnic and social groups. In the multi-

ethnic Middle Sicn society such an approach that allowed for self-contained production

units to manage much of their own production would have minimized administrative

costs while maximizing the political economic value of human and material resources.

The Middle Sicn Collapse

The power, prestige and wealth that surged early in the Middle Sicn period

diminished just as rapidly as the leadership and populace faced the one-two punches of


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first a three-decade drought starting around A.D. 1020, followed by a mega-El Nio

phenomenon with associated torrential rains and a devastating flood sometime between

A.D. 1050 and 1100.

The above drought would have significantly reduced the amount of water

reaching the coast and, consequently, agricultural production. The inability of the

leadership to minimize or reverse these adverse effects may have resulted first in distrust

and culminated eventually in the temple destruction. In fact, between the drought and

flood, all major architecture that symbolized the existing Middle Sicn leadership at the

capital of Sicn was systematically torched. For example, thoroughly burnt large

algarrobocolumns that once supported a solid roof were found lying atop the Huaca Las

Ventanas temple mound (Fig. 72). The entire west side of the nearby Huaca El Moscn

mound was burnt so intensely that many of its adobe bricks were vitrified. At the same

time, residential settlements that girdled the capital show no burning. The principal

Middle Sicn site of Vista Alegre on the north bank of mid-Lambayeque Valley was

abandoned at the same time. Overall, the systematic destruction of the temples with little

or no evidence of repair or reoccupation points to a concerted effort to remove the extant

political and religious leadership at Sicn.

Around the capital of Sicn, the flood left over a meter thick flood deposit.

Farther afield the rains destroyed much of the ceramic and metal workshop of Huaca

Sialupe, 22 km southwest of Sicn permanently halting its production. The flood is

popularly known as the Naymlap Flood as there is a catastrophic flood following 30 days

of torrential rain mentioned in the legend of the Lambayeque dynasty and its mythical

founder, Naymlap.


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These environmental difficulties probably were not the sole cause of the Middle

Sicn demise. For example, the costly ancestral cult and aggrandizement of extant elite

lineages as seen above may have been a long and cumulative burden on the populace,

creating strong resentment.

A major shaft tomb excavated in 2008 dating to the final moments of the Middle

Sicn period at the northeast corner of the Huaca Loro temple mound is informative in

this regard. The tomb is almost devoid of metal offerings in notable contrast to earlier

Middle Sicn tombs. Although hundreds of finely made ceramic vessels were placed

instead, none bore the image of the Sicn Deity that was ubiquitous earlier. The copper

mask worn by the principal personage in the south niche, one of the few metal objects in

the tomb was a pale reflection of earlier masks in terms of the artistic and technical

quality; the image of the Sicn Deity was poorly rendered. It appears that shortly before

abandonment of the Sicn capital sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1100, the Sicn

Deity lost its prestige and the interred elite individual no longer had the power to acquire

valuable metals and/or the metallurgical production that had been one of the two pillars

Documents

Characterizing Sican Culture-libre