Household and Family at Moche, Peru: An Analysis of Building and Residence

Patterns in a Prehispanic Urban Center

Hendrik van Gijseghem

Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 12, No. 3. (Sep., 2001), pp. 257-273.

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 HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU:

AN ANALYSIS OF BUILDING AND RESIDENCE PATTERNS

IN A PREHISPANIC URBAN CENTER

Hendrik Van Gijseghem

The Moche was the last complex societ) to develop on the Peruvian north coast during the Early Intermediate Period (200
B.C.-700 A.D.). While archaeological research on the Moche has traditionally concentrated on the impressive marks of polit-
ical and religious power, we know relatively little about Moche household organization and patterns of residence. In this research,
conducted at the eponymous sire of Moche, I identifi three types of architectural organization relating to both residential and
nonresidential spaces. An analysis of building materials and architectural superposition suggests a close relationship among
construction qualirj, household size, and occupational continuit), in the case of residential architecture. The observed differ-
ences, I argue, reflect strategies of household social reproduction among Moche's urban population that depend largel)] on
socioeconomic status. I also contend that different forms of labor were responsible for the construction of residential com-
pounds and other specialized areas, the function of which may not be primarily residential. This research emphasizes the great
potential of stud~~ing domesticity in prehistory as well as the d ~ ~ n a m i of
c s urban construction and suggests methods effective
for the reconstruction of household forms and change in sedentary societies.

La cultura Moche representa la ultima sociedad compleja que se desarrolld en la Costa Norte del Peru durante el Periodo Inter-
medio Temprano (200 a.C.-700 d.C.). Si bien las investigacidnes acerca de esta cultura tradicionalmente se han concentrado en
10s impresionantes monumentos asociados con elpoderpolitico y religiose, muy poco se sabe sobre la organizacidn de la vivienda
de 10s Moche. En esta investigacidn, que se realizd en el sitio de Moche, he identijicado tres tipos de organizacidn arquitectdnica.
El andlisis de 10s materiales de construccidn y de las superposiciones arquitectdnicas sugiere que existe una estrecha relacidn
entre la calidad de construcci6n, el tamatio de la vivienda, y la continuidad de su ocupacidn. Encontramos que las viviendas
pequeiias, en las cuales se dio poca atencidn a la elaboracidn arquitectdnica, presentan una ocupacidn breve;fueron construidas
en la tierra vacante y se abandonaron despue's de su ocupacidn. Por otra parte, en las viviendas mulrifamiliares mds grandes se
observan mayores niveles de inversidn de tiempo y esfuerzos en la arquitectura, asicomo una ocupacidn continua y dindmica que
puede perdurar varias generaciones. Las diferencias obsen,adas estarian rejejando diversas estrategias en la reproduccidn social
de 10s hogaresfamiliares entre la poblacidn urbana de Moche, que habrian dependido en gran parfe del estatus socioecondmico
de sus habitantes. TambiCn se observa que la construccidn de todos 10s conjuntos residencialesfue realizada conformas de orga-
nizacidn del trabajo distintas a las aplicadas en la construccidn de las edijicaciones que pertenecen a la infraestructura politica
del estado. Los resultados de esta investigacdn revelan el gran potencial que puede ofrecer el estudio de las estructuras dome'sti-
cas en la prehistoria. Tambie'n sugieren me'todos ejcaces para la reconstruccidn de la forma de las viviendas y las familias, y sus
cambios en las sociedades urbanas.

D
omestic architecture is recognized as one of
the most common and prominent archaeo-
logical expressions of the household.
Domesticity and patterns of residence observed at
one of the main Moche IV corporate and adminis-
trative centers appear as subjects of tremendous
complexity. Architectural data are fortunately ubiq-
uitous and profoundly responsive to various
approaches that address social integration and dif-
ferentiation, production and management activities,
household economic strategies, and social inequal-
ities (Healan 1993;Hirth 1993).Despite this fact, few
systematic studies of the domestic built environment
and its sociocultural correlates have ever been under-
taken on the Peruvian north coast (but see Bawden
1982,1990;Brennan 1980). Inspired by frameworks
developed by Blanton (1994, 1995), Wilk (1983),
Hirth (1993), and others, this research offers new per-
spectives on Early Intermediate Period household
organization and the urban built environment viewed

.
Hendrik Van Gijseghem Department of Anthropology, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106,
hvl @umail.ucsb.edu
Latin American Antiquity, 12(3), 2001, pp. 257-273
CopyrightO 2001 b y the Society for American Archaeology
258 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 12, No. 3,2001

Figure 1. Location of the site! of Moche in the Moche Valley.

from an eminent corporate, religious, and adminis- tectural analysis, including (1) building materials; (2)
trative center: the eponymous Moche site (Figure 1). walls and simple features; (3) rooms and complex
Occupation at the site spans the Early Intermedi- features; and (4) architectural compounds, hence-
ate Period (200 B.C.-A.D. 700) from the end of the forth termed Architectural Areas or AA (following
Gallinazo phase, through Moche phases I through Topic's [I9771 terminology). I am assuming that
IV.After reaching its apogee in the Moche IV phase, constructionquality is a reflection of differential eco-
the sitewas abandoned at the start of the Middle Hori- nomic investments in appearance and durability
zon Moche V phase, a period of political reorgani- (Abrams 1989; McGuire and Schiffer 1983; Rathje
zation (Shimada 1994); 1983; Rathje and McGuire 1982). I then assess the
This paper addresses the architectural variability socioeconomic variability in the organizational
present on the Moche site and attempts to assess con- dynamics of the household on a diachronic basis,
struction quality in order to address issues of socioe- seeking to perceive the alterations made to an archi-
conomic inequality represented by urban domestic tectural structure through time and to determine the
architecture.Data were collected during the 1995and degree to which these changes reflect continuity with
1996 field seasons of the Zona Urbana del Sitio preceding occupations.In other words, in eachArchi-
Moche (ZUM) Project directed by Dr. Claude tectural Area, I ask: did the inhabitants of Moche
Chapdelaine of the Universite'de Montre'al.Twelve rebuild the same compound or were significanttrans-
architectural groups were excavated during this formations made? I believe this question is of sig-
period (Figure 2). The strategy emphasized hori- nificance in determining variations in residence
zontal clearingof the outline of visible structuresand patterns and their socioeconomic correlates.
their excavation down to the level of the first clay The distinction between residential and nonresi-
floor, so this paper is primarily concerned with the dential structures is difficultto assess in Moche urban
later, Moche IV,occupation of the site. setting (Shimada 1994;Uceda a n d h a s 1997),and
In this research, I consider four scales of archi- I am choosingto include in my samplea type of archi-
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLDAND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU 259

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Figure 2. The Moche Site and the Zona Urbana de Moche, with the location of the ArchitecturalAreas discussed in the text.

tecturethat is arguablynonresidential.It corresponds valley-wide settlement pattern studies, particularly

to an architecturalorganizationthat is differentfrom by Willey (1953) in the Vitli valley, Donnan (1973)
residentialones, and its considerationhere allowsus and Wilson (1988) in Santa, Proulx (1968) in
to further our understanding of Moche urban plan- Nepeiia, andBillman(1996) in theMoche valley.The
ning, labor organization, and socioeconomic vari- works of Bawden (1982,1990),Anders (1981), and
ability. The overall results suggest the existence of Shimada (1990, 1994)are notable for their innova-
three different architectural patterns reflecting tive approach to Middle Horizon Moche V domes-
socioeconomicdifferences, state investment in set- tic and administrativecompoundsin Galindo(Moche
tlement planning, and postmarital residential pat- valley) and Pampa Grande (Lambayequevalley).
terns in the late occupationsof the Moche site. Moche residences are generally described as
being made of adobe bricks or cut stone masonry,
Moche DomesticArchitecture which formpart orthe entirety of the walls, with veg-
Other than occasional descriptive and casual com- etable material covered with clay (quincha) com-
ments,Mochedomesticarchitecturetypicallyhas not prising the upper part. Floor plans are consistently
received much attention for phases prior to Moche rectangularand structuresareusually an aggregation
V (Campana 1983). It is nevertheless necessary to of several rooms, typically incorporating an open
mention the works of Teresa Lange Topic at the patio (Benson 1972;Campana 1983;Donnan 1976).
Moche site (1977, 1982),which constitute the bulk Some walls are made of stones but in the majority
of the available data. In addition,domestic architec- of cases adobes seem to have been preferred,at least
ture has been described succinctly in the context of in thelowervalley and largecenters(Campana 1983;
260 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 12, No. 3, 2001

Topic 1977). Some scholars recognize that during the position of the occupations. There is a clear demar-
Moche V period adobes were largely appropriated cation between dwellings that were built over a long
for construction by the socioeconomic elite (Baw- period and those characterized by a momentary con-
den 1982, 1990; Shimada 1994). struction event. The former type demonstrates a sus-
Iconographic representations enable us to obtain tained occupational history in the form of
a partial picture of architectural details. However, superimposed floors, subdivided rooms, demolished
such interpretations require great caution since it can walls, and annexes. However, some Architectural
be difficult to distinguish between the symbolic and Areas include only a single construction phase and
factual aspects of the representational content (Ben- evidence little or no transformation over time.
son 1972). For example, one of the most striking Architectural Area #5 (Figure 3) is a partially
aspects of buildings painted or modeled on Moche excavated two-room structure. The smaller of these
ceramics are the steep slopes of the roofs. Explana- rooms contained two parallel ovens but their precise
tions for this feature often include the need for ven- function could not be determined. The structure was
tilation, lighting, and/or protection against the built over 1 m of windblown sediment, under which
occasional torrential rains. According to Gillin a previous structure with different orientation and
(1973:40), roofs of mid-twentieth-century houses in higher construction quality was encountered, albeit
the surrounding region have an unintentional low-
grade slope due to their composition, which requires
shorter pieces of wood than a flat roof. The height
of Moche gables may have been associated with
wealth (through their inherent visibility and mater-
ial cost). Evidence exists to suggest that steep gables
were not merely part of a sacred set of signs but actu-
ally characterized some elite structures (Donnan
1976:75-76; Tello 1998:121). This peculiar archi-
tectural canon seems to have preoccupied Moche
artists in their portrayal of buildings.
Architectural Components on the Moche Site:
The Sample
The sample analyzed includes 12 arbitrarily delim-
ited Architectural Areas (AA) in which clearing and
excavations have taken place during the 1995 and
1996 seasons. Data from these Architectural Areas
are of uneven quality. Most of my interpretations
come from studies of AA #5, AA #6, AA #7, AA #9,
AA #15 (Figure 2), and of a sector composed of a
patio and surrounding features (labeled AA #lo, AA
#11,AA#12, andAA#13; which are treated together
as a single entity referred to as the Public Patio Area
in this paper, except when stated otherwise). Detailed
description of the architectural data can be found in
Van Gijseghem (1997), Chapdelaine (1995, 1996,
1997, 1998), and Chapdelaine et al. (1997). Com-
mon room functions that I have identified in allkchi-
tectural Areas include cooking spaces often
associated with a food preparation area, large gen-
eral-purpose spaces (analogous to Bawden's [I9821
sala), storage rooms, and many small antechambers.
Of particular interest are the dynamics of super- Figure 3. Architectural Area #5.
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU
Figure 4. Isometric View of Architectural Area # 6.
in a small test-pit. Material remains were few and
primarily composed of domestic wares.
AA #6 (Figure 4) is a small domestic unit com-
posed of a perimeter wall that contains a core of five
rooms exhibiting some degree of food preparation,
as evidenced by culinary refuse, ash deposits, and
fire-altered architectural clay. Artifactual content is
not abundant and is mainly composed of plainware
(Chapdelaine 1997,1998).The kitchen area includes
burned adobes and a large grinding stone. The fau-
nal assemblage (VBsquez and Rosales 1998) includes
mollusc (Donax obesulus and Scutalus proteus),
birds (Phalacrocorax sp.), camelids, and is domi-
nated by fish (Paralonchurusperuanus).
AA #7 (Figure 5) is a large compound with com-
plex architectural superposition, evidence for stor-
age, and other specialized use of space. The
compound contains a cylindrical chimney and a
series of ten large ollas aligned along the thick west
wall (Chapdelaine 1997, 1998). This infrastructure
may suggest a period of specialized economic activ-
ity. A series of three niches built in a small rectan-
gular room is part of one of the later (although not
the latest) occupations. A large cache of fine ceram-
ics was found embedded in the floor in one of the
rooms. Culinary refuse includes several varieties of
mollusc, fish, guinea pigs, and camelids in t h e e dis-
tinct spatial concentrations (Chapdelaine 1998).
Ceramic assemblage is varied and abundant and
includes both plainware and fineware.
AA #9 (Figures 5 and 6) is located across a nar-
row street from AA #7. It was the most completely
261
excavated unit on the site at the time of the analysis.
At least two zones of combustion with associated
food remains are perceptible and the compound is
composed of t h e e interconnected residential units.
One of these has a door opening onto the street with
an elaborate stone doorsill. Based on wall abutments,
I suggest that the easternmost unit is an annex that
was built some time after the others. At the time of
the analysis, this Architectural Area contained 22
rooms, but subsequent excavations revealed a total
of 45 rooms and three hearths, supporting the idea
of t h e e residential subunits. A small burial platform
was also found as part of this compound, which sug-
gests real or fictive kinship ties among the t h e e res-
idential groups. I will discuss this possibility in a later
section of the paper. Room 9-4, by analogy with a
similar one excavated by Tello (1998), may be a
small shrine covered by a gabled roof. The hearths
revealed a faunal assemblage dominated by Llama
sp. Mollusc and fish were also present, albeit in
smaller quantities (VBsquez and Rosales 1998:182).
In this case as well, ceramic content was abundant
and revealed the presence of looted burials, domes-
tic plainware vessels, and large storage jars.
The Public Patio Area (Figures 5 and 7) comprises
a patio measuring 15 by 12.5 m, a street running north
to south and the surrounding architectural features.
The patio itself contains benches and platforms,
including one accessible by a ramp, evidence of roof-
ing on parts of it, jars embedded in the floors, and an
elite burial on its northeastern side. It appears that a
single access point exists, which provides access to
 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 12, No. 3,2001

Figure 5. Architectural Areas #7, #9 and the Public Patio Area.

and from the street located to the West. The patio is
surrounded by AA #lo, in which an adobe step-motif
and a niche were excavated (Van Gijseghem 1997);
AA #I 1, with evidence of food preparation; AA #12,
composed of large rooms; and AA #13 (across the
street) characterized by semisubterranean storage
rooms and bins. AA #13 also has an elaborate adobe
doorsill and three other points of access in the form
of small two- and three-tiered stairs leading over the
wall to the street.
It appears that the patio itself had restricted access,
with a single doorway opening onto the street, mak-
ing the designation "public" somewhat misleading.
From the street, one doorway leads to the kitchen
(AA #I I), and at least four points of access lead to
AA #13. Although the street is by definition a pub-
lic space, the ease with which one can gain entry to
the storage facilities of AA #13 leads me to believe
that the sector may have had restricted access beyond
the excavated area. Inspection of the Patio floors and
doorsill revealed little wear, which suggests that it
was not a surface of intense, repeated use. The nar-
rowness of the street may have controlled circula-
tion flow, as suggested by Shimada (1994) in Moche
V Pampa Grande. The cooking space in AA #I 1 con-
sists of a low platform and a hearth contained by
burned adobes. The faunal assemblage comprises
mollusc (Donax obesulus and Semimytilusalgosus),
crustaceans (Platyxanthus orbingyi), and Llama sp.
(VQsquezand Rosales 1998: 183).
 Hendrik Van Gijseghernl HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU 263

Figure 6. Isometric View of Architectural Area #9 with the location of elements discussed in the text.

AA #15 (Figure 8) is very similar in form to AA Levels of Analysis and Arclzitectural

#6. In this case, too, a small number of rooms (three)
are aligned at one end of a large enclosed space and
demonstrate signs of domestic activity. The kitchen
area contains a low concentration of faunal remains
dominated by mollusc, fish, and the bones of a few
guinea pigs (VBsquez and Rosales 1998: 185). Clear-
ing down to the base of two of the walls revealed no
direct association with previous construction.
Ceramic content is not abundant and includes pri-
marily plainware sherds.
Elaboration: Assessing Q u a l i ~of Construction
I.Yalls. Invariably, walls in our sample were con-
structed with adobe bricks to varying heights. The
uppermost portion of the walls was probably built of
plant material. Being more durable and expensive
than quincha (wattle and daub), adobe is considered
a mark of greater investment and status. Adobe lay-
out displays substantial variability and includes vir-
tually every possible brick layout. I computed the

Figure 7. Isometric View of the Public Patio Area with the location of elements discussed in the text.
264 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
Figure 8. Architectural Area #15.
average wall height as an index of material invest-
ment in permanence and durability. Wall thickness
demonstrated little variability due to the consistency
in brick layout.
Clay Plaster (Enlucido). A fair number of walls
in most Architectural Areas are coated with clays of
varying quality. Although the variation seems con-
tinuous, I determined two criteria to characterize
such a coating. A simple coat of clay applied fol-
lowing the construction of the wall represents a rel-
atively inferior level of quality; it can be thin enough
to expose the position of the adobes underneath. A
relatively superior quality coating is uniform, often
made of finer clay, is smooth and homogeneous, and
conceals the underlying brick pattern. Such a layer
is often continuous with the floor forming a single
unbroken surface, suggesting simultaneous con-
struction events.
Floors. Floor types also vary in quality. The infe-
rior quality involves no preparation whatsoever and
it appears that in these cases people were living
directly on the desert sand. The intermediate level
consists of a surface of packed earth distinct from
the natural matrix, which entailed spreading a coat
of wet clay, dirt, and rubbish and allowing it to dry.
The superior quality consists of a thick level of rub-
bish (sherds, gravel, clay lumps, culinary refuse, ash)
covered with a thin coat of clay forming a uniform,
solid, and even surface. It seems that the depth of the
[Vol. 12, No. 3, 2001
floor below the modem surface has no perceptible
influence on its preservation, since large sections of
well-preserved floors have been encountered just a
few centimeters below the ground.
Vertical Differentiation. The vertical differentia-
tion of living floors is illustrated by the presence of
platforms and semisubterranean rooms. This vari-
able, quantified as the total vertical distance between
the highest and lowest contemporaneous floors of a
unit, has been used by Shimada (1994) in Moche V
Pampa Grande. It has been demonstrated to be asso-
ciated with socioeconomic status (see also Donnan
1976:72).
For all these variables the same pattern appears:
the Public Patio Area emerges as the most finely con-
structed, followed by AA #9 and AA #7 (Table 1).
AA #6, AA #5, and AA #15 are clearly demarcated
from the other ones, and are of lower construction
quality. Other elements such as storage spaces and
other distinctive architectural features indicate the
same hierarchical sequence of Architectural Areas.
They demonstrate the presence of differences in
socioeconomic status on the urban landscape, which
are reflected in the level of investment and degree of
elaboration of house construction.
In terms of architectural elaboration and invest-
ment, it is necessary to realize that we are in the pres-
ence of an intermediate category of Moche's
population, reflecting a distinctive urban adaptation.
None of the structures in this sample compare in
elaboration to structures such as Topic's (1977) AA
#2, or the Universidad de Trujillo's AA # 17, A #18,
and AA #19 (Tello 1998), qualified as palaces or
elite residences. Thus, the variability in this sample
may not reflect a complete cross-section of urban
architectural elements. Rather, I suggest that the vari-
ability represents the mid-ranges of the urban socio-
economic spectrum, an urban middle-class, so to
speak.
House Size and Distribution of Indexical Features
Although the exact dimensions of Architectural
Areas are at this point unknown, it is possible to
extrapolate from excavated samples. Thus, AA #9
could measure some 600 square m (approximately
18 m by 33 m). It is conceivable that AA #7 has sim-
ilar dimensions judging from its western alignment
and its north-south length coterminous with dimen-
sions from AA #9.AA #6 and AA #15, on the other
hand, seem to be considerably smaller. Although one
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLDAND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU 265

Table 1. Summary of Construction Quality Variables for Each Architectural Area

Public Patio Area AA #9 AA #7 AA#6 AA#5 A A # 15

Average Adobe
Wall Height (cm) 68 65 55 51 21 19
Walls covered High Quality 49 36 22 0 0 0
in Clay Plaster (percent) Low Quality 27 30 23 41 0 25
None 24 34 55 59 100 75
Type of Floors Prepared Clay 78 73 47 33 20
(percent) Packed Dirt 22 27 41 50 60
Sand 0 0 12 17 20
Vertical Differentiation PP: 58 47 39 7 20 3

of the walls of AA #6 extends for more than 30 m,
the absence of intersecting divisions on both its sides
and lack of a prepared floor suggest that it is an open-
air courtyard. The residential area is restricted to the
western side of the compound, covering approxi-
mately 175 m2.AA #15 has the same configuration:
a small nucleus of rooms with evidence of domestic
activities associated with a large space without divi-
sions or prepared floors extending on the opposite
side. The size of AA #5 is difficult to evaluate since
we ignore it if the architecture on both its sides is
connected or related.
Some architectural elements can be considered
prestigious because of their ritual, ceremonial, sym-
bolic, or aesthetic aspects. These elements are often
associated with sociopolitical power in Moche soci-
ety. Topic (1977), for instance, excavated a room
with a "step-motif' painted on one of the walls. Like-
wise, the ZUM projects encountered some "unusual"
features that may contribute to the analysis. Stairs,
benches, elaborate doorways, platforms, ramps, and
decorative elements are such features that give a
sense of notability to architectural structures and dis-
tinguish them from more modest dwellings. Not sur-
prisingly, we encounter all these features in the sector
composed of AA #7, AA #9, and the Public Patio
Area. The only two features with broadly ideologi-
cal undertones are found associated with the Public
Patio: a plastered adobe "step-motif' located just
northeast of it, and two parallel steps made of adobes
laid out in a manner reminiscent of a common dual
composition found in Moche iconography. The step-
motif is a symbol frequently associated with ideo-
logical power in much of the Andean world (Donnan
1976; Ladr6n 1942; Velarde 1939).
Methodological Considerations
This research relies primarily on architectural data.
While excavating the upper stratigraphic levels of the
site, it became evident that architecture was the only
reliable indicator of the site's spatial organization.
Occasionally, I will include discussion of the portable
content, but due to extensive looting, little can be said
with confidence about room content and we can only
assume or demonstrate primary deposits with diffi-
culty. Nonarchitectural material will therefore not be
systematically addressed but rather discussed in very
general terms. In this respect, it is convenient to rely
on architecture, one of the only artifact classes that
has been consistently spared by huaqueros. As will
be seen, nonportable artifacts and features provide
adequate and fairly complete information on the
phase of occupation under examination (see also
Healan 1993:110).
Another problem is our inability to be certain
about the contemporaneity of the architectural struc-
tures that form the sample. However, a number of
elements lead me to believe that these Architectural
Areas were in use at the same time. There is little
reason to doubt that AA #7, AA #9, and the Public
Patio Area were occupied at the same time, based on
structural association. However, the main indicator
of contemporaneity for AA #5, AA #6, and AA #15
remains ceramic content, radiocarbon dates, and
depth below the present desert floor. Many elements
suggest that the spaces under scrutiny are contem-
poraneous with one another. While they may not
have been built at the same time, their respective
periods of use certainly overlapped.
The Adobes of the Urban Zone
of the Moche Site
This portion of the analysis addresses the essential
building material on the Moche site: adobe bricks.
Here I will attempt to show how recumng patterns
in building material can indicate specific strategies
266 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
used in architectural projects. I suggest that the com-
position of adobe walls reveals different construc-
tion patterns for dwellings and specialized spaces,
and that different material resources were used for
their construction.
Populations on the Peruvian Coast have used
adobes, or sun-dried mud bricks, in one form or
another in virtually every time period since the early
stages of sedentism (McClelland 1986). Presently,
scholars consider them to be rough chronological and
cultural markers based on their shape (conical, loaf-
shaped, rectangular) and technique of manufacture
(mold-made, handmade) (Kolata 1982; McClelland
1986). The large-scale production of mold-made
adobes in complex societies is infused with mean-
ingful indications of labor organization. In
Mesopotamia, Aurenche (1982:888) considers the
use of molds to be an indicator of a priori planning
involving a preconceived notion of architectural real-
ization. Similarly, large-scale use of adobe bricks in
construction projects evokes for Shimada (1994: 158)
the exertion of elite power and labor mobilization.
Hastings and Moseley (1975) have made a con-
vincing case for corporate labor organization in the
form of adobe brick manufacture in the construction
process of the Moche huacas. In their model, outly-
ing communities, households, or corporate groups
would produce and lay out adobe bricks that bore
their distinctive maker's mark. This practice accounts
for the characteristic cellular layout of Moche plat-
forms. This economic pattern would be similar to the
Inka mit'a labor-tax and is often cited as its Early
Intermediate Period analog (Moseley 1975).
Extensive use of adobes may provide a first insight
into state involvement in Moche domestic architec-
ture. Indeed, it is conceivable that the urban zone's
adobes were produced according to similar labor
principles as those governing the construction of the
massive Huacas del Sol and de la Luna. If this were
so, we would expect to encounter similar shape and
size variations in both contexts. However, data seem
to indicate that this is not necessarily the case. Sum-
mary comparison of this sample with measurements
from monumental platforms in Pacatnamu (McClel-
land 1986) and the Huaca del Sol (Hastings and
Moseley 1975) indicates similar variability between
domestic and monumental contexts. In fact, the range
in brick size and coefficient of variation is greater
for our domestic sample than for the two huacas
(Van Gijseghem 1997).
[Vol. 12, No. 3, 2001
Most of the walls in any given Architectural Area
exhibit an appreciable variation in brick size. Coef-
ficients of variation in brick size within a single wall
are commonly of the order of nine to 12 percent,
which is similar to the coefficient of variation found
in the sample as a whole. In other words, the varia-
tion within a single wall is comparable to the overall
range. This leads me to believe that in most instances,
builders primarily reused adobes taken from other
structures rather than series of "freshly-made" ones.
Recycling of building material is apractice that I have
witnessed in present-day construction projects while
in Peru. The presence of oxidized bricks (submitted
to intense and sustained heat) in unlikely portions of
more than a third of the walls analyzed only hints at
the importance of this practice.
There are a number of exceptions to this tendency
of internal variation in brick size. For instance, the
southeast wall of the Public Patio was built using very
small bricks (24.88 cm on average), and these dimen-
sions are uniform based on a small coefficient of
variation (just above four percent). In a similar way,
the north wall of the Public Patio was built using very
large bricks, also uniformly distributed: 35.96 cm on
average for a coefficient of variation of 4.83 percent.
In these two cases that belong to the same Archi-
tectural Area, it is reasonable to believe that adobes
were made specifically for this task and in each
instance with a single set of molds. Moreover, one
of only three adobes bearing a maker's mark found
in architectural context comes from a destroyed sec-
tion of the west wall of the Public Patio. This rein-
forces the idea that a distinct type of construction
activity characterized this sector, different from the
one found in residential units.
Continuity and Change in the Organizational
Dynamics of the Moche Site Inhabitants
The structural arrangement of floors and walls may
be used to understand the changes taking place
throughout the lifetime of a house. Three Architec-
tural Areas clearly demonstrate a lengthy occupa-
tional history (AA #4, AA #7, and AA #9). In each
of these cases, the reoccupation of space is articu-
lated in a similar way: the older structures are used
in the construction of the more recent ones. For
instance, the walls of room 4-1 and the long peri-
pheral wall of AA #7 were still in use, along with
newer features, presumably several generations after
their initial construction. During the lifetime of these
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLDAND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU
houses, the occupants repeatedly laid new floors over
old ones, built new divisions, took down obsolete
walls, and built annexes. However, the structural
dynamics and occupational continuity remain largely
uninterrupted and stratigraphically dense. Another
example is one of the hearths ofAA #9 that was built
over an older one, thus preserving through time the
room's function as a food-processing and cooking
area.
A second very distinct type of architectural pat-
tern exists on the Moche site, which corresponds to
a rather short occupation of domestic space. In this
pattern, the building is dissociated spatially and strati-
graphically from other architectural features. AA #5,
AA #6, and AA #15 are representative of this pat-
tern. Accordingly, a test pit in AA #5 revealed older
architecture underneath 1 m of windblown sediment.
No underlying architecture was visible below AA #6
and AA #15, although excavation was finalized at
the level of the base of the walls to verify the absence
of older associated architecture. In each case these
demonstrate a lower level of architectural elabora-
tion and are composed of a small nucleus of habita-
tion rooms associated with a large, presumably
open-air area encircled by a wall. Ethnographic anal-
ogy (Gillin 1973) suggests that such private court-
yards may have been the loci of many daytime
domestic activities.
In other cases, as in the Public Patio and adjacent
AA #13, the main occupation is structurally (and pre-
sumably functionally) dissociated from older archi-
tecture. Test excavations demonstrated this by
revealing older levels of different configuration and
construction style. It appears that the Public Patio was
constructed directly over an architectural structure
of a different nature (divisions are perceptible and
domestic refuse underlies the patio). Complex strati-
graphic superposition was also recorded below one
of the storerooms on the south side of AA #13. This
phenomenon suggests that a sudden change in the
function of that space occurred: from what appears
to be a segmented domestic space to one associated
with managerial, production, or ritual activities. We
have already discussed the possible state investment
in the construction of the Public Patio in the form of
adobe brick production.
Discussion: Household and Family at Moche
In light of our observations of Moche domestic archi-
tecture, a certain number of inferences have been
267
developed in this paper. A hierarchy in construction
quality correlated with household size, on the one
hand, and with organizational dynamics, on the other,
characterized the Moche site during the latter part of
the Moche IV phase. Higher-quality architecture,
whose primary function presumably was not resi-
dential, may be associated with Moche political and
religious infrastructure. The public patio area and AA
#9 represent a nucleus of higher-quality architecture
(based on the available sample), an interpretation
supported by their spatial proximity to Topic's (1977)
AA #2 and AA #3, the highest-quality architecture
thus far encountered on this part of the site. Also sup-
porting this interpretation is the street aligned with
the southern edge of the Huaca de la Luna and AA
#8. This elaborate elite compound excavated by the
Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (Chapdelaine et al.
1997; Tello 1998; Zavaleta Paredes 1999) demon-
strates the correlation among size, construction qual-
ity, and architectural continuity. AA #7 belongs to
this class of architectural elaboration, although its
subsequent occupational levels obscure the data. AA
#5, AA #6, and AA #15 represent an inferior con-
struction quality.
It is generally recognized that the relative size of
a dwelling is a rather reliable indicator of both wealth
(Netting 1982) and household size (Wilk and Rathje
1982). From this perspective, AA #6 and AA #15
appear as lower-status dwellings that may have
housed only a small number of people-a nuclear
family composed of four-to-six people may be
approximated. However, AA #7 and AA #9,and pos-
sibly the public patio area, judging by their size and
important internal segmentation (formal and func-
tional), may have housed larger groups, extended
families, or associated nuclear families organized in
corporate groups. These organizations would share
kinship, residence, and occupation (see Manzanilla
1996;Widmer and Storey 1993:90).The idea of struc-
tures housing multifamily households is supported by
the presence, in a limited sample of AA #9, of at least
two contemporaneous hearths in different parts of
the building, which may suggest two family groups,
following the classic (but possibly flawed) one
hearthlone nuclear family assumption (Manzanilla
1996:233; Wilk 1983). Excavations carried out after
the present analysis uncovered a third hearth. Multi-
ple hearths are consistent with other architectural
indications of discrete subunits (wall abutments and
circulation patterns). This spatial organization is rem-
268 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
iniscent of compound 38 in Moche V Pampa Grande
(Shimada 1994:Fig. 7.29). According to Wilk and
Rathje (1982) and Hlrth (1993), the cohabitation of
family groups implies a greater variety and com-
plexity in the production and distribution of resources
compared to smaller, single-family households. The
presence of a burial platform accessible to the three
subunits of AA #9 supports the argument for a kin-
based affiliation between the residents (see Widmer
and Storey [1993:97, 1011 for similar arguments in
Mesoamerica).
Along with McGuire and Schiffer (1983) and
Rathje (1983), we can link quality of construction
with an effort in household permanence. I argue that
a considerable amount of energy invested in con-
struction of a domestic architectural unit reflects not
only wealth (Abrams 1989; Healan 1993; Rathje
1983), but also a long-term intention toward perma-
nence. Similarly, the less energy that is invested in
construction (e.g., AA#5,AA #6, andAA#15) often
reflects a fragile family structure, less durable eco-
nomic alliances, and a higher frequency of post-
marital neolocality (Blanton 1994, 1995). We will
recall that AA #5, AA #6, and AA #15 were built on
previously unoccupied surfaces and were not reoc-
cupied after abandonment (I suggested earlier that
this could have occurred after one generation). These
are features that we would expect from a neolocal
residential pattern. In contrast, we are witnessing
long occupational continuities in AA #4, AA #7, and
AA #9.
Strategies of Household Social Reproduction
Material investment in dwellings is often aimed at
cross-generational socioeconomic stability, part of a
strategy called "household social reproduction,"
which can be defined as "the various strategies that
household heads utilize to achieve and maintain
desired social statuses for themselves and their off-
spring" (Blanton 1994:19). The formation and evo-
lution of complex cross-generational households
have been documented as an effective economic
strategy to achieve and maintain long-term socio-
economic status (Freedman 1966;Goody 1972;Wilk
1983). Moreover, variations in household reproduc-
tion strategies have been witnessed to co-vary with
socioeconomic status (Bourdieu 1976). Similarly,
for the Formative Period Basin of Mexico, Santley
(1993:75-76) suggested that large households were
able to command more long-term economic and
[Vol. 12, No. 3, 2001
political power than "junior nuclear families [who]
budded off to found households of their own"
(1993:75).
In this archaeological context, the annex adjacent
to AA #9 may represent a spatial expansion accom-
modating one heir and hisiher maniage partner and
offspring: a pattern often referred to as the "stem fam-
ily" (Segalen 1986). This is an expected result of
extended family structure as a form of economic
adaptation (Evans 1993: 176; Murdock 1965).
Segalen (1986) attributes variations in the structure
of coresidential groups to the organization of pro-
duction and differential wealth. One heir is often
chosen to take over the household and establishesres-
idence with hisiher parents. In a historical survey of
peasant and urban societies, large multifamily groups
often represent the "gentry" (the wealthier families),
while poorer domestic groups often are the ones
organized in smaller nuclear families (Bourdieu
1976; Goody 1990; Klapisch 1972; Segalen 1986).
This pattern is consistent with that suggested here
for the Moche site. It is also associated with high rates
of postmarital mobility among poorer nuclear fam-
ily households (Santley 1993:75) who invest less
energy and resources in house construction, main-
tenance, household burial, and ritual. Indeed, these
features of household activity are absent in AA #5,
AA#6, and AA#15.
Similar variability between socioeconomic
classes in postmaniage household size and mobility
in peasant communities has been documented for
China (Fei 1946; Goody 1990), France (Bourdieu
1976; Segalen 1986), and Mesoamerica (Santley
1993; Wilk 1983, 1988). Fei mentions a few large
Chinese houses "in which a large number of kin live
together, but this is found only in the gentry"
(1946:2).
Most of these studies, however, are based on dif-
ferential land ownership and patterns of inheritance
in agrarian societies. There is no evidence of agri-
cultural activity (or direct land tenure) at the Moche
site. Being in an important corporate center, it is con-
ceivable that we are in the presence of a "leisure
class" (Goody 1990:96)composed of artisans (Uceda
and Armas 1997) and holders of political and man-
agerial office (see Topic 1977). The variability
demonstrated with respect to this site does not nec-
essarily apply to the whole of Moche society, but may
exemplify the dynamics of its urban "middle-class."
Interestingly, one of the elite residences excavated
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU
by Topic (1977, see also 1982) does not preclude the
presence of nuclear families in the upper strata of
Moche urban society. If this is correct, it would
appear that an exclusively small proportion of the
urban population (the aforementioned urban middle
class) could have adopted cross-generational house-
hold centralization as a specific strategy. Both the less
wealthy and the most wealthy organized in nuclear
family households. Shimada argues for the presence
in Moche V Pampa Grande of such a middle-class
in which social mobility could have been possible
(1994: 178). Effective strategies for household repro-
duction could have been one way to achieve or main-
tain a higher status.
Considering that pooling of resources appears as
a significant factor in household centralization, I am
compelled to agree with Blanton (1995) who sug-
gests that ideology can also be an important acces-
sory in household reproduction strategies. He
demonstrated that a strong correlation exists between
postmarital residence patterns and the canonical
communication of the house embodied in "various
material media in the house, including symbolically
structured spatial organization, shrines, gender-spe-
cific use of space" (Blanton 1995:114). I will expand
this definition to include functional segmentation of
space (Healan 1993; Kent 1990) as exemplified in
AA #7 and AA #9, which may contribute (like Blan-
ton's shrines and liminal use of space) to a complex
canonical communication, in essence analogous to
Bourdieu's concept of habitus (1976). Vertical dif-
ferentiation, discussed earlier, may act in a similar
way. Emotional investment in household ritual also
supports a strong strategy of social reproduction as
seen in AA #9 and its burial platform, its possible
shrine, and in the elaborate ceramic cache found in
AA #7 (Chapdelaine 1998).Similarly, a human skull-
cap found in a wall trench outside the southeastern
comer of the annex built in AA #9 may indicate cer-
emonies and offerings associated with house con-
struction. Domestic burials were also found only in
AA #9, AA #7, and in the public patio area. These
architectural areas also had high proportions of
ceramic figurines (Limoges 1999) and musical
instruments (Chapdelaine 1998; Desjardins 2000)
when compared to AA #5, AA #6, and AA #15.
According to Blanton (1994) we could expect to
find a high incidence of exterior decorations on
wealthier houses, composed of recognized status
symbols. These would have the effect of legitimiz-
269
ing the status of the occupant and communicating
this status to the community. I am not sure, however,
in which forms such elaboration should appear.
Ceramic representations of elite architecture locate
decorations primarily at the level of the roof that
may not be recovered archaeologically. Yet, schol-
ars working on an elite compound at the foot of the
Huaca de la Luna in 1997 (Tello 1998) unearthed a
large ceramic mace identical to the ones found on
iconographic representations of elite architecture.
As I suggested in the first part of this paper, it is
also possible that indexical communication in Moche
domestic architecture was partially achieved through
the height and inclination of roof gables. While this
remains hypothetical, the importance of gabled roofs
on ceramic representations does lead me to suppose
their symbolic relevance in communicating status.
Tello (1998) interprets a small room with a central
adobe post as a familial domestic shrine based on
several lines of evidence. The adobe post in the cen-
ter of the room is believed to have supported a dou-
ble gabled roof. A very well-constructed, but badly
looted, room on the south side of AA #9 had a sim-
ilar adobe column in its center that may have served
such a function. Because this room was completely
looted, however, no evidence of its function as a
shrine could be collected and the interpretation
remains largely unsubstantiated,except through anal-
ogy with the structure in AA #8 (Tello 1998).
Three Architectural Variants
At this point it is useful to summarize the variabil-
ity of architectural elements found in our sample. I
have suggested the existence of three distinct forms
of construction patterns. The first type consists of
dwellings represented by large, multifamily com-
pounds, exhibiting superior construction quality.Yet,
it is not as impressive as AA #2 excavated by Topic
(1977), or as AA #8, AA #17, AA #18, or AA #19,
excavated by a team from the Universidad Nacional
de Trujillo. This type is characterized by long occu-
pational continuity in room layout and general forms.
Room functions are diverse and evidence exists for
a variety of domestic activities including cooking and
substantial storage. Most floors are composed of pre-
pared clay, and walls are built using primarily recy-
cled adobe bricks. Benches and platforms are
numerous. Across generations, I suggest that the
occupational continuity and the high investment in
construction quality and domestic ritual reflect strate-
270 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
gies of household social reproduction. Household
groups are possibly multigenerational, as offspring
and relatives aggregate in a single compound. As
Bourdieu points out: "here as elsewhere, wealth
attracts wealth" (1976: 121).
The second observable pattern consists of smaller,
expediently built houses. They are composed of a
node of domestic rooms where cooking, sleeping,
limited storage, and general household activities may
have taken place. A large open space laclung a pre-
pared floor abuts the small rooms. These architec-
tural areas demonstrate a short-lived occupation after
construction, with neither prior nor subsequent peri-
ods of use. Artifactual content is rather poor in num-
ber and variety. These dwellings supposedly housed
a single nuclear family and never grew into larger
compounds (see Santley 1993 for a similar opinion
in another context). I suggest that they represent a
residential pattern unlike the previous type, charac-
terized by considerable postmarital household mobil-
ity, restricted power and status, and a narrow
economic base.
The third pattern is applicable to spaces that may
or may not have housed individuals, but were cer-
tainly part of a specialized infrastructure. It is rep-
resented in our sample by the public patio area, which
was built in a single event using building material
produced specifically for this task, a phenomenon
that was not encountered in strictly residential struc-
tures. Its establishment may have resulted in reloca-
tion of a segment of the resident population.
Substantial storage spaces are found there, and I sug-
gest that only certain people had access to these
spaces. Activities carried within the patio may have
included craft or managerial tasks. Signs of Moche
ideological and political power are imbued in some
of its distinguishing elements, peculiarities of a kind
that are absent from residential compounds of the
previous type. While the public patio area does not
directly teach us about variability in residence pat-
terns, it allows us to appreciate other construction
dynamics that helped shape the urban landscape. The
evaluation of the relationships between this space and
surrounding compounds and the assessment of its
role as domestic or non- domestic will undoubtedly
require more work.
I agree with Bourdieu (1976) who warns us
against simplistic and normative views of residence
patterns in the social sciences. I believe that archae-
ology still has a long way to go to fulfill the promises
[Vol. 12, No. 3, 2001
offered by studies of the household. Breaking out of
this normative mold, recognizing the existence of
systematic variation in household composition and
change within communities appears to be a logical
step.
The postmarital residence patterns of the Moche
urban dwellers are in any case difficult to reconstruct
in all their intricacies. I suggest that the present
framework does indeed contribute a great deal toward
understanding architectural continuity through time
and in explaining the divergent trends manifest
between the larger, richer, and smaller, poorer
dwellings on the Moche site.
Conclusions
There exists at Moche a clear variability in the size,
level of internal segmentation, construction quality,
and occupational continuity of houses. These ele-
ments also have a tendency to covary. The larger
dwellings housed extended families or polynuclear
family households organized in corporate groups,
pooling a variety of resources, and adapted to a wider
set of production and distribution strategies. The
smaller households would have relied on a narrower
economic base and the contributions of a smaller
number of participants. These smaller dwellings
demonstrate, through their size, construction qual-
ity, and short occupation, less permanence than the
wealthier houses. This suggests less durable cross-
generational kinship relations as well. The larger,
wealthier households demonstrate a more effective
permanence strategy from one generation to the next,
clearer evidence for household ritual, and a higher
level of integration in terms of membership. This
translates into a more advantageous social repro-
ductive strategy reflected in the transmission of a
privileged socioeconomic status to one's offspring,
resulting in the formation of extended, multigener-
ational households.
Political agents who enforced rigid planning of the
community also shaped the urban architectural fab-
ric. The public patio area reflects such an investment
in which we witness a sudden shift in the nature of
the structure's occupation as well as signs of politi-
cal involvement in the construction of that space. The
dynamics of labor organization and supply of build-
ing material, irrespective of the fact that the public
patio area may or may not have housed individuals
and families, were different from those of architec-
tural areas of a more strictly residential nature.
Hendrik Van Gijseghem] HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY AT MOCHE, PERU
I believe it to be important, from the perspective
of an increasingly mature household archaeology, to
conceive of households and settlements as dynamic,
fluid entities (Evans 1993; Santley 1993; W i k and
Netting 1984). To understand household form and
function, one must question the mechanisms through
which they come to exist, change or remain stable
over time, how they reproduce, and how these
changes are manifest in the material record.
Studying domestic architecture allows a privi-
leged view of the dynamics that shaped and charac-
terized past societies (Bermann 1994; Deetz 1982).
Many lines of evidence must be sought in order to
engage in a progressive discussion of those dynam-
ics. My goal here has been to suggest that many ele-
ments, seldom taken into account in the literature on
household archaeology, might yield valuable infor-
mation when approached jointly. Careful inspection
of such features as wall abutments and architecture-
based chronologies has provided data consistent with
variations in social and economic conditions that are
a part of daily life in a prehistoric state.
I have underlined the variability present in the
architecture of Moche's urban dwellers and tried to
understand it in light of anthropological literature on
residential patterns and socioeconomic correlates. I
understand this exercise is fraught with difficulties
of a kind inherent to archaeological interpretation.
However, it is my hope that the foregoing statements
will stimulate reflection on some of the more subtle
socioeconomic aspects of this most fascinating com-
plex society. After a century of research on Moche
society and culture, archaeologists have only recently
started investigating the less-glamorous aspects of
north coast peoples. Many secondary communities
and regional centers are presently under investiga-
tion, and this research will provide comparative mate-
rial for use in understanding the role of the
eponymous center.
Acknowledgments. I am especially indebted to Dr. Claude
Chapdelaine, director of the ZUM project, who provided me
with the opportunity to collaborate on the project, and to Dr.
Santiago Uceda Castillo, director of the Proyecto Huaca de la
Luna. I warmly thank both of them for their intellectual and
technical assistance in making this research possible. The
research was supported by a SSHRC (Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada) grant awarded to Dr.
Chapdelaine and was canied out in the context of my Master's
thesis (M.Sc.) at the UniversitC de MontrCal. I extend my grat-
itude as well to James and Kenia Tate who assisted with the
translation of the abstract, and to Dr. JosC Canziani who pro-
271
vided me with valuable suggestions and shared his experience
and thorough knowledge of Moche architecture. Francesca
Bray, perhaps by design, challenged me to reflect on these "lit-
tle walls." This paper also benefited from the time and contri-
bution of the anonymous reviewers, to whom I am grateful. All
remaining conceptual or stylistic shortcomings are my respon-
sibility alone. Finally, I wish to thank the colleagues who gra-
ciously agreed to read and comment on the preliminary
manuscript of this paper; Edward Simpson, Robert Fletcher,
Michele DeSando, as well as the editors and staff of Latin
American Antiquity for their patience and dedication.
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Household and Family at Moche, Peru: An Analysis of Building and Residence Patterns in a
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Hendrik van Gijseghem
Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 12, No. 3. (Sep., 2001), pp. 257-273.
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