MARY WEISMANTEL

Research Articles

Moche Sex Pots: Reproductionand Temporality

in AncientSouth America

ABSTRACT Thisarticle asksthequestion: Whatisa reproductiveact?Ceramicsproduced bytheSouthAmerican Moche(A.D.150-

a
800) depict widevariety of sex acts butrarelyfeature The
vaginalpenetration. cross-cultural
literature, fromMelanesia
especially
andAmazonia, is usedhereto arguethattherelationship betweensexand reproduction hasbeenvariably defined, withmanyacts-
includinganaland oralsex-sometimes perceivedas reproductive.
Itcontrasts
notionsoftimefoundinWestern ideasof procreation
andinpornography totheexpandedreproductive timeframeofkin-andlineage-based societies
andarguesthatMocheceramics, with
theiremphasis on themovement offluids betweenbodies,do infactportraya reproductive
process.InthestratifiedcontextofMoche
where
society, these potswere produced for
elite
consumers who often placedthemintombs, these solidified
representations thepower
ofancestors,elders,andelites.[Keywords: Moche,sex,reproduction]

S EX IS THE SUBJECT ofhundredsofclaypotsproduced

on theNorthCoastofPeruduringthefirst millennium
A.D. These ceramics,made by a people we knowtodayas
Thereare a scattering of articles,and passingmentionin
moregeneraltexts,butonlyone majormonograph-Larco
Hoyle'sChecan,publishedin Peruin 1965.1In the decades
the Moche, are amongthe finestof the ancientAmericas, since,interest seemstohavewaned;sexmakesonlyan occa-
striking fortheirnaturalisticstyleand consummatecrafts- sionalappearancein Christopher Donnan'sotherwise com-
manship. Their wide-ranging subjectmatterencompasses on
pendiouspublications ceramics(Donnan 1978, 1992,
muchmorethansex:On Mochepots,people,animals,and 2001, 2003; Donnan and McClelland 1999). Noteworthy
godsgo huntingand to war;makemusic;visittheirrulers; publishedstudiesincludeJoanGero (in press)and Susan
burythedead;and curethesick.Collectorshavelongprized Bergh(1993).
thisart;itis estimatedthat80,000to 100,000Mochevessels This neglectcorrespondsoddlywiththe explosionof
have made theirway to museumsand privatecollections scholarlyinterest in thesubjectofsex,whichhas produced
worldwide,almostall ofthemfromlooters'pits. a wealthofnew researchon societiesancientand modern.
To my knowledge,no one has attemptedto quantify Moche scholarsappearlargelyuninterested in thisbodyof
thepercentageofMoche ceramicsthatdisplayexplicitsex- work;2and,fortheirpart,studentsofsexualityhaveshown
ual imagery;at least 500 are knownto exist.A largeper- littleinterestin Moche art,althoughthelatterconstitutea
centageof otherMoche workshave relatedimagery, such majorcorpusof non-Western, premodernrepresentations
as war captiveswithexposed genitalia,dancingskeletons of sexual acts. The time seems ripe,then,to revisitthe
witherectpenises,and vesselswithhighlysuggestive mo- Mochesexpotsand bringthesetwodisconnectedscholarly
tifsand forms. literaturestogether.
LikeotherMoche ceramics,the sex-themed vesselsare Theseartifacts offera dauntinginterpretive challenge.
both functionalclaypots,withhollowchambersforhold- They come to us without context,stripped ofarchaeological
ingliquidand stirrup-shaped spoutsforpouring,and works data,and absentanywritten records.Theirmeaningis quite
ofthree-dimensional As sculpture,
sculpture. theytypically enigmatic;butthisveryopacity,and theirutterdisconnec-
depictlively littlefiguresengagedin a startling
varietyof tionfrommorefamiliar historicaltraditions,offersthepos-
acts involvingthe hands, nipples,genitals,anus, mouth, sibilitythattheirstudymightmoveourthinking aboutsex-
and tongue. ualitybeyondcontemporary categoriesofthought.
These sex-themedeffigieshave long been known to Thefirst surpriseiswhatis and isnotrepresented. While
scholarsbuthave rarelybeen theobjectofsustainedstudy. sodomy,masturbation, and fellatioarefrequently depicted,
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496 AmericanAnthropologist* Vol. 106,No. 3 * September2004

penilepenetration ofthevaginais so rarethatsomeauthors a problem"(1993:80), one she findsimpossibleto solve:

mistakenly assumetheactwas neverrepresented at all. The OtherMoche scholarshave posed the problemin similar
mostcommonsexualpositionshownis anal sex,whichis terms.Butifthereis indeeda problemhere,itsrootsmay
reproducedoverand over,in a varietyofstyles,indicating lie lessin ancientAmericathanin ourselves.
thatit was producedin manydifferent workshopsovera In otherarenas,we are immediately skepticalwhen a
long periodof time.The analysispresentedhere focuses practiceis describedas anomalous,suspectingthatthisas-
on thisscene,and on connectionsbetweenit and another sertionmerelyrevealstheauthor'sownunexaminedbiases.
frequentimage,the male skeletonwho masturbates or is EvelynBlackwood(2004), forinstance,criticizesstudents
masturbated by a woman. of kinshipwho puzzledovermatrilineality butwho found
Contemporary viewersregardthe sex scenesquitedif- nothingstrange about or
patriliny patriarchy. We might
ferently from the rest ofthe Moche corpus,butwe should similarlyquestion whether studies of the Moche sex cor-
not assumethattheMoche groupedthesepotstogetheras pus reveal unwarranted expectations-of sex itselfand of
a specificgenre.Indeed,differences in thetreatment ofthe collectiverepresentations of it. Few authorsbesides Gero
figures suggest instead clusters ofthematic groups with po- have been perturbedby the rarityof same-sexscenes,or
tentiallyquitedifferent meanings(Geroin press).The anal the absenceof cunnilingus,althoughboth are frequently
sex scenestypicallydepictthe two figures as similar:iden- noted.Perhapspre-Columbian scholarstaketheselacunae
tical size, the shape theirlimbsand torsos,and the
in in of as indicationsof a societydominatedby heterosexuality
designofbodypaint,adornments, ortattoos.In sharpcon- and masculineprivilege, whichtheybelieveto be univer-
trast,in the fellatioscenesanalyzedby Gero(in press)the sal featuresof complexsocieties.ButBlackwood'spointis
positionand costumeofthefellatedfigure indicatesgreater preciselythatsuchunexaminedassumptionsrobus ofthe
powerthanthekneeling,anonymousfellator. abilityto interpret the evidencebeforeour eyes;theycan
The similarity ofthetwofigures in theanal sex scenes, evenpreventus, as I willarguehere,fromaskingtheright
in additionto thecloseassociationin contemporary minds questionsin thefirst place.
betweensodomyand male homosexuality, has led some Somereaderswillno doubtprotestthecomparisonbe-
writersto erroneouslyassumethatthese couples are two tweenBlackwood'sexampleand thatofvaginalsex.Kinship
men,butmostpotsportray a heterosexual pair.Indeed,the systemsvarybetweencultures,theymightargue,whereas
artistoftencarvedthe genitaliacarefully, despitethe small thebasicfactsofsexualreproduction areinvariant.Hetero-
scale, so as to demonstrate beyond a doubt thatthe pene- sexualvaginalintercourse is notjustone kindofsexamong
tratedfigure is female,and thatitistheanus,notthevagina, many:It is theone essentialreproductive act.
thatis beingpenetrated.3 But anthropologists need to bewarereasoningbased
The man and woman are not alwaysthe only actors on "commonsense"knowledge,such as the "facts of
shown.Thereis oftena thirdfigure, tinyand rathershape- life" that "everyoneknows."The verynotion of "com-
an
less: infant, who lies next to thewoman's chesttobreast- mon sense" impliesa sensibility resultingfromcommon
feedwhileshe has sex. Modernviewersmayfindboth the experience-something we and the long-deadMoche do
act and presenceofthechilddistasteful, and someiconog- not share.Many of theviews on procreation heldbymem-
raphershave assumedthatancientaudiencesfeltthesame bers of other cultures-includingEuropeansof previous
(see,e.g.,Hocquenghem1987; Posnansky1925). Butearly centuries-areutterly counterintuitive to the20th-or 21st-
explorersrepeatedlyreferto the prevalenceof anal sex-- centuryWestern-educated mind.Thus,an a prioriassump-
both heterosexualand homosexual-as a preferred sexual tion aboutwhatconstitutes a reproductive or a nonrepro-
practiceon theNorthCoast; in thewordsof one earlyob- ductiveact is neithera reliablenor a neutralpoint from
server, thepeopleoftheregionwere"inclinedto sodomy."4 whichto beginanalysis.
(Spanishabhorrence ofsodomyrenderstheseethnohistoric Letus begin,then,notwithan assumptionbutwitha
documentsdifficult to interpret, buttheobserveddifference question:"Whatisa reproductive act?"Thesearchforan an-
betweenthis and otherregionsis unmistakable, as is the swershould startbroadly,consultingethnographic exam-
clericaldespairat the in the
difficulty eradicating practice.) ples from acrossthe globe as a source for generalhypothe-
As JeffMasten(1997) demonstrated in his lovelycri- ses. We can then turnto ethnohistoric and ethnographic
tique of Leo Bersani (1988) on the subjectofthe anus,ab- information fromacrossSouthAmericaand,finally, narrow
senta historicalcontextit is impossibleto assignmeaning ourpurviewto theethnohistoric and archaeologicalrecord
to thisorifice,or to any partof the body or bodilyact. In fromtheNorthCoast itself.Onlythencan we venturean
contemporary culturalpolitics,sodomyand reproduction assessmentofwhatis represented in Moche ceramicart.
are positionedas inimicalopposites;in the Moche case, I
founda quitedifferent relationship betweenthetwo,which
WHERE BABIES COME FROM
brought me back to some veryold, and veryproductive,
anthropological debates about therelationship betweenre- It is only "a happy coincidence,"accordingto Stephen
production and sex. Beckermanand Paul Valentine (2002), that the scien-
Susan Berghis not alone in assertingthatthe ubiqui- tificallyestablishedfact that human conceptionoccurs
tous"representations ofnon-reproductive sex ... constitute when one spermfertilizes one eggdovetailsso neatlywith

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longstandingWesternEuropeanfolkbeliefs.Butthiscon-
gruenceof scienceand cultureis not so happyforanthro-
pologicalthinking.It makesit difficult forus to imagine
that"otherpeoples have startedfromdifferent premises,"
stillless thatbeforethe veryend of the 19thcentury, Eu-
ropeanbeliefsabout conceptionhad no basis in scientific
knowledge(Beckerman and Valentine2002:1-2).
A 17th-century Spanishtheoryheldthatthedarkerskin
colorofcertainracesresultedfrompaternalmoraldegener-
acy,whichcaused excessiveheatingof the sperm(Chaves
2003:7-8). In the 18th century, Europeansworriedthata
wet nurse'sbreastmilkcould altera baby'srace. In early-
19th-century England,magistrates held that a pregnant
woman could not have been raped,since nonconsensual
sex did not lead to conception(Roth2000:189).
Surprisingly,theacquisitionofmorescientific informa-
if
tiondoesnotputan endto culturalbeliefs; anything, new
medicaltechnologieshave spurreda proliferation of new
ideasaboutprocreation (Franklin1997; Ragone1994; Rapp
2000). According to MarilynStrathern, the"modernist" no-
tion of the familyas "constituted in the procreative act of
the conjugalpair"no longerholds (1995:351-352).When
familiesuse surrogatemothers,spermdonors,and medi-
cal teamsto createa child,thesebiologicalactorsare not
definedas parents,and the parentsare not biologicalpro-
creators.
Doing fieldwork clinic,SarahFranklin
in an infertility
(1997) heard patientsand professionals alikeexpressa loss
ofcertainty aboutwhatactuallycausesprocreation. Because
itcannotproduceconceptionon demand,theclinic,which
presentsitselfas "a domainofelaborateexpertise about'the
"
factsoflife,' paradoxically became the place where "thein-
adequacyofthebiologicalmodel"was revealed(1997:199-
200).
The unwavering,obsessiveattentionto the moment
whenspermmeetseggthatFranklin observed,and thesense
ofhelpless,anxiousignorancethatsurrounded it,contrast
dramatically withthe mostfamousanthropological anec-
dote aboutprocreationand culture.Seventy-five yearsear-
lier,Malinowskiasked a Trobriandacquaintancewhy he
was not angryto findthathis wifehad bornea childdur-
inghis two-year absence.The man simplycouldnotunder-
standthe question,leadingthe Polishanthropologist to a
startling did not recognizea male
realization:Trobrianders
rolein procreation.Theydid,however,knowexactlywhere
babiescamefrom:ancestralspiritsfloatingon ocean waves,
who impregnated bathingwomen of theirown matrilin-
eage (Malinowski1929).
Malinowski'sclaim provokedmuch discussionabout
whethera people could indeed develop a biologicalthe-
orythatfliesin the faceof observablefact.Butthisques-
tion,posed as an absoluteoppositionbetweentruthand
delusion,is too harsh:Everysocietyrecognizessome as-
pects of biological processesand ignoresor downplays
others.In Amazonia,Wari women believedthat hetero-
sexual relationscause menstruation;so when they no-
ticed flows of blood beforefirstintercourseor during
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Weismantel * MocheSex Pots 497
periodsofabstinence, theydismissedthemas inconsequen-
tial, because theyknew that these were not "real" men-
strualflows(Conklin2001:152).sAndalthoughthecircum-
Mediterranean conceitthat a man "plantshis seed" in a
woman (see, e.g., Delaney 1986) may sound moreclosely
congruentwithphysiologicalfact,this idea is not based
in empiricalobservationeither:Semenare invisibleto the
nakedeye,whichseesonlyan opaque fluid.
In 1981,anotherMelanesianist causeda sensationwith
hisclaimsaboutnativetheoriesofsexand reproduction. In
Guardiansof theFlutes,GilbertHerdt(1981) describedse-
cretceremoniesin the men'shouse ofa New Guineatribe,
in which youngboys wererequiredto fellateoldermen.
Herdt'sdiscoverypromptedmuch interestas an example
of "homosexualrites,"but as DeborahElliston(1995) has
pointedout,the ritualwas not about sexualenjoyment-
it was about reproduction. Neithermale nor femalechil-
dren, accordingto Sambian beliefs,would matureinto
adultscapable of reproduction withoutfirstorallyimbib-
ing semen.The human capacityto reproduce,as Sambia
men saw it, was containedin a scarce,precious,and im-
mortalfluid-visibleas semenin men and breastmilkin
women-thatmustbe physically transmittedfromone gen-
ifhumanlifeis to continue.
erationto another,indefinitely,
Older men passed this substanceorallyto youngermen
throughfellatio,and theyoungmen in turnfedit to their
wives throughthe same method;later,vaginal sex, con-
ception,and birthtookplace; and thenwomenbreast-fed
theirbabies.Each ofthesestageswas necessary-including
thetransmission ofsemenintothewombthroughvaginal
penetration-butforthe Sambia the keyprocreativemo-
mentwas thetransference of semenfroman oldergenera-
tionofmalesto theimmatureyouths.
A closercomparisonto Moche is the nearbyKaluli,
whose eldersused anal-rather than oral-sex to accom-
plishthe necessarytransfer (Schieffelin1976:124-126).In
sum, then,among the Sambia or Kaluli,the image of a
youngman and an olderone engagedin oral or anal sex
woulddepicta reproductive amongtheTro-
act;conversely,
brianders,a pictureof a man and woman havingvaginal
intercourse wouldnot.Whenitcomesto sex,then,itis not
so easyforoutsidersto namewhattheysee.
Reproductive Time
The Sambianand Trobriandexamplesare importantnot
onlyas cases in whichWesternunderstandings of procre-
ation do not applybut also because theyintroducenon-
Westernconceptsof"reproductive time."In neithersociety
does a single,brieftransactionresultin a pregnancy;mak-
inga babyrequiresa seriesofseparateevents,repeatingover
a long periodof time,and involvingotherrelationships
beyondthe procreating pair.In theTrobriands, beforethe
spiritcould inseminatea woman,herhumansex partners
graduallyopenedhervaginathroughmultipleactsofpene-
tration:twoseparatebutnecessary processes.The Sambians
constructed an even moreprotracted sequence,involving
 498 AmericanAnthropologist* Vol. 106,No. 3 * September2004
not only a lengthyseriesof carefullycontrolledtransac-
tionsbetweenthe sexes and generationsbut also special
ritesbetweenmales,trees,and magicalforestsubstances.
OtherNew Guineasocieties,too,used same-sexsecretritu-
alstoteachand enacttheoriesofreproduction thatenlarged
thecircleofactorswhoparticipate, pullingactsofinsemina-
tionor breastfeeding intolong chainsofconnectedevents
that,byimplication, involvedboththelivingand thedead.
For AnnetteWeiner,this expansionof the reproduc-
tiveprocess,withits intersecting sequencesof "transgen-
erationaltime,"is the fundamentaldistinctionbetween
Westernand Melanesian procreativetheory (Franklin
1997:58-59; Weiner1976). One mightargue that what
Weineris describingis reallysocial, ratherthan biologi-
cal, reproduction.However,in theirbook about reproduc-
tion,FayeGinsburgand RaynaRappmaintainthatthetwo
processesare inseparable,and thatan anthropological un-
of
derstanding reproduction requires"expandednotionsof
historicaltime"(1995:2). Theseinsightsareeven moreen-
lighteningwhen thinkingabout sex-an activitythatcan
be notoriously quickto commenceand endbutmaybe long
in itsconsequences.
The concept of "reproductive time" can be clarified
throughcomparisonto theverydifferent construaloftime
foundin Westernheterosexualpornography. In this pe-
culiarfantasyworld,explicitrepresentations and descrip-
tions of vaginalsex betweenwomen and men abound--
but, forthe most part,this is sex withoutreproductive
consequences.The veryvisibility oftheact marksitas non-
procreative, because reproductive sex,whichis supposedto
takeplace in the contextof the family, is shroudedin se-
crecy and should not be explicitlyrepresented. Indeed,one
could arguethatin Westernheterosexualpornography, as
withthe exampleof the Trobrianders, vaginalpenetration
is not a reproductiveact.
The oppositionbetweenthesexthatis seenand thesex
thatis hiddenmarksa deeplyinscribedbinaryopposition.
On one side is the "clean" daytimeworldof family, social
reproduction, and sexualrepression: therealmofwivesand
mothers,whose roleis definedby sexualreproduction but
who cannotbe shown to engagein it; it is to this asex-
ual worldthat childrenare restricted-orso we pretend.
In contrast, pornography and prostitution are perceivedas
signifiers of a "dirty"nighttimerealmof hedonisticplea-
sure,which belongsby definitionto the male consumer
(althoughit dependson the laborof sex workers, who are
usually female). Here, all referenceto family,kinship,and
socialobligationis carefully in
avoided; fantasy, whoresare
not mothers, normotherswhores.It is theviolationofthis
fundamental oppositionthatdisconcerts us on the Moche
pot, wherethe same woman enactssex and motherhood
simultaneously.
Thispornographic pretensesucceedsby stagingsex in
a peculiarkindoftime-or,rather, in a no-time,a u-temporia
likethe u-topia(no-place)of otherformsof fantasy.Here,
thesexualactorscommitonlyto thepresentmoment,com-
ing togetherwithouta sharedpast or future.In contrast,
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while the Moche anal sex pots portraythe orificesand
membersof the body as sexuallyactiveand aroused,the
scene is set withina temporality thatresemblesWeiner's
"transgenerational time."The different kindsof physical
intimacyand bodilyexchange--theman'speniswithinthe
woman'sanus,thebaby'smouthon thewoman'snipple-
implymorethanone kindof social and temporallinkbe-
tweenthe actors.And as in any multigenerational scene,
thereis an implicationofbiologicalmaturation. The adults
wereonce babiesthemselves, and thebabywillgrowto be
a sexuallyactiveadult.
While we do not know what the Moche saw as the
man'srelationship to thechild,each ofthepossibilities en-
large the scene'stemporalframe.Ifhe is thechild'sfather,
thenthechildis thevisiblefruit ofprevioussexualcontacts
betweenthispair.It has been suggestedthatthesepotsare
didacticin intent,demonstrating a postpartumsex taboo:
a child'sparentshavingappropriate, anal intercourseat a
timewhenvaginalsex is forbidden (see,e.g.,JimenezBorja
1985:44). A different emergesifthe male is not
historicity
thefather: The nursingbabydemonstrates thatthewoman
has had sex withotherpartners; fromherperspective, this
act is one amongmany.
Lookingat thisMochethreesome withina comparative
framework, then,we see thatthefigure ofthebabychanges
the act of sex and introducesa new temporaldimension.
EvidencefromSouthAmericasupportsand expandson this
thesis.
SEX AND REPRODUCTIONIN SOUTHAMERICA
IfMelanesiais one oftherichest,best-documented sources
ofinformation on attitudestowardsex in a culturalsetting
relativelyuninfluenced bycolonization,theAndeanregion
mustbe amongthemostimpoverished. Andeanethnogra-
phershaverarelydiscussedsexualbeliefsand practices, and
indigenousculturaltraditionshave been radicallyaltered
by centuriesof colonialism,capitalism,and missionizing.
In the adjacentAmazonianregion,in contrast, despitede-
mographicand otherpressures, indigenouspeoplesmain-
tainedmanysexualtraditions intothe20thcentury, in de-
fianceof Westernand Christiannorms.While it lacksthe
richtheoretical workon sexualityand genderto be found
in the Melanesianliterature, the extensiveethnographic
recordfromthe tropicallowlandsis by farthe bestsource
ofinformation aboutsex in indigenousSouthAmerica.
There are otherreasonsforNorthCoast scholarsto
turntheirattentionto the Amazon.The ubiquitouspres-
ence of trophyhead imageryin coastalartistictraditions,
and of Amazonianfloraand faunain the iconographyof
Chavin,demandthatwe lookto thetropicalforests.6 These
connectionscan be overdrawn, butby the same token,we
shouldnotbe blindedto thespecificity ofNorthCoastcul-
turalhistorybyan overlyrigiddefinition ofAmazoniaand
the Andesas discrete"cultureareas."This ingrainedintel-
lectualhabit leads scholarsto routinelyinterpret archae-
ological evidencefromthe maritimenorthusing ethno-
graphicmaterialfromhigh-altitude pastoralistsfarto the

south in highlandBolivia,while largelyignoringcoastal
Ecuadorand Northwest Amazonia,areasthataregeograph-
ically closerand arguablymorerelevantbut thatlie out-
sidethe "Andean"sphereas conventionally defined.With-
out acceptingclaimsthatthereis no suchthingas Andean
culture,we can nonethelessrecognizethatthe notion of
a single,homogenizedAndean regionis partlya fiction
and can be especiallymisleadingwhen interpreting phe-
nomena outsidethe Cuzco heartland.The Andeanregion
is and was largeand internally diverse,and everywhere con-
nectedto peoplesand ecologiesbeyonditslimits;in look-
ing at Moche, it is importantto exploreconnectionsto
and comparisonswiththe northand west,as well as the
south.
Nowhere in Amazonia have anthropologistsdocu-
menteda set of practicesthat exactlyparallelthe Moche
anal sex scene;but the searchforsuperficial resemblances
shouldnot be the goal of ethnographic analogy.Evenbe-
tweencontemporaneous Amazoniansocieties,specificcul-
tural practicesvary; commonalitiesexist only as a dif-
fuse,variablyexperiencedcomplex of ideas. It is here
thatwe may findthemesthatcan be cautiouslybrought
to bear on the Moche case, if only as a source of
hypotheses.
One ofthemostfamousAmazonianinstitutions is the
couvades,in whichfatherssuffer the pains and endurethe
postpartumrestrictions of childbirth(Gow 1991:152-155;
Rivaland Whitehead1998). These restrictions varyfrom
groupto groupbut are wide ranging.Parentsmay have
been enjoinedagainsteatinglong listsoffoods,lookingat
or hearingcertainanimalsor naturalphenomena,making
abruptmovements,or leavinga smalland protectedarea.
Behindthesetabooslaythebeliefthatbecausethe childis
theproductofthefather's and mother'sown bodilyfluids,
any sensualimpression on the adults'bodiescouldcausethe
dissolutionor deformation of the fragilenewborn,whose
bodywas stillsoft,almostliquid,and unformed. Ifthenew
motherhad severallovers,all wereenjoinedto observethe
same demandingtaboos(e.g.,Crocker1985:48-49).Forac-
cordingto a widespreadbeliefin "partiblepaternity," every
man whose semenentereda pregnantwoman'sbodywas
believedto havecontributed tothegrowthand formation of
the fetus(Beckerman and Valentine2001; Crocker1985:6,
43; Fischer2001:119).
Behind these practiceslies what Eduardo Vivieros
de Castro calls a generalizedtheoryof "seminal nur-
ture"(Vivierosde Castro 1992:187; also citedin Conklin
2001:149). Ratherthaninsemination-thatsinglemoment
when the male spermfertilizes the waitingegg-the key
metaphorforconceptionin Amazoniais "nurture," orfeed-
ing: The fetusgrows as it is fed regularinfusions of semen
frommen and blood fromits mother.In the Northwest
Amazon,themetaphoris especiallyexplicit.ForTukanoan
men,feedingdefinedbeinga father:First,theyfedsemen
to the fetusthroughrepeatedacts of insemination;after
birth,theywaitedanxiouslyforthe newborninfantto be-
come capable of eatingsolid food,so thattheycould be-
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Weismantel * MocheSex Pots 499
gin feedingthe childagain,now withcooked maniocand
otherfoods(Conklin2001:149 and passim;see also Hugh-
Jones2001:257). The Barsanaspoke of semen as "a kind
of milk,"whichmen fedto women'svaginas(Hugh-Jones
2001). Elsewhere, the Waribegan the processeven earlier:
Men weregivenyoung,prepubescent girlsas wivesso that
theycouldgrowthemintofertile, menstruating womenby
feedingthemsemen,justas theywouldlaterfeedthefetus
insidetheirwombs(Conklin2001).
Here,as in Melanesia,thefocusis on thebody'scapac-
ityto generate,store,and transmit life-giving reproductive
substances-includingsemen,menstrual blood,and breast
milk,all ofwhichareperceivedas transformed versionsof
a singleessence,at once materialand spiritualin nature.
Exchangesofthesenurturant substances, circulatedamong
young bodies and regulatedbyelders, lie at theheartofre-
production and of social and life.
spiritual This processis
not limitedto specificorifices,members,or actorsbut in-
volvesmultiplebodilyacts.
This generalizednotion of procreation,widespread
and welldocumentedin SouthAmerica,of-
cross-culturally
fersa possiblereadingof the Moche anal sex pots. In this
light,thesubstancethatis transmitted fromtheman'sbody
intothewoman'sas seminalfluidis thesamesubstancethat
passesthroughhernippleintothebaby'smouth;thescene
depictsthemovementofthisnurturing fluidbetweenthree
bodies,to theultimatebenefitoftheinfant.In thisreading,
severaldetailsbecomesignificant: the shapelessnessofthe
child'sbody and face,forinstance,may be an indication
that,as in the couvade,the processof fetaldevelopment
is not yet completeeven thoughthe infantis outsideof
the womb.And it is noteworthy thaton one portrayal of
anal sex on a pot at the ArtInstituteof Chicago,the artist
carveda tinynose and a pairofeyesabove theanus,trans-
forming theorificethatengulfsthepenisintoa mouth(see
Figure1). This woman'sanus, likethe mouthsof Amazo-
nian and Melanesianwomen,appearscapableofimbibing
semenas thoughitweredrinking a nurturing food.
The notionthatthe relationshipbetweenparentand
childmightbe builtovertimethroughactsoffeedingis one
thatresonateswithindigenousculturaltraditions in theAn-
des.In thenorthern Andestheactoffeedingwasthecentral
activitythroughwhichbothsocialandbiologicalreproduc-
tion took place (Weismantel 1995). Shared food gradually
createdunbreakableties betweenbodies and established
permanentsocialidentities: Thus,feedingadoptedchildren
slowly transformed them into membersof the familyin a
physical,as well as a social, sense. Here,as in Amazonia,
one couldnotbecomea fatherthrougha single,briefact of
coitusbutonlythroughrepeatedly nurturing a motherand
child.
Havingarrivedat a provisionalreadingof sex, repro-
duction,and timeon theanal sex potsusingethnographic
analogy,we are readyto considerthe archaeologicaland
ethnohistoricevidencefromthe NorthCoast, which im-
mediately introduces twonew,powerful themes:inequality
and death.Ifwe thenturnto iconographicevidencefrom
500 AmericanAnthropologist* Vol. 106,No. 3 * September2004
FIGURE 1. Moche ceramic depicting anal intercourse[AIC
1955.2674].Incisedmarkingsabove the woman'sanus resemble
a nose and eyes,creatinga tinyvisualpunthatturnsthe anus into
a mouth.(photocourtesy ofthe ArtInstitute
of Chicago)
theceramics,we willfindtheone figure
thatbringsall these
themestogether:the ancestor.
MOCHE: WEALTH AND POWER
To describetheseceramicsas "Moche"can be misleadingif
itimpliesthattheyaretheproductsofa singlehomogenous
culture.Ownershipofthesebeautifully executed,painstak-
inglycraftedpieces was restricted to a rarified
elite;pro-
duction,too,was likelycontrolledbya specializedstratum
of craftproducers,forthe Moche werea highlystratified
society.
More than a millenniumaftertheirreign,the ambi-
tionsofMoche leadersarestillvisiblein theirmonumental
architecture,suchas themassiveedificeknownas theHuaca
de la Luna, one of the largestman-madeconstructions in
the Americas.The lootedvaluablessold on the antiquities
marketand covetedbymodernbuyerslikewisedemonstrate
theabilityofMocheelitesto surround themselves withlux-
urygoods and works of fineart.Controlledexcavations in
thelastdecadeprovideevengreaterevidenceofthedegree
of economicinequalityand the concentration of political
power thatcharacterized the Moche period.
Nottoo longago,archaeologists picturedtheMocheas
a simpler,smallerpredecessorformightyChimPi,the rich
and powerfulpolitythrivingundernominalInca control,
whichPizarroand his men would encounteron theNorth
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Coast 700 yearslater.In a radicalrevision,todayscholars
arguethattheMoche periodwas a timewhenthe political
economyof the regionrapidlycoalesced into something
qualitativelyunlikeitspredecessors and farmoreunequal.
Thisconclusionis supportedbytheavailabledata aboutce-
ramicworkshops, whichdemonstrate thatcraftproduction
in Moche timeswas deeplystratified.7 Evidenceaboutwho
used and owned particularkindsof vessels,on the other
hand,is stillfragmentary. Some nonelites,especiallythose
who producedthefinestwares,or servedelitehouseholds,
may have enjoyedaccess to some luxuriesand sharedas-
pectsof the eliteworldview.8Nevertheless, productionof
theveryfinest warewaspresumably orientedtowarda small
groupwithinMoche society,whose tastesand beliefsmay
not have been sharedacrossclassesor ethnicgroupsor by
residentsofruralareas.
One indicationofthesedifferences can be foundin the
refuseheaps at the largeceramicsproductionsiteof Cerro
Mayalin theChicamaRiverValley,whichproducedceram-
ics ofhighqualitybutnot theveryfinestwares.Whilerep-
resentationsof men dominatein museumcollections,at
CerroMayal,femalefigures-bothclothedand unclothed-
vastlyoutnumbermales (Russelland Jackson2001:167).
Giventhe vagariesof collectionhistories, thiscomparison
is merelysuggestive;but it remindsus thatthe abundant
sexualimageryon theveryfinestceramicsmaynot signify
bodilyqualitiesor actsthattheirmakersbelievedto be uni-
versallyhuman,or evenuniversally Moche.
Forthe eliteconsumersof the imageryon thesepots,
sexualdesireand reproductive capacitywouldbe important
not onlyin and ofthemselvesbutalso as potentforcesthat
could be channeledto serveeconomicand politicalends-
and, therefore, that,uncontrolled,could unravelexisting
relationsofpower.Ginsburgand Rappsaythatchildrenare
not simplyborn;rather, theyare "bornintocomplexsocial
arrangements through which legaciesofproperty, position,
rights,and values are negotiatedovertime"(1995:2). The
wealthyand powerful,especially,do not simplywant to
make babies; theyneed to produce heirs,who will con-
tinueto hold onto and manage the politicaland material
resourcesamassedby theirkin.Furthermore, social groups
oftenact to controlsexual activityand the bodilyexperi-
enceofsexitself:harnessing powerfuldesiresand emotions
to serveideologicalpurposesor restricting accessto sexual
partners in orderto maintain class,ethnic, or kin-group ex-
clusivity.
Even in the relativelyegalitarian,small-scalesocieties
of 20thcenturyAmazoniaor Melanesia,the sexualand re-
productivepowersoftheyoungwererigorously controlled
to servetheendsofspecificgroups:eldermales,theclan,or
lineage.In managingtheflowofvitalfluidsbetweenbodies,
one frequently expressedgoal was to ensurethe successful
growthoffetusesintoviablebabies,butthesepracticeswere
also usedto maintain-orto blur-boundariesbetweenlin-
eages,generations, and genders.Sambiarites,forexample,
requiredmalesto sharesemenwidely,creatinga secretkin-
shipthatbound all mentogether, overriding thekin-based

identitiesthatnormallydividedthem.Othertribalgroups
used theflowofsemenotherwise, directingit strictly
along
kinship linesto reinscribe
the complex rules
of consanguin-
ityand affinity even in sexual acts betweenmen. Among
the Etoro,forexample,boyswereassignedan inseminator
who wasconsanguineally relatedto theirfuture wives(Kelly
1993; see Crocker1985:106,345 n. 20; Sorenson1984 for
similar
datafromAmazonia).
Among theusersandmakers
oftheMochesexpots,re-
productive
ideologies have
must notonlyreinforced
prin-
ciplesofgender,generation, and descentbut also differen-
tiatedbetweeneconomicstrata.Ethnohistoric accountsof
Chimuisocialand politicalorganization describea multilay-
eredhierarchy oflineages,withthoseat thetopcontrolling
land, as well as the laborof farmers,
irrigatedagricultural
and craftspeople
fisherfolk, (Netherly 1977). Moche society
is presumedto have been organizedsimilarly.For mem-
bers of thesepowerfullineages,controllingreproduction
would have been a game withveryhigh stakes-and one
that would surelyhave influencedwhat these privileged
consumerswishedto see represented in worksofart.
SEX AND DEATH
If social inequalityis a generalcontextwithinwhich the
sex pots shouldbe read,the sumptuoustombsof the elite
providea muchmorespecificone. The Moche buriedtheir
importantdead dressedin intricatecostumes,surrounded
byritualparaphernalia, coveredin layerupon layerofelab-
oratelyworkedornamentsin preciousmetals,stones,and
feathers,and accompaniedby sacrificialvictims,human
and animal,as wellas by fineceramicvessels.
Archaeologists presumethatalmostall fineMoche ce-
ramics,includingthesex pots,werefoundin tombs,a sup-
positionstrongly supportedbythelargenumbersofwhole
potsin museumcollections.Mostoftheseartifacts haveno
provenience, but the number of vesselsfound in situ has
been slowlyincreasing.In 2001, Claude Chapdelainepub-
lisheda smalljarwithbas-relief depictionsof ritualsexual
activity,one of 22 ceramics associatedwithan elitefemale
burial(2001:80-81); decadesearlier,RafaelLarcoHoylere-
portedfindingpots with sexual imageryin the gravesof
infants(LarcoHoyle(1946:175; 1965:44,122).9
Suchfindsarestilltoo rareto allowthesystematic cor-
relationof specifickindsof vesselswith particulartypes
ofburials,but thegeneralizedassociationofceramicswith
gravesprovidesa significant contextin whichto readtheir
styleand iconography.If the imageryon the pots places
young childrenin the same scene as the act of sex, the
contextof the tombputs sex into the house of the dead,
expandingreproductive timefarback into the past-and
forward towardthefuture.
On theNorthCoastin the 16thcentury, thecultofthe
munaos,ormummies,was thefocusofreligious, social,and
politicallife.DuringMoche times,thereis evidenceof the
ritualreopeningofgraves;ceramicsplacedin tombs,then,
had not passed out of memorybut,rather,into it. Tombs
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Weismantel * MocheSex Pots 501
werecentralsitesof social reproduction forthe living,as
Rosemary Joyce and Susan GillespieargueforancientMaya
burialtemples(Gillespie2000; Meskelland Joyce2003).
Ifveryfineceramicscirculated amonga restricted group
of the highestelites,this groupwould presumablyhave
sharedmembership in a veryfewcloselyrelatedkingroups
and worshippedat the same ancestraltombs.Thesetombs
and theiroccupantswouldhavebeen keysymbolsthrough
which theirlivingdescendantsmaterializedsocial, polit-
ical, and economicpower;the sex pots would have taken
theirmeaningfrom,and givenmeaningto,thisfundamen-
talfact.The centralroleofthetomb,in turn,tookitssignif-
icance fromperhapsthemostimportantfigurein Andean
religiouslife:theancestor.
Farfrombeingdistantfigures, ancestorswerethe an-
imatingforceof everydaylife,as Meskelland Joycehave
written oftheClassicMaya(2003:169).In theAndes,Susan
Ramirezperceptively commentsthatlivingIncaemperors-
who when seen in publicsat immobile,silent,and expres-
sionless,were carriedon littersratherthan walking,and
weresurroundedby objectsnot unlikegravegoods-were
actuallyimitating theiralreadydead,mummified predeces-
sorsand thuspresenting themselvesas theembodimentof
perfect power(2004). Foritwas onlyafterdeaththata per-
son could achievethepinnacleofsocial,political,and cul-
turalinfluenceoverothers,as an objectofworshipand the
recipientofofferings ofgoodsand laborthat,in thecase of
the Inca, could easilyexceedanythinggivento the living.
Fertilitywas thesourceofthisancestralpower:life,health,
and abundanceflowedfromthe dead and could be taken
away iftheirhappinessand goodwillwerenot constantly
cultivatedthroughritualaction.
TheseideasarevisibleamongtheMoche as well,as can
be seenifwe turnbriefly fromtheanal sex potsto another
setofcommonlydepictedimages:thewomanmasturbating
theskeleton.Skeletonsoftenmasturbate alone,sometimes
whileholdinga smallfigure;frequently, however,theyare
masturbated bya femalecompanion.When,as is oftenthe
case,she is as fleshyas he is bony,itis tempting to readthis
as
pair embodyingoppositions between lifeand deathand
male and female,and so to see the skeleton'serectpenis
as a trickster elementthateruptsacrosstheseboundaries,
undermining the powerof death.Thus,the erectpenis of
thereborndead in Egyptiantombssymbolizestheirrejuve-
nation(Meskelland Joyce2003).
If we look at a largercorpusof the Moche masturba-
tion scenes,however,the messageis ratherone of corpo-
real continuity betweenthe livingand the dead, forboth
figuresare sometimesfleshed,sometimesfullyor partially
skeletonized.The one constantis the erectpenis,a mem-
berthatin theAndeswouldonlygrowin fertilizing power
whenwieldedbya dead man.
The figureof the masturbating skeleton,like that of
the couple havinganal sex, is not immediately legibleto
us as a representation of fertility:
In Euro-American his-
tory,masturbationis oftenreviledas a wastefullynon-
reproductiveact. But the meaningof masturbation, like
502 AmericanAnthropologist* Vol. 106,No. 3 * September2004

otherbodilyacts,dependson culturaland historicalcon- oftheancestorsto thelineageand its

and awesomefertility
text(Laqueur2003). In themythology ofancientEgypt,for selectedheirs.
example,theact ofmasturbating thepeniswas glorified as
a purelymasculineformof reproduction, throughwhich
male deitiesand even the ordinarydead could generate CONCLUSION
newlife.The femalecontribution to theprocesswas limited On Moche ceramics,imagesof anal sex and male mastur-
to arousingthe male partner, a role signified by the femi- bationareoftenshowntogether witha baby,posinga puz-
nine hand thatrubsthecosmicphallus(Meskelland Joyce zle thatis bestaddressedby turningfromWesternnotions
2003). of conceptionto a cross-cultural searchforethnographic
In the Native Americanlanguages of the Andes, analogies. But now that we have finished ourwanderings,
the concepts of "ancestor,""lineage," and "penis" are are we any closerto answeringthe question,"Whyall the
linkedlinguisticallyand metaphorically (Salomon1991:20; anal sex?"
Zuidema 1977:256); the erectpenis of the skeletonized Ultimately, that questionmay be unanswerable:We
male mayunitethesethreeconceptsas welland so signify may need to be content,as earlywriters were,to simplynote
the principleof descentovertime.The skeleton'spartner, the NorthCoast's"inclinationto sodomy"as a distinctive
then,maybe less significant as a womanthanas an affine. culturalpracticethatcannotbe reducedto functionalist ex-
For whilewe do not know the detailsof Moche kinship, planation,liketheJapanesepagodaortheMexicantortilla.
one generalprincipleis clearforall societiesthatempha- Once sucha culturalpracticeexists,itbecomesthe subject
size descentthroughcorporatekingroups:Ancestralfertil- ofa richand intensely meaningful arrayofsymbolicassoci-
ity,whichflowsdown throughlineages,mustbe activated ations;butthesedo not,in theend,demonstrate thatsome
throughlivingaffines.Alone,the masturbating skeleton otherpracticewould not have servedthe purposeequally
represents the ancestor'sreproductive potential;withone well.Indeed,theveryexistenceofothersocietieswho flour-
hand on hispenisand theothercradlinga smallbody,this ishedwithoutthatparticular traitdemonstrates thatitshis-
powerto createnew lifebecomesmorevisible.When it is tory must be a contingent rather than a necessaryone.
a woman'shand,ratherthanhis own,thatrubsthepenis, Furthermore, the analysis presentedhere addresses
we see this ancestralpotencybeing activatedby another only a small portionof the entirecorpusof Moche rep-
sexuallyactivebeingwho can captureand conveyit to the resentationsof sexual activity.The fellatio-on-the-throne
lineage'slivingdescendants. scenes embodygreaterinequality,as Gero observes;the
Ourcomparative dataremindus thatwhatthiswoman genitalmutilationof prisonersspeaksof war and politics;
conveys between generationsis not justa generalizedand therearehalf-squash, half-human pairswhoseopenmouths
disembodiedfertility but also actual fluidsthathad once join in a single enormous tongue,perhapsindicatingforms
been within now-deceasedhumanbodies.Likethe sacred of female-to-female reproduction; the effigiesof genitalia
Andeanmummies,bodilyfluids-oreven body parts-are mightpertainto secretcultsand adolescence.
visibleand tangiblelinksto the ancestors,at once material Whilea fullaccountingofall thesescenesis farbeyond
and sacred.In the NorthwestAmazon,patrilineages were the scope of thisarticle,our cross-cultural excursionsinto
imaginedas originating in the body of a giantanaconda, reproductive theorydo makethe patternofwhatis and is
and eachlivingmaledescendant'speniswas envisionedas a notportrayed in theMoche sexpotsmorecomprehensible,
segmentofthatoriginalphallicbody(Hugh-Jones 1979:38- ifnot explicablein a deterministic sense.In depictinganal
40; Whitten1985:66-70). As Joycesaysabout the Classic sex as reproductive, breast-feeding as a sexualact,and the
Maya, throughsuch "durableessences"ancestors"partic- dead as sexualactors,Mocheartists adoptedvisualstrategies
ipate consubstantially in the personhoodof descendants" to achievethesameeffects thatMelanesiansand Amazoni-
(Joyce2000:169). The referent in theMayacase is to thecir- ans accomplishedthroughritual:to expand reproductive
culationof ancestralbones; Amazoniansand Melanesians timeand alterthe definitionof the reproductive act. The
imaginedlivingessencespasseddirectly frombodyto body multipleactors,and the displayof otheractsof bodilyin-
throughprocessesofingestion. tercourse besidesvaginalpenetration, workto displacethe
Ifthebabyand thetombgivethe anal sex scenea his- viewer'sfocusfromthe singlemomentof insemination-
tory,the masturbation pots maketheseconnectionsmore the keyreproductive momentin Westernthought-and,
meaningful, suggestingthat the sexual fluidspassingbe- thus,to displacethe sexuallyactiveheterosexualcouple
tweenlivingactorsoriginatein thebodiesofthedead-and fromcenterstage.
thatthedead have an activeinterest in the sex thatoccurs Thisanalysisposessomeproblems,sinceas can be seen
betweentheirdescendantsand affines,since the latterin fromtheEuropeanreluctance to portray maritalsex,thein-
effect becometheirsex partners, too. The tombsin which visibilityof a particular act need not indicateitsunimpor-
thesepotswerefound,lavishlyappointedmaterializations tance;itcan signify theopposite.Butwhateverthecloseting
of the wealthand powerof the lineage,further shape the ofvaginalsexaccomplishedfortheMoche,it does notseg-
meaning of thesexacts portrayed. They remind viewersthat regatesexualreproduction fromvisualrepresentation. The
thesexualpowersofconjoinedbodiesweretobe celebrated scenesofanal and manualsexaresuffused withthesymbol-
butalso controlled,so as to restricttheabundantgenerosity ism of generation(infants, breastmilk,ancestors,tombs).

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 Weismantel * MocheSex Pots 503

Reproductive processesare a centralfocusof thisart,cele- complexand unequal society,thesebodilycapacitiesare

brated,elaborated,and dispersedas widelyas possible,to also madeto servepoliticaleconomicends-whetherthese
encompassthe interactionof multipleorificesand actors includethe commodification of pleasureand the concen-
in an endlessflowofvitalfluidsbetweenbodiesand across trationofprofit,
or thesubjugationoftheyoungto theold
time. and thelivingto thepoweroftheancestraltomb.
In the process,theseimagesboth scatterand concen-
tratepoliticalpower.Theydispersecontroloverreproduc-
tionbycreatinga physiologicalsystemin whichno one in- MARY WEISMANTELDepartment of Anthropology,North-
dividualor pairactsalone: not themarriedcouple,not the Evanston,IL 60208
westernUniversity,
motherbreast-feeding herbaby,not even the all-powerful
and massivelyfertile ancestor.Each formofbodilyengage-
NOTES
mentis onlyone linkin a chain ofphysicalprocessesthat
Acknowledgments. I would like to thankseveralreadersof ear-
nourishesnot onlybabies but also a vigorousnetworkof lierdraftsof thisarticle,amongthemElizabethBrumfiel, Eleanor
linkagesbetweensocialactors. Casella, Ben Orlove,ElizabethRoberts,Helaine Silverman,and
Mike Uzendoski,as well as Nicole Coultierand otheraudience
Buttheyconcentrate poweras well,positioningthean- membersat the University of Chicago who heard a workshop
cestors,elders,and mostpowerfullineagesat the centerof version.All of theircommentsand criticisms helpedme greatly,
thesystemofflows.Ifa youngboylookingat theseceramics althoughall errorsof factand interpretation are my own. I am
could see thateternallifeflowsthroughhis own maturing also verygrateful to a numberofMoche scholars,especiallyIzumi
Shimadaand ChrisDonnan, fortheirgreatgenerosity in sharing
sexualorgans,he also sawhimselfas merelya vesselthrough information and givingme accessto materials. The curatorsat the
whichthatpotencypassesfromtheenormously fertile
phal- Field Museumof NaturalHistoryin Chicago (special thanksto
lus of his ancestorinto thewombof his wife.Greatpower ChrisPhilips),theArtInstitute ofChicago,theAmericanMuseum
ofNaturalHistory, theLoganmuseumat BeloitCollege,theFowler
is thusgrantedto the figureofthe dead-much less to the museumat UCLA,and theNaturalHistory Museumin LosAngeles
youngindividualsactuallyinvolvedin making,having,and providedaccessto theircollections;I wishto especiallythankthe
staffmembersat theKinseyInstitute fortheirhelpand enthusiasm
raisingbabiesforthelineage,and stilllessto thoseexcluded forthisproject.
fromthelineageand itsattendantrightsand privileges but
1. Kaufman-Doig1979 is anothernoteworthy Peruvianmono-
stillrequiredto serveits members. graphon thesubject.
In termsof anthropological theory, thisanalysishigh- 2. An exceptionis Hill (2000), who has used thisbodyof theory
lightsthe impedimentsraisedby conceptualframeworks to offernew analysesof the imageof the femalesacrificial victim
derivedfromourown culture.Scholarslookingat thesean- foundon finelineceramics,previouslyanalyzedby Donnan and
McClelland1979.
cientrepresentations of analityand onanismhave tended
3. A fewsame-sexscenesexist.
to regardthemas merecuriosities, lessworthyofstudythan
4. See Calancha 1974:1249, Pizarro 1978:19, Cieza de Le6n
theimagesofrulersand ofwar.Butthesepotsarevaluable 1971:198,also citedin Benavides2002:11.Thereis also a briefdis-
toolsforthinkingbecauseoftheirabilityto bringtogether cussionoftheethnohistoric evidenceforprecolonialsodomy(not
severaldisparateconversations. Conventionalkinshipstud- differentiated frommalehomosexuality) in Stavig1995:26-59.
ies have been much criticizedby feministanthropolo- 5. Conklin'sfielddatais fairly recent.I couldand,perhaps,should
have used the presenttense in talkingabout the Warf.But in
gistsforan inadequateconceptualization of reproduction. the surveyof reproductive beliefsthatI offerhere,much of the
Feministanthropology, in turn,earnedthe opprobrium of data is severaldecadesold and oftendescribesritualsand beliefs
scholarsforitsfailure to with issues thathave sincefalleninto disuse.In orderto avoid a misleading
sexuality engagedirectly
on theotherhand,havetended impressionof timelessculturalpracticesimpregnable to Western
ofsex.Scholarsofsexuality, or capitalistinfluence,I have systematically used the past tense
to ignoreboth kinshipand reproduction. These scholarly throughout.
schismsofferan unfortunate mirror of the cruderassump- 6. The takingoftrophyheadswas practicedin Amazoniaintothe
20th century;see, forexample,Harner1973. On tropicalforest
tionsofcontemporary society,in whichsex belongsto ho- in Chavin,see Lathrap1971,1973; Berger1992:153-
is the iconography
mosexuals(who do not reproduce)and reproduction 159. On the takingof heads in the northerncoastalregion,see
concernofmarriedwomen(whoarenotverysexy).Hetero- Zarateas citedin Benavides2002:6.
sexualmen,in themeantime,aretoo busywiththeimpor- 7. Ethnohistoricdocumentssuggestthat the most luxurious
tantstuff-politicaleconomy-to worryabout thesemat- positionfora pottermayhave been thatof an attachedspecialist
workingdirectlyfor,and, perhaps,livingwithinthe palace of,
ters,whichareconsignedto thebedroomand thehome. a rulingfamily(Ramirez1996:220-223,in Shimada 2001:199).
Moche representations of anal sex demanda coherent Archaeologists have identified one structure apparently dedicated
and kinship, to producingfinewareforfunerary and ritualuse; whilenot part
theory that encompasses sex, reproduction, of a palace, it is locatednearthe sacredpyramidof Huaca de la
but not one thatassumesa narrowand fixedlinkagebe- Luna at the site of Moche (Uceda and Armas1998). The items
tween sex and reproductionor that ignoreslargerissues producedtherewould have been similarto those familiarto us
frommuseumexhibitionsbut mostpottersproducedotherkinds
ofinequalityand power.The relationship betweenthetwo of goods. IzumiShimadahas foundtwoworkshopsat the siteof
cannotbe takenas a givenbut,instead,mustbe posed as Pampa Grande,one of which made slightlyless fineceramics,
a questionthatcan onlybe answeredthroughanalysisofa presumablyforwell-to-dononelites,as partof a largecomplex
of specializedcraftworkshopslinkedby a centralkitchenand
specificpoliticaleconomy.Moche sexuallyexplicitart,like
brewery(1994:191-200). The relativelypleasant workingand
contemporary pornography, can appearliberatory in itscel- livingconditionsin this area contrastedsharplywith another
ebrationofthemultiplepleasuresofthebody.Butin every potteryin a different partof the site,whereworkersproduced

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504 AmericanAnthropologist* Vol. 106,No. 3 * September2004

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