User:Beck Woollen/Moche culture

Textiles
Extreme weather and fragility of garments mean that relatively few examples of Moche textiles exist. However, limited quantities have been found in tombs, especially of higher-status members of society. Many of the remaining garments are incomplete articles, partially broken down. Nevertheless, scholars have been able to gain cultural insights from the remaining Moche textiles. The Moche wove textiles, mostly using cotton and wool from vicuña and alpaca. The relative presence of these fabrics, as well as which patterns were used, varies chronologically throughout Moche culture. Too few relics exist from early Moche culture to draw conclusive findings. Textiles from around 450 AD uniquely include a male head cloth—which is not readily found elsewhere. Twill and gauze weaving is also common among samples from this period, though by the 500-800 AD range, these patterns become much less abundant. It is thought that elite members of Moche society had specialized artisans who manufactured their textiles, whereas lower-ranking typical members of society would manufacture their own clothing. Whorls and needles have proven quite common in excavation of Moche dwellings—pointing to a household level of production. However, more monochrome, homogenized relics suggest mass-production may have become more common by 500-800 AD. Variation in garments likely correlates with different social classes. Sophisticated weaving techniques and bright dyes are more common on elites’ clothing, whereas commoners may have had garments that were less sophisticated and lacked dye—and they likely had fewer of them. Complex tapestries developed by artisans are another good associated with high social hierarchy. Several specific items also correlate to gender in Moche culture, such as a head cloth for men and a long tunic for women. Descendants of Moche people today continue to have strong weaving traditions.

Social Stratification
Although it remains somewhat unclear how geographically divided Moche culture was, scholars are very confident that the Moche were a socially divided society. Beyond royalty, the Moche can be divided into a general upper and lower class, and each class can be further stratified into smaller groups. Intra-class movement was possible within these broad categories, but inter-class switches between them were less feasible. Many pre-contact cultures share a divided structure comparable to the Moche—but each may have unique development.

Although religion seems to have been a centripetal force for the Moche, members of the elite class likely used it to reinforce their status. Other ideological, economic, political, and social factors may have also been leveraged to similar ends. A common approach to maintaining power was for members of the elite, such as priests and priestesses, to use ceremonies to reinforce their standing (see the Religion section for more information on ceremonies). It may also be true that physical force was used. The Moche elite may have struggled to retain power at times, and inter-elite quarreling is speculated to have played into the culture’s collapse.

Excavated Moche burial sites constitute a large body of evidence for social stratification. Those lowest in the Moche hierarchy were buried in a simple hole near their household ; platform mounds with an abundance of goods were awarded to the highest-ranking members of society. An incomplete list of possible funerary objects includes copper masks, silver, pottery, and gold goods. Presence of metal-worked goods is thought to be especially significant with respect to high status. Excavation of dwellings indicates that living conditions of Moche likely also differed based on social standing., but excavation data here remains skewed and not entirely complete so far. Excavated elite burials also illustrate that remains sexed both male and female held elite positions in Moche culture.

Collapse[edit]
There are multiple theories as to what caused the demise of the Moche political structure. Some scholars have emphasized the role of environmental change. Studies of ice cores drilled from glaciers in the Andes reveal climatic events between 563 and 594 AD, possibly a super El Niño, that resulted in 30 years of intense rain and flooding followed by 30 years of drought , part of the aftermath of the climate changes of 535–536. These weather events could have disrupted the Moche way of life, political hierarchy, and jeopardized their faith in their religion, which had promised stable weather through sacrifices. This super El Niño may have jeopardized Moche agriculture. Moche agriculture relied considerably on canal-based irrigation from Andes mountain runoff, which a severe drought would have jeopardized. Certain scholars attribute strain on the irrigation systems to sensitive tectonics in the region.

Other evidence demonstrates that these events did not cause a complete Moche demise. Moche polities survived beyond 650 AD in the Jequetepeque Valley and the Moche Valleys. For instance, in the Jequetepeque Valley, later settlements are characterized by fortifications and defensive works. While there is no evidence of a foreign invasion, as many scholars have suggested in the past (i.e. a Huari invasion), the defensive works suggest social unrest, possibly the result of climatic changes, as factions fought for control over increasingly scarce resources.

Jennifer's Plan/edits
Plan to edit and add on to the section about agriculture and irrigation systems they had in place. I might also edit the collapse section a bit, if it turns out it has a lot to do with the irrigation section.