Chavin cultural and ceramic influence on the Moche - Essay Example

In addition, the Chavin also engaged in metalworking as evident in the production of hammered gold items or ornaments. On the other hand, it is the elements derived from the Chavin civilization that influenced the Moche culture. The Moche are recognized for various art form which include sculpture and pottery, and their design provides a history of how the Moche civilization progressed in phases. Through the objects they incised on their pottery, it is evident that the Moche civilization was popular and their main aim was to amass power and wealth.

1 Moche vessels appeared to be flat-bottomed, and their stirrup-spouted jars are a product of the Chavin prototypes. These pots were decorated using a bichrome slip; however; early vessels made by the Moche were molded to using the hands and not potter’s wheel that helped in fashioning later vessels to form two-piece molds. The Moche pottery later focused on refining their vessels; thus, narrowing the vessels and making them smaller compared to the Chavin vessels. Furthermore, the Moche ceramics were produced through molding and had standardized shapes in addition to their distinct decoration.

There exists nine different shapes of Moche ceramics documented in literature and this includes vessels such as flared bowls and stirrup-spout bottles. It is through these vessels that artists illustrated complex paintings and figurative scenes. Moreover, Moche vessels are considered to represent an infinite and different variety of subjects, whereby among the identifiable zoomorphic figures involves reptiles, bats among other figures. Moche pottery is viewed as varied and mainly focuses on mold technology, which facilitates the production of various forms of ceramic vessels.

In addition, Moche pottery is unique in terms of theme and the shape and most of their social activities have been documented in their pottery work. Moche ceramics which were produced at around 150-800AD illustrates the use of a limited palette; further, their coloration is viewed as simple, and the pottery they produce often appear to depict actual individuals.2 Stirrup- Spout Vessels were a common ceramic form during the Pre-Columbian period and these vessels were available in various designs or elegances; however; their shared characteristic was a handle or a spout.

In essence, these vessels represented a window into the traditions that were practiced by the Pre-Columbian cultures. These vessels depicted various aspects of life such that of animals, plants whereby some of these animals represented deities or portraits symbolizing daily life events. The first produced vessels in Pre-Columbian period can be associated with the Chavin culture, and were later duplicated by other cultures that emerged after the Chavin demise. Vessels produced by the Chavin consisted of large chambers, a surface relief, a dark burnished color and a spout.

Furthermore, Chavin vessels contained both aggressive and powerful images and they had decorations that were crudely incised. These Stirrup- Spout vessels became more popular with the emergence of the Moche culture and they relied on various techniques to create vessels. On the same note, a common feature with the Moche ceramics involved the use of red colorings and cream. In addition, the incised objects depicted symbols that represented deities, animals and anthropomorphization of various figures undertaking different