DANA BARDOLPH, PhD Candidate

 

The Moche civilization of northern Peru is one of the best-known and most intensely studied archaeological cultures of the ancient New World, but often overlooked is the labor of men, women and children in the rural households that supported the growth and florescence of this complex society. Recent excavations by the Moche Origins Project afford a closer look at the daily lives and domestic labor practices of the pre-Hispanic occupants of this region. Analysis of data from these excavations for my dissertation reveals how shifts in agricultural strategies influenced the development of political complexity in the Moche world.