WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
Ancient Peruvian Pot
A Journey Through Time...
When you look at this Pre-Columbian Peru vessel you see a journey.
This piece of ceramic pottery represents a greater significance of culture, religion, and historical injustices that occurred along its journey over time, and are preserved through this vessel. There is very little known about this artifact, but in exploring its history, I discovered a lot about the journey it must have made to get here.
Molding, burnishing, firing ceramics
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https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-burnish-pottery-2746229
This artifact was created by gathering the earth’s clay, molding, burnishing, decorating, and firing the vessel to give it its long-lasting quality of plasticity allowing the ceramic to be preserved through time and for it to bear the journey it would then take.
Cupisinue, Salinar, and Gallinazo Ceramics
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This artifact was created by the ancient Moche people of Peru between 100 and 800 CE and was influenced by the Cupisinue, Salinar, and Gallinazo tribes before them. This artifact’s journey outlived the Moche people because the Wari tribe eventually took over, but left the Moche tombs and architecture untouched because they respected the Moche traditions and beliefs. The Incans then who followed the Wari also did the same because of a centuries-old cultural belief called Chavin which most ancient Peruvian cultures shared uniting their architecture, lifestyle, and religious beliefs, in turn protecting this Moche vessel and its cultural ancestry, allowing the artifact to live on its journey.
This artifact remained in the land of Peru and was respected by many native cultures, but the Spanish invasion led by Conquistador Francisco Pizarro is what began the destruction of this artifact’s history and ultimately the ending of this artifact’s journey. The Spanish brought disease, stole ancient Peruvian treasures, and forced the Incans into dangerous labor which ended up killing the Incans and the connection this object once had to its ancestors and its native land. Any purpose this object once had, whether it was for ceremonies, used to respect Gods, or stored in a tomb to honor the dead or sacrificed Moche people, was ultimately silenced by European intervention. The journey of this Moche artifact might be over, but it now resides in the Orma J. History Museum where it silently attempts to continue telling the story of its journey to the generations yet to come.
