Moche

The Moche culture flourished in the river valleys of present-day north coastal Peru from approximately 100 to 800 of the Common Era. The Moche are distinguished by their distinctive artistic and architectural remains. The word “Moche,” the name of one of the rivers that flow through the area, was arbitrarily chosen by scholars to describe the period and people. What they called themselves is not known. Although they left no written record, they left a vast array of ceramics, textiles, metallurgy, pyramid mounds, and extensive agricultural systems.