SEXUALIDAD EN LA CULTURA MOCHE. Arqueología cognitiva de la fertilidad y la antifertilidad.

Introduction to Moche Culture and Sexuality

Overview of the Presentation

• The presentation is hosted by the National University of San Marcos, focusing on the psychology of the future and its relation to Moche culture.

Key Themes in Moche Culture

• Discussion centers around sexuality within Moche culture, particularly through archaeological findings related to fertility and anti-fertility.

The Significance of Erotic Huacos

Tourist Attraction

• A three-meter tall huaco (ceramic figure) representing fertility has become a major tourist attraction in Trujillo, drawing visitors interested in learning more about Moche culture.

Public Interest

• Visitors express increased curiosity about the meaning behind these erotic huacos, indicating a growing interest in understanding their cultural significance.

Artistic Representation and Exhibition

Gallery Reopening

• The Checan gallery recently reopened with approximately 180 pieces showcasing ancient Peruvian erotic art, emphasizing improved curation for better appreciation.

Diverse Representations

• The exhibition includes various representations of human genitalia and sexual interactions, highlighting the connection between sexuality and fertility in Moche beliefs.

Understanding Moche Society

Historical Context

• The Moche civilization thrived between the 2nd and 7th centuries AD along the Moche River valley, known for their intricate ceramics that depict both everyday life and sexual themes.

Unique Iconography

• Unlike other ancient American cultures such as the Aztecs, who focused on death rituals, the Moche developed a rich iconography centered on sexual themes. This uniqueness raises questions about their societal values and beliefs regarding sexuality.

Cognitive Archaeology Insights

Symbolism of Sexuality

• Cognitive archaeology explores how sexual symbolism in ceramic art reflects not only daily life but also religious beliefs concerning fertility and mortality among the Moche people.

Human Sexuality as Fundamental Aspect

• Discussing human sexuality reveals its essential role in defining humanity itself; it encompasses identity, relationships, intimacy, pleasure, reproduction, etc., according to WHO definitions. This highlights its complexity beyond mere biological functions.

Influences on Sexuality

Multifaceted Nature

• Human sexuality is influenced by an array of factors including biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural aspects which shape individual experiences differently across contexts.

Magical Thinking vs Religion

• Classical conceptualizations describe magical thinking as pre-scientific attempts to understand nature through anthropomorphism while contrasting it with religion's divine focus; this distinction was significant for understanding how ancient societies like the Mochica interpreted their world through spirituality intertwined with daily practices like shamanism.

Understanding Ancient Beliefs and Practices

Evolution of Magical Beliefs

• Some classical authors propose an evolutionary course where magic is replaced by religion, and eventually by science, reflecting a shift in understanding the world.

Cognitive Archaeology

• Cognitive archaeology studies material remains from past societies to deduce their belief systems and thought processes that influenced cultural creation, such as artifacts and architecture.

• This discipline, introduced in the 1990s, focuses on archaeological remnants of technology and subsistence to reconstruct ideologies, religious thoughts, and cosmologies guiding decision-making in ancient cultures.

Sexual Practices in Ancient Peru

• Each culture imposes norms regulating sexual practices through beliefs, values, community rules, and roles within labor divisions.

• Analysis of ceramic vessels suggests forced sexual practices; artists were explicit in their sexual representations. One notable artifact depicts a man engaging sexually with a woman-animal hybrid.

Perspectives on Moche Art

• Researcher Federico Kauffmann argues against the notion that Moche art served purely pedagogical purposes; he claims it reflects magical-religious messages tied to fertility cults.

• Kauffmann emphasizes that erotic themes are prevalent in Moche culture due to the harsh environment requiring significant effort for agricultural yields.

Representation of Sexuality

• The spiritual life of ancient Peru was deeply intertwined with sexuality; erotic vessels had magical rather than pornographic functions.

• Despite the prevalence of sexual imagery among Moche ceramics, only a small percentage depicted sex explicitly. Many scenes occur within macabre contexts or fertility rituals.

Artistic Interpretations

• Some sculptures depict grotesque scenes involving masturbation amidst fertility ceremonies. The absence of moral judgment indicates these acts were part of worship rather than taboo.

• Moche ceramics showcase rich artistic styles but often include explicit sexual content. Contrary to Kauffmann's views, 95% represent what Spanish colonizers termed "abominable" practices.

Classification of Erotic Vessels

• Rafael Larco's classification system categorizes erotic vessels into four types based on their depictions and interpretations.

• Type 1 includes naturalistic representations leading to fecundation while Type 2 involves religious erotism demonstrating divine fecundity through adorned deities engaged in sexual acts.

Mochica Culture and Sexuality

The Divine and Fertility

• The Mochicas transformed their deities into symbols of fertility, emphasizing love as the creative force of the universe.

• They imbued their divinity with human sexual attributes, elevating instinctual and erotic feelings to a sublime level.

Moralizing Vessels

• The so-called "moralizing vessels" depict semi-skeletal figures in various poses, illustrating how excessive sexuality can lead to physical and spiritual disintegration.

• These vessels often feature grotesque expressions meant to instill fear and serve as moral lessons against lustful behavior.

Humor in Ceramics

• Despite serious themes, some Mochica ceramics incorporate humor, reflecting a nuanced understanding of sexuality intertwined with societal norms.

• Unique drinking vessels shaped like male genitalia compel users to engage with them in a provocative manner, merging function with sexual symbolism.

Biological and Sociocultural Functions of Sexuality

• While biological reproduction is a primary function of sex, it also serves sociocultural purposes such as pleasure and social bonding.

• Nelson identifies several psychosocial motivations for sexual behavior: affection, hedonism, recognition, control, submission, conformity, and novelty.

Flow Theory in Sexual Experiences

• Mihai Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory suggests that consensual sexual experiences can lead to heightened states of happiness or consciousness.

• Conversely, forced sexual encounters may result in negative psychological effects despite being physically indistinguishable from consensual acts.

Cognitive and Emotional Flow in Human Experience

Understanding Cognitive and Emotional Flow

• The cognitive aspect of consciousness is linked to emotional experiences such as joy, which can arise from completing a challenging task or sharing moments with friends.

• Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow suggests that eroticism parallels sex as sports do to physical activity; the Kamasutra exemplifies this by promoting a sexuality intertwined with religious significance and fertility.

• Useful flow is driven by intrinsic motivation and the enjoyment of learning, while malignant flow stems from extrinsic motivations like social pressure and rewards.

• External obstacles to achieving flow include powerful natural and social impediments, such as manipulation of individual will, anomia (lack of rules), and alienation (acting against personal goals).

Ritualistic Representations in Moche Society

• The discussion shifts to the book "Morir para Gobernar" which categorizes sexual activities based on types and characters involved, focusing on various forms of copulation including anal intercourse, masturbation, and vaginal intercourse.

• Anal copulation is frequently depicted in Moche ceramics; common positions include women lying down while men are positioned behind them.

• Ceramics often feature symbolic decorations that may represent temples emphasizing the ritualistic nature of sexual acts; children are also commonly included in these representations.

Depictions of Sexuality in Moche Artifacts

• Male masturbation scenes show women displaying indifference or disgust, suggesting a lack of pleasure associated with these acts; some scenes link female masturbation to funerary rituals involving skeletal figures.

• A notable difference exists between depictions of masturbation versus anal copulation: more male skeleton representations appear during masturbation scenes compared to those during anal intercourse.

Symbolic Dualities in Sexual Representation

• Symbolic dualities are evident where women are illustrated in red alongside their skeletal partners depicted in white; most oral sex scenes portray coercion rather than consent.

• Two variations exist for oral sex depictions: one shows face-to-face interaction with forceful head positioning by men, while another features men seated above their partners.

Ritual Significance Behind Sexual Acts

• Libation vessels depict exaggerated male genitalia used for ritualistic purposes involving fluid offerings; post-mortem representations suggest beliefs about life after death among the Moche people.

• Female figures are often represented with large genitals on elevation vessels likely intended for liquid containment related to fertility concepts tied to femininity.

• Anthropomorphized male genitalia emphasize symbolic connections between heads and penises; circumcision rituals may have been viewed as sacrificial acts within sexual contexts.

This structured summary captures key insights from the transcript regarding cognitive-emotional dynamics, cultural practices surrounding sexuality within Moche society, and their artistic representations.

Exploring Moche Sexual Iconography

Symbolism in Moche Art

• The Moche civilization's sexual iconography features relief designs, with two depicting animals and most others showing a being with tusks known as "wrinkled face," often adorned with a serpent head belt.

• Non-vaginal sexual scenes are linked to the living and dead worlds, while vaginal copulations are strictly associated with the afterlife, indicating a duality in their symbolic representation of sexuality.

Ideologies of Fertility and Anti-Fertility

• Two main ideologies emerge from ancient Peruvian sexual representations: one tied to fertility (the living world) and another to anti-fertility (the dead), including themes of sacrifice and skeletal figures.

• Sexual representations can be categorized beyond reproduction into love, hedonism, recognition, dominance, submission, conformity, and novelty within social psychology frameworks.

Frequency and Themes in Representations

• Common themes in Moche iconography include masturbation, oral sex, anthropomorphic male genitalia, and animal copulation; these reflect magical-religious beliefs about life’s fertility versus death’s anti-fertility.

• The culture embraced sexuality fully across various forms; it is suggested that human sexuality is an instinctual desire for pleasure that persists throughout life.

Cultural Significance of Sexuality

• Further research is needed on why the Moche developed their unique sexual representations; they depicted various aspects of daily life centered around sexuality in both life and death contexts.

• While female imagery may appear subordinate in some depictions, it aims to represent sexuality's full splendor rather than imply inferiority.

Cognitive Archaeology Insights

• Cognitive archaeology seeks not only to classify artifacts but also to illuminate human evolution by explaining how events occur and what triggers them.