Moche Timeline

100 CE – 700 CE · 2 sites

All sites in this period

Reconstruction of the tomb of the Lord of Sipán with golden regalia, Peru

Country Record

Oldest Necropolis in Peru

Sipán

100 CE – 700 CE

A complex of adobe pyramids on the north coast of Peru where, in 1987, archaeologists discovered the undisturbed tomb of the Lord of Sipán — a Moche ruler buried around 250 CE with a dazzling array of gold, silver, and turquoise regalia. It is one of the richest and most important intact tombs ever excavated in the Americas.

311

Pre-Columbian

Polychrome mural depicting the Moche deity Ai Apaec at Huaca de la Luna, La Libertad, Peru

Country Record

Earliest Known Site in Peru

Huaca de la Luna

100 CE – 700 CE

A major temple-pyramid of the Moche civilization on Peru's northern coast, built and rebuilt in successive layers over some six centuries and decorated with extraordinarily well-preserved polychrome murals depicting the fanged, staff-wielding deity known to archaeologists as Ai Apaec — the "Decapitator." Alongside the neighbouring Huaca del Sol, it formed the ceremonial and administrative heart of one of the Moche state's principal capitals.

Late AntiquePre-Columbian