Royal Tombs of Sipan

by Walter Alva, Christopher B. Donnan

This fascinating and very accessible book describes the excavation of three royal tombs of the Moche, a civilization that flourished on the north coast of Peru between A.D. 100 and 800. The tombs, which contained extraordinary gold and silver jewelry and ceremonial attire, are the richest ever excavated archaeologically in the Western Hemisphere. The detailed accounts of the tombs and methods of excavation will be useful for scholars, but the authors have made the non-specialist reader their primary audience. A skillfully designed format and fold-out pages are helpful in relating tomb artifacts to text descriptions. Providing an exemplary view of an ancient culture, the Sipn tombs have had a profound impact on our understanding of Moche civilization.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

229 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Director of the Bruning Archeological Museum in Lambayeque, Peru, Alva is best known as an archaeologist specializing in the study and excavation of the prehistoric Moche culture. He is credited with two exceptional finds: the tombs in Huaca Rajada in 1987 and ancient murals at Ventarron in 2007.

Alva first achieved international recognition in 1987 for excavating the tomb of a Moche lord in Sipan. Tomb robbers had made the initial discovery yet Alva succeeded in excavating and preserving the treasures- at considerable risk to his life. The findings were later described by the National Geographic Society as the richest intact pre-Columbian tomb in the Western Hemisphere, comparable to the tomb of Tutankhamen from the Old World.

In 2007, Alva discovered murals at a 4,000-year-old Peruvian temple at Ventarron, in the Lambayeque region. The murals- showing a deer caught in a net and a red and white abstract design, respectively- are considered to be the oldest murals in the Americas.

Reviews

[Yuliia Boiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудова книжка про відкриття поховання володарів Мочіка. Ця древня культура настільки багата і цікава що її сміливо можна ставити в один ряд з єгипитськими та китайськими похованнями. Для мене це справжня удача жити в місті де знайшли поховання Сіпан і мати можливість бачити всі ці витвори з золота, срібла та кераміки.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing pictures from the excavation of a partially looted Moche tomb. Not a well-known ancient culture, but the Moche art and craftsmanship is amazing. I would have liked a little more about the structure/layout of the pyramid and tomb, but that's a quibble.

[Gage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pictures of fascinating ritual objects from a culture that apparently cut the hands and feet off of war prisoners and drank their blood. Fucking metal.