Mochica Phases

Room 3, Vitrine 19

Ceramic
Peruvian Northern Coast
Florescent Epoch (1 AD – 800 AD)
ML012789, ML012790, ML012791, ML012792, ML012793, ML012794, ML012795, ML012796, ML012797, ML012798

Rafael Larco defined five phases of Mochica ceramics by taking into consideration variations in the designs of stirrup spout bottles. This approach, developed by Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1946, is still employed in modern archaeology.

The evolution of the shape of the handle and spout, the rim of the spout, the relationship between the main body of the vessel and the stirrup spout, the type of paint used and the details of the sculpture are some of the variables which contribute to the defining of the sequence of five phases proposed by Rafael Larco. This sequence is supported by the stratigraphic position of the tombs in which they were found.