The peoples of America before Columbus rarely made portraits of historical individuals, rather they created more general representations. The great majority of these were created in two cultural traditions, the Maya of Mexico and Central America and the Moche, or Mochica of South America, who were contemporaries (though they were not in contact). Although the Moche also excelled in gold and copper work, perhaps their best-known works are ceramic vessels, such as this mold-formed example which has hand-modeled details. We do not know what was stored in these vessels; some appear to have been made for the tomb, whereas other shattered examples have been recovered in ancient trash dumps. They are likely images of famous potentates or warriors (some are depicted in martial attire), and were used in rituals.
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<span lang="en">Anonymous</span> (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Moche" title="Category:Moche">Moche</a>)<span style="display:none">Unknown author</span></div>
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