Join us for ConnectArte – “Women and Power in Ancient Peru: The Discovery of a Moche Queen’s Throne at Pañamarca”. Lecture by Michele Koons, Ph.D. Details on how to register coming soon!
In collaboration with Amigos de las Artes Americanas and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
The Moche (300-850 CE) site of Pañamarca, Peru is best known for its colorful wall paintings. Found within the plaza and architectural platforms, they depict priests and warriors in procession, battles between supernatural beings, an unusual two-faced man, and scenes of ceremonial activities related to human captives. Yet in 2023 and 2024, our research team was surprised to uncover the throne room for a queen, the likes of which has never been seen before at Pañamarca, nor anywhere else in ancient Peru. This talk will explore the implications and importance of this finding for understanding politics, gender, and power in ancient Peru. It will also explore the other discoveries recently found at the site, which include a previously unknown temple on the side of the large plaza.
About the lecturer:
Michele Koons, Ph.D., is Director of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. She studies ancient complex societies and is especially interested in ancient political dynamics, social networks, and how people of the past interacted with their environment.
