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La cultura moche o mochica fue una civilización que dominó durante aproximadamente los años 100 y 700 de nuestra era. / Moche or Mochica culture was a civilization that dominated during approximately the years 100 and 700 of our era.

THE SIPAN ROYAL TOMBS MUSEUM SHOWCASES AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF ARTIFACTS THAT DRAWS THOUSANDS OF CURIOUS VISITORS EVERY DAY, A CONDITION THAT MAKES IT THE MOST COVETED SANCTUARY IN THE COUNTRY

It was impossible to remain unchanging. As a matter of fact, not a single world-class publication failed to give at least a couple of pages to one of the most amazing archeological occurrences of the 20th century: the discovery of the Lord of Sipan’s Tomb. It happened in July 1987 when just in an instant and like a God-sent gift, Peru’s eye-popping history was laid bare before the eyes of archeologist Walter Alba, his colleague Luis Chero and their staff. Emotion surely swept them off their feet as they unearthed the first evidence, in one piece and with no traces of having been desecrated or looted, of a burial conducted by a civilization older than the Incas in that mythical American land.
The discovery came to pass in the Moche Valley, in Sipan, the Peruvian district of Zaña, a few months after the digging has begun. Archeologists pried their way into a 25-square-meter underground chamber “guarded” by a warrior whose feet had been hacked off in order to keep him on the premises for good, looking after “that perfect, surprisingly symmetrical cluster full of unfathomable riches,” some of the publications wrote.
“All in all, over 600 virtually intact artifacts were found inside the tomb. The riches and honors bestowed on the buried man show the significance he garnered during his mandate. The centerpiece depicts a small figure of a lord covered with jewels, including a 92-milimeter disc made of turquoises, corals and lapis lazuli surrounded by pure-gold spheres. The lord was wearing garments made of turquoises and a crown of gold. The eyeballs had been replaced with two balls of gold. The chin was protected by a mask, also made of gold, while the nose was covered by nose ring, equally made of gold. The chest boasted eleven pectorals beaded with motley shells, turquoise bracelets, a bar of gold in his right hand (the Sun) and a bar of silver in the left one (The Moon). Next to him, there was a scepter tipped by a pyramid of gold, and finally there was a necklace beaded with 71 gold spheres. But the biggest treasure of all was a 62-cm-wide and 42-cm-high diadem made of gold.” 
But who was this majestic character from ancient Peru, surrounded by jewels exquisitely carved in copper, gold and silver, with precious stones and gems, ceramics, pots, vases, fabrics, palls? DNA studies determined not only hos tall this man had been, as well as his facial features, the color of his skin, his eyes and his hair, and his age, but they also shed light on who he was: someone from the Moches or Mochicas, a civilization that dominated the north coast of this fabulous country during the years 100 and 700 A.D.
Research is still underway on what’s penciled in as one of most advanced civilization of the pre-Hispanic Americas. Predominantly made up of peasants, they developed well-planned architectural and engineering works, such the complicated channel and dam system they built to control the amount of water they needed for their crops, let alone the temples resembling truncated pyramids they built, like the one that today harbors the Sipan Royal Tombs Museum, or the breathtaking shrine that exhibits an extraordinary collection of artifacts that draws thousands of visitors every day. This location has not only set new attendance records, but it has also managed to turn the place into Peru’s most sought-after travel destination of all.
Open for 10 hours every day, Tuesday thru Sunday, the museum lets visitors in on such treasures as the advanced metal works this civilization developed, such as laminating, wiring and soldering, that allowed them to come up with astoundingly complex compositions. It’s all about enthralling creations visitors can gaze at once they step into the edifice, people willing to recreate the top-to-bottom tour made by the discovered of the Lord of Sipan: a finding that made the celebrated Egyptian tomb of Tutankhamen and the Terracotta Warriors of China’s Xian turn green with envy. That’s the way things unfold in Peru.