1,500-year-old Ruins Shed Light on Peru’s Mysterious Moche People

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A team of archaeologists has uncovered two ceremonial chambers in Peru used by the ancient Moche culture1莫切文明，又稱莫奇卡文明（Mochica culture），公元100—750年間興起并繁盛于南美洲秘魯北部沿海地區(qū)，隨后驟然莫名消殞。古莫切人構(gòu)建了高度發(fā)達(dá)的社會(huì)、政治制度，修筑了城市、神廟（Huaca）、金字塔等建筑，擁有發(fā)達(dá)的農(nóng)業(yè)及灌渠體系，尤以栩栩如生的陶藝、金飾、壁畫等精美的藝術(shù)作品而聞名。around 1,500 years ago.The find is shedding new light on2shed new light on為了解……提供新視角。the political life and rituals of the enigmatic3enigmatic神秘的；謎一般令人困惑的。civilization and could help us understand its sudden collapse.

[2]The Moche civilization, which once ruled the northern coast of Peru,was highly sophisticated4sophisticated 發(fā)達(dá)的；周詳完備的。.They built impressive pyramids that still dominate the landscape today, they developed efficient farming technology, yet they also had a gory5gory血腥的；令人毛骨悚然的。tradition of human sacrifice.

[3]The two rooms unearthed at the Huaca Limón de Ucupe monument,an archaeological site in the coun-try’s northern Lambayeque region, are thought to have been used by the Moche for political debates and feasts.

[4]A staircase leads up to one room,the banquet hall, where two thrones face each other, thought to be where a powerful leader would dine with a guest.Murals6mural壁畫。depicting fish and sea lions decorate the walls, in a naturalistic style contrasting with the supernatural art typically found on Moche ceramics7ceramic陶瓷。.

[5]The other room, attached to the banquet hall, has a tall circular podium8podium講壇。,which archaeologists say would have been used by the ruler when making announcements.

[6]“They represent an important step to understanding and reconstructing the function of several architectural elements linked to the use of power protocols9protocol禮儀規(guī)范；協(xié)定。in the elites of the Moche culture,”Walter Alva, lead archaeologist of the project, told CNN.

[7]“It was an encouraging and instructive surprise to find archaeology that contributes to the interpretation of the Moche as a technologically advanced society, which is socio-politically very complex,”he said.

在秘魯，一支考古隊(duì)挖掘發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩間約1500年前古莫切文化時(shí)代用于慶典活動(dòng)的殿堂遺跡。這一考古發(fā)現(xiàn)為增進(jìn)了解這一神秘古文明的政治生活和宗教禮俗提供了全新實(shí)證，或?qū)⒂兄覀兌聪て潴E然消殞之謎。

[2]一度繁盛于秘魯北部沿岸的莫切文明曾建立了高度發(fā)達(dá)完善的體制。他們修筑了恢宏雄偉的金字塔，至今依然巍然聳立，傲視周遭；他們發(fā)明了多產(chǎn)高效的農(nóng)耕技術(shù)；然而，他們也有以活人祭祀的血腥傳統(tǒng)。

[3]本次挖掘發(fā)現(xiàn)的兩間殿堂遺址坐落于秘魯北部蘭巴耶克地區(qū)瓦卡利蒙德烏庫佩紀(jì)念碑考古現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。據(jù)信，這些殿堂曾是古莫切人舉行政治辯論及盛宴的場(chǎng)所。

[4]循臺(tái)階拾階而上，首先抵達(dá)的是一間宴會(huì)大廳。大廳中面對(duì)面安放著兩臺(tái)寶座，據(jù)推測(cè)可能是某位權(quán)重位高的首領(lǐng)與某位賓客共餐之所。大廳四壁飾有壁畫，上有海獅及其他魚類，風(fēng)格自然寫實(shí)，與莫切陶藝常見的超自然藝術(shù)風(fēng)格形成鮮明對(duì)照。

[5]另一間殿堂緊鄰宴會(huì)大廳，內(nèi)設(shè)一環(huán)形高臺(tái)。據(jù)考古學(xué)家推斷，這里很可能是統(tǒng)治者宣布重大決定的場(chǎng)所。

[6]“這標(biāo)志著我們?cè)诹私?、重?gòu)某些建筑元素方面又邁出了重大一步，而這些建筑元素與莫切文化精英階層權(quán)力運(yùn)用的規(guī)約范式之間有密切關(guān)系?！表?xiàng)目主要負(fù)責(zé)人、考古學(xué)家沃爾特·阿爾瓦如是向CNN記者介紹。

[7]“這一意外考古發(fā)現(xiàn)鼓舞人心，且極具啟示意義。它進(jìn)一步表明古莫切人已擁有高度發(fā)達(dá)的技術(shù)，其社會(huì)政治體制也十分繁復(fù)完備?！彼又f道。

The“master craftsmen”

[8]The Moche civilization occupied Chicama valley, a desert plain stretching between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, from about 100 to 700 AD.Despite the harsh climate, the Moche flourished, growing corn, beans, and potatoes using an advanced network of irrigation canals, and creating settlements covering more than 350km of coastline.

[9]Jeffrey Quilter, a lecturer at Harvard University and a specialist on Moche history, said that the term“master craftsmen,”sometimes used to describe the Moche, was well-justified10be well-justified確有道理；（聲譽(yù)等）名副其實(shí)。.

[10]“They were outstanding artists and technicians,”he said.“They had highly developed political and religious systems and they mastered the desert environment from within their lush,oasis-like valleys.”

[11]Although the Moche left no written record, vivid artistic depictions on their ceramics and gold work give insight into the society’s customs.Some feature animals, plants, rulers and warriors; others famously illustrate a variety of sexual acts.Processions, hunts and sacrifice ceremonies can also be seen on Moche iconography11iconography插圖；圖譜。.

[12]Until now, there was no evidence beyond that depicted on ceramics that grand feasts physically took place.“The recent discoveries have allowed us to document and confirm these scenarios12scenario情形；場(chǎng)景。,that correlate perfectly with the(ceramic)illustrations,”said Alva, director of the Tumbas Reales de Sipán museum,which houses many of the Moche’s archaeological treasures.

[13]Quilter agrees this is a significant breakthrough.“The newly discovered spaces help to provide us with a threedimensional view of architectural features previously known only through two-dimensional art,”he says.

[14]Another source of information on the Moche people has been their burial sites.Dismembered13dismember肢解；殘缺不全。bodies found buried with marks on neck vertebrae suggesting they had their throats cuts,indicate that the Moche had a tradition of human sacrifice.The sacrifices may have been part of a ritual celebrating the rare occurrence of rain, as skeletons were found deeply encased in mud implying they deliberately took place in wet weather.

“匠師”

[8]莫切文明大約于公元100—700年間繁盛于秘魯奇卡馬谷地。這里是安第斯山脈與太平洋之間一片狹長的沙漠平地。雖然氣候條件惡劣，古莫切人卻在此繁衍興旺。他們興建了發(fā)達(dá)的灌渠網(wǎng)絡(luò)，借此種植玉米、豆子及土豆等作物；建立了聚居村落，沿海岸線綿延350余公里。

[9]哈佛大學(xué)教師杰弗里·奎爾特是研究莫切文明史的專家，他說，人們有時(shí)用“匠師”一詞來形容莫切人，這一稱謂可謂實(shí)至名歸。

[10]“他們堪稱杰出的藝術(shù)大師、技藝嫻熟的匠人，不僅創(chuàng)造了高度發(fā)達(dá)的政治、宗教體制，還以富饒肥沃的谷地綠洲為起點(diǎn)，漸漸征服了周圍的沙漠環(huán)境。”他介紹說。

[11]雖然莫切人并未留下文字記錄，但憑借其陶藝、金飾上所描繪的栩栩如生的畫面，我們?nèi)钥梢桓Q當(dāng)時(shí)的社會(huì)習(xí)俗。這些藝術(shù)作品有的以動(dòng)物、植物、首領(lǐng)和武士為題，有的則以形形色色的“春宮戲”而聲名遠(yuǎn)播。此外，盛裝游行、狩獵、祭祀慶典也是莫切畫飾中偶見的題材。

[12]迄今為止，除陶藝作品中所刻畫內(nèi)容之外，并沒有其他明確證據(jù)證明那些盛大的宴會(huì)場(chǎng)景在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中確曾發(fā)生過。“新近的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)使我們有機(jī)會(huì)記錄和確認(rèn)這些場(chǎng)景，證明與陶藝所繪高度吻合?！蔽髋送醪┪镳^館長阿爾瓦介紹說。該館收藏有莫切考古發(fā)現(xiàn)的大量珍品。

[13]奎爾特對(duì)此表示認(rèn)同，認(rèn)為這項(xiàng)考古發(fā)現(xiàn)是一次重大突破：“新發(fā)現(xiàn)的殿堂有助我們透過三維視角來了解此前只能在二維作品中看到的那些建筑特色。”

[14]了解古莫切人的另一個(gè)重要來源是其墓葬地。在墓葬中某些殘缺不全的軀殼身上，考古人員發(fā)現(xiàn)其頸椎處存有缺痕，疑似遭割喉留下的痕跡。這表明莫切人很可能有用活人祭祀的傳統(tǒng)。這些祭祀可能是古莫切人為難得的落雨而舉行的慶祝儀式的一部分，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)場(chǎng)發(fā)現(xiàn)的一些骷髏深深陷在污泥中，表明這些儀式是特意安排在潮濕天氣舉行的。

Powerful women

[15]The discovery of female mummies buried with gold and weaponry has led experts to believe that Moche women may have held political and re-ligious positions.Lady Cao, the name given to a mummy discovered at the ancient archaeological site of El Brujo in 2005, was found with a wealth of objects and elaborate tattoos over her arms and legs, suggesting she was a highranking Moche priestess, or even ruler.

[16]While Quilter encourages caution in interpreting the find, as being buried with symbols of rank and power does not necessarily mean that one had power in life, he says this theory follows the tradition of Andean societies from relatively recent times where“women have had much more autonomy and power than contemporary Western women have had until very recently.”

[17]Yet, the Moche culture is still shrouded14shroud包裹；籠罩。in mystery.All the evidence points towards a successful civilization that thrived in the middle of the desert,but its sudden decline around 700AD has left historians and archaeologists puzzled.

[18]Some researchers believe a natural disaster such as those caused by El Ni?o, which continues to periodically cause severe flooding in Peru, led to the Moche’s demise.

[19]Quilter says that though this is possible,“it is just as likely that there was a growing dissatisfaction of people regarding their leaders that made people no longer support the ‘system’ and so that ‘system’ changed, much the same as is happening today and has happened at many times and places in the past.”■

權(quán)位尊崇的女性

[15]考古發(fā)掘出來的女性木乃伊身邊陪葬有金飾和武器，這使專家認(rèn)為，古莫切的女性可能占據(jù)顯赫的政治、宗教地位。2005年，在埃爾布魯霍考古現(xiàn)場(chǎng)發(fā)現(xiàn)一具女性木乃伊，專家將其命名為“曹夫人”，不僅有大批陪葬品，雙臂和雙腿還刺有復(fù)雜精細(xì)的文身，表明她是地位甚高的莫切女祭司甚或首領(lǐng)。

[16]奎爾特認(rèn)為，對(duì)這一發(fā)現(xiàn)進(jìn)行詮釋應(yīng)持慎重態(tài)度，因?yàn)殡S葬品包含象征權(quán)力、地位的物件，未必意味著墓主人在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中同樣擁有權(quán)勢(shì)。盡管如此，他仍表示，這一推測(cè)與近代安第斯地區(qū)某些社會(huì)群體的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗十分相符，那些地區(qū)的“女性素來擁有較高的權(quán)力和自主性，遠(yuǎn)超當(dāng)代西方女性直到歷史近期才獲得的權(quán)力和地位”。

[17]然而，莫切文化至今依然包裹在重重迷霧之中。所有證據(jù)都表明，這塊沙漠腹地之中有一種文明曾盛極一時(shí)，卻于公元700年左右驟然衰落，為史學(xué)家、考古學(xué)家留下了難解之謎。

[18]部分研究人員認(rèn)為，厄爾尼諾現(xiàn)象所引發(fā)的那種自然浩劫是導(dǎo)致莫切文明驟然消殞的罪魁。時(shí)至今日，厄爾尼諾仍會(huì)周期性給秘魯帶來嚴(yán)重洪澇災(zāi)害。

[19]奎爾特分析說，雖然這一推斷不無道理，但“另一種解釋的可能性也同樣極高，即當(dāng)時(shí)的人們?nèi)找娌粷M于首領(lǐng)的統(tǒng)治，進(jìn)而不再支持其‘體制’，于是這一‘體制’隨之瓦解。這一現(xiàn)象當(dāng)下有之，歷史上也曾在多個(gè)地方多次發(fā)生過”?！?/p>