Circulation des pigments sur le territoire Mochica, côte nord du Pérou (Ier -IXe siècle apr. J.C.), L'apport de l'analyse physico-chimique à la compréhension de l'organisation sociale

International audience"To the Mochica civilisation, a pre-Inca society that developed on the north coast of Peru from the 1st to the 9th century AD, mural art represented an important form of artistic expression. Mainly reserved for cultural buildings _ or huacas _ these monumental painted scenes created a privileged means of communication that allowed the rulers to deliver to the people a symbolic message of the established political power and of the social order. The importance of mural decoration within Mochica society inspired us to push the previous research on these rare relics further. In addition to the iconographic interpretations, it seemed essential to us to take an interest in the creation and elaboration process of these murals, by using archaeometry, rarely employed in Peru. Thus, through the physicochemical study of the polychromy of the Huaca de la Luna, of the Huaca Cao Viejo, of the monumental complex of Castillo de Huancaco, and of the funeral platform of Sipán, we have been able to obtain clues to the pictorial techniques used by the Mochicas artists." (source éditeur