https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/70727/fullSquash Effigy Potca. 100-750[]RedwareRedware Moche pot in the shape of a squash or gourd, mold-made. The original mold was probably made from a real squash. Rim of the outflaring spout is chipped and broken away, otherwise vessel is intact. _______________ This is a redware Moche effigy pot made in the shape of a squash or gourd. The original mold was probably made from a real squash. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are found in Moche art. Many of these so-called "phytomorphic effigy vessels" were made by using real fruits and vegetables to create molds from which several copies were made. A comparable squash effigy vessel is pictured on page 302 of "El Mundo Vegetal de los Antiguos Peruanos," by E. Yacovleff and F.L. Herrera (1934) in Revista del Museo Nacional (Lima, Peru). Another comparable Moche squash effigy vessel is pictured on p. 192 of Lavalle (1985): Culturas Precolombinas: Moche, Colección Arte y Tesoros del Peru. Banco de Credito del Peru en la Cultura. Lima, Peru. Squashes and Gourds are frequently depicted in Pre-Columbian art and artifacts, particularly in ceramics. In South America, squashes (Cucurbita spp.) are generally consumed as food, while bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) are used for containers. One of the most important uses for small gourds is as a "lime pot" or poporo. Lime pots hold the alkaline substance which must be added to chewed coca leaves to release the active alkaloids needed to achieve the mild stimulant effect somewhat analogous to the effect of drinking coffee. Coca chewing is widespread in the Andes today and was similarly widespread in pre-Columbian times from the Late Formative Period onwards. Lime (calcium carbonate) was often derived from burned shells. The gourds used to hold lime have a symbolic association with women, and it is said today among the Kogi of Colombia that if a man's lime pot breaks, his wife will die soon after. Another symbolic connection between gourds and humans results from the fact that gourd shapes can be manipulated in the same way, using the same methods, as human head shapes may be changed during the process of cranial deformation, which is the manipulation of adult head shape through binding an infant's head from a very early age. According to Whitaker and Cutler (1967), the pumpkin and yellow crookneck squash (Cucurbita pepo) familiar to North Americans were not (and generally are not now) found in South America. Ceramic effigy squashes similar in appearance to yellow crooknecks are therefore probably a variety of Cucurbita moschata native to the Andes. Suggestions for Further Reading About Cucurbits: Towle, Margaret (2007): The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru. Aldine: New Brunswick, N.J. Weinstein, Elka (2001) "Fruitful Death: The Symbolic Meanings of Cucurbits in the Late Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador," in Mortuary Practices and Ritual Associations: Shamanic Elements in Prehistoric Funerary Contexts in South America, edited by John E. Staller and Elizabeth J. Currie, BAR International Series 982, pp. 37-49. Whitaker, Thomas W. and Hugh C. Cutler (1967): "Pottery and Cucurbita species," in American Antiquity 32(2): pp. 225 ff. What was this used for? The function of pre-Columbian ceramic vessels is not easy to ascertain. On the one hand, the vessels in the Johnson Museum's collection are lovely pieces of art, often with detailed imagery which makes their appearance of interest apart from any mundane functionality. On the other hand, these lovely vessels were still created as vessels rather than as figures, so presumably their functional aspect was important to the maker. Because these pieces of pottery were deposited in graves, the question also arises as to whether or not similar items were used on a daily basis. Were these vessels made for the dead, fancy grave goods with specific religious or mythical imagery, or were they treasured possessions used in life? Many of the ceramics found in the Johnson Museum are highly decorated, but it should be remembered that in any archaeological site, these fancy vessels are only a small fraction of all the pottery found. Although the vast majority of pottery made in the past was functional ware used to cook, store, or serve foods, more elaborate (fancy) pieces served the additional purpose of conveying social information. Just as your grandmother might have kept her fancy china on display in a cabinet to show it off to friends and family, it appears that pre-Columbian people may have similarly had special items for display in their homes. According to the earliest chroniclers after the Spanish conquest, people put pottery on display in their homes which reflected what they did to make a living; for example, fishermen displayed pots with sharks in their homes, while hunters displayed pots with deer and other land animals. Perhaps the many pots made in the shape of common fruits and vegetables, such as squash and corn, were displayed in the homes of farmers. Bottles of either the stirrup-spout type, straight-spout type, or double-spout-and-bridge type may have been used to carry and serve liquids, since the narrow-necked bottle shape would have reduced losses from accidental spills and evaporation. Although water is vital in desert environments such as those found in many parts of the Andes, alcoholic beverages such as beer are universally popular. Recent analyses of residues from Peruvian bottles and jars suggest that these vessels were used to serve corn (maize) beer or chicha. Chicha was both an everyday beverage, made in households for family consumption, and an essential element in ritual and social interactions. Pre-Columbian Drinks-Beer Alcoholic beverages may be made from a wide variety of starchy foods, but pre-Columbian beer was most frequently made from corn or maize (Zea mays). The traditional method of making beer involves spitting into a large vat or olla of starchy corn and water mixture, after which the enzyme amylase (found in human saliva) begins converting the starch in the corn into sugars, some of which subsequently ferment into alcohol. Beer was an important part of rituals in the Andes at European contact, and is still used by traditional people to make offerings to the mother earth spirit or Pachamama. Beer was undoubtedly served in wooden, ceramic, or gourd cups or beakers, but may also have been put into stirrup-spout (and other) bottles, especially when carried any distance, since the narrow-necked bottle shape would have reduced losses from accidental spills and evaporation. Moche (200 BC- AD 700) Arguably one of the finest technological manifestations of the pre-Columbian potter's art, Moche ceramics have charmed generations of archaeologists and collectors with their finely executed painting and exquisite sculptural forms. Moche (formerly known as Mochica) pottery is characterized by red painting executed on a white or cream-colored slip ground. Moche stirrup-spout bottles represent a wide variety of sculptural forms, including human portaits, animal effigies, domestic scenes, or graphic human sexuality. The core area of Moche cultural influence extended from Lambayeque in the north to Nepeña in the south, and likely reflects militaristic conquest and political control by a state-level polity centered in the Moche Valley. The Moche united many coastal groups, built and controlled extensive irrigation networks, and produced ceramic vessels using molds, a technological innovation which enabled the production of vast numbers of highly detailed ceramics, including portrait head vessels so finely detailed that individual faces can be recognized. Fineline paintings depict detailed, elaborate scenes now thought to be part of the "warrior sacrifice" or "presentation theme" story central to the Moche religion. Moche metalwork also achieved remarkable levels of sophistication, with precious stones inlaid in ornaments made of copper, silver, and gold alloys. Suggestions for Further Reading about Moche: Bankes, George (1980): Moche Pottery from Peru. British Museum : London. Short, pamphlet-length booklet in English with excellent discussion of Moche pottery technology and vessel forms. Bawden, Garth (1996): The Moche. Blackwell: Cambridge, Mass. Bourget, Steve (2006) Sex, Death, and Sacrifice in Moche Religion and Visual Culture, University of Texas Press: Austin Donnan, Christopher B. (2004): Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru. University of Texas Press: Austin. Donnan, Christopher B., and Donna McClelland (2000): Moche Fineline Painting: Its Evolution and Its Artists. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History: Los Angeles. Excellent reference with spout shapes by phase on p. 21, instructions for making stirrup-spout vessels on pp. 44-45, and attributions of various vessels to work by specific painters. com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.Classification@61https://emuseum.cornell.edu/objects/31027/rdf