Tembladera Figurines

THE TEMBLADERA FIGURINES: RITUAL, MUSIC, AND ELITE IDENTITY IN
FORMATIVE PERIOD NORTH PERU, CIRCA 1800200 B.C.

Julia T. Burtenshaw-Zumstein
Despite featuring in numerous publications and exhibitions since the 1970s, Tembladera gurines have never been
studied in and for themselves. This article collects together all published as well as some previously unpublished examples
in order to describe the features that characterize these gurines. Groupings and a chronological attribution are suggested
based on formal characteristics (size and iconography). In light of lacking proveniences, the subsequent discussion picks
out themes such as gender, adornment, and music, and investigates the insight which can be gained from a formal study
of the gurines. It concludes that the gurines can signicantly inform our understanding of the role of music and the
nature of emergent elites in Formative Period north Peru, 1800200 B.C.
A pesar de hallarse en numerosas publicaciones y en diferentes exposiciones desde la dcada de 1970, las llamadas
gurinas de Tembladera, hasta la fecha nunca haban sido estudiadas con detenimiento. El presente artculo recoge la
informacin sobre las gurinas en sus diferentes publicaciones, as como algunos ejemplos inditos, con el n de describir
los rasgos que caracterizan a estas gurinas. Agrupaciones descriptivas se sugieren en base a las caractersticas formales
(tamao e iconografa). En vista de que carecen de procedencia arqueolgica, el debate posterior escoge temas como
gnero, adorno personal, y msica. A la misma vez, se investiga la idea de que se puede obtener informacin vlida
de un estudio formal de las gurinas. Se concluye que las gurinas pueden brindar informacin signicativa sobre
la base de nuestras interpretaciones, especialmente sobre el papel de la msica y del carcter de las elites emergentes
durante el Perodo Formativo entre 1800200 a.C. en el Norte del Per. Se nota brevemente algunas comparaciones
estilsticas con los imprecisamente denidos estilos y/o culturas de Cupisnique yChavn. Al n, se puede sugerir una
atribucin cronolgica entre 1000400 a.C. aproximadamente para las gurinas.
n the 1960s, a large number of well-made preColumbian ceramics appeared on the antiquities
market, supposedly originating from Tembladera in
the middle Jequetepeque Valley and dating to the
Formative Period (Figure 1; see Lapiner 1976).

These included elaborately modeled gurative
vessels as well as the iconic gurines that are the
subject of this article. Most of these were quickly
Julia T. Burtenshaw-Zumstein, Sainsbury Research Unit, Sainsbury Center for the Visual Arts, University of East Anglia,
Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK, j.zumstein@uea.ac.uk
awpa Pacha, Journal of Andean Archaeology, Volume 33, Number 2, pp. 119148. Copyright # 2013 Institute of Andean Studies. All rights reserved.
119
awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 1 Map of north coast Peru.
understanding of pre-Columbian beliefs, practices,

and socio-political developments during the
Formative Period more generally. Having drawn
together and analyzed this dataset in comparison
with Formative Period north Peruvian ceramic representations in general, it is argued that Tembladera
gurines are particularly notable for the detailing of
their clothing and adornments, their gender-specic
iconography, and a conspicuous link to music and
musicians.
Despite almost a century of research, the cultures
and styles of the Formative Period of northern Peru
are still a cause for debate. This article does not aim
to dene Tembladera as a ceramic style or culture in
general, nor can it prove that these kinds of gurines
do indeed originate in/around Tembladera.
Nonetheless, by considering the gurines in and of
themselves, the foundations for future cultural and
stylistic attribution are laid. Comparison with other
dispersed to diverse collections around the world.

While some scholarly attention has been given to
the vessels, many of which were linked to the
Cupisnique and Chavn traditions, little is known
or has been published about the gurines. Of the
54 examples known to the author, not a single one
has been retrieved from a controlled archaeological
context, and many remain in private collections.
This article considers these so-called Tembladera
gurines in greater detail. First of all, for descriptive
purposes, the gurines are grouped into categories
based on size and formal characteristics. Thereafter,
possible proveniences and contexts of use are discussed, before briey exploring the kinds of inferences
that can be made from the gurines as human representations, in isolation and in context. This article
explores what the gurines tell us about the people/
society which made and used them and, indeed,
what their traits can contribute towards our
120
Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines
Figure 2 Flutist with feline headdress 1 (Group A).
human representations from Formative Period northern Peru (on ceramics labeled as either Cupisnique,
Chongoyape, or Chavn, for example) are alluded
to, however problematizing the denition of such cultural or stylistic labels is beyond the scope of this
article.1 Although chronological and geographic
origins are claried and/or tentatively proposed, the
subsequent discussion does not rely on an exact cultural association.
Switzerland, which have been personally examined

by the author.2
Descriptive Groupings
Based on empirical observation of the formal, technological, and iconographic traits, the gurines here
have been divided into three general groups (A, B,
and C). These groups are useful to more accurately
discuss the characteristics of the gurines and their
implications, but these categories are not denitive
and there is some degree of variability within them.
The purpose of this study is not to address each variation but to introduce the gurines, make a rst broad
interpretation, and set the stage for future studies.
Group A is the most elaborate and most of the discussion below will focus on the gurines of this group.
Group B gurines are not as elaborate or large as
those of Group A, but show signicant similarities
The Figurines
The present article draws together the largest sample
of Formative Period gurines from north-coast Peru
thus-far considered collectively54 in total. This
dataset is comprised of all previously published
examples known to the author, as well as a large proportion of unpublished pieces located in publicly
available museum collections in the USA and
121
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 3 Flutist with feline headdress 2 (Group A).
attributes reinforce this gendered identication,

both in the paired and individual gurines of
Group A. The distinction between the represented
male and female persons is evident based on their
gender-distinctive clothing and hairstyle or headdresses, but also their pose and actions, as will be outlined below. Also worth noting is that, in the paired
gures, the male is always positioned on the right,
with the female on the left side as they face.
The gures in Group A are 1520 cm tall. They
each have a large, round air-hole at the top of the
head, plus another air hole either on the abdomen
(navel) or at the base (feet or in one case, anus).
The faces of all gurines in Group A are incised
and/or zone-colored with elaborate, asymmetrical
markings of steps, waves, and pulse-motifs. Traces
of both white and red post-re paint remain on the
gurines faces and clothing. The elaborate clothing
is particularly notable: all male gurines wear a
white loincloth, with a long vertical band at the
as well as differences compared with those in Group

A. Group C consists of small ocarinas in human as
well as animal shapes. This article maintains that,
given their similarities, all these gurines ought to
be considered as part of one dataset. An additional
few gurines have been published as Tembladera gurines; however, they differ from the rest of the
corpus in a number of formal, technological, and iconographical features and, therefore, have been
assigned to a provisional atypical group (Group X)
for further subdivision and analysis in the future.
The gurines illustrated in Figures 234 are a representative sample of the larger corpus of gurines.
Group A includes the largest and most elaborate
gurines (Table 1; Figures 216). Based on three
examples of paired gurines it is possible to assign
gender to the gurines of Group A (Figures 1416).
One of each pair appears to wear a loincloth, the
other a full-length dress, leading us to interpret
them as male and female, respectively. Further
122
Figure 4 Flutist with avian headdress (Group A).
Figure 5 Simple utist (Group A).
front and shorter bands or a knot at the sides and

back; female gurines wear full-body dresses (or
skirts and blouses) decorated with circles, and sashes
that run diagonally across their bodies. The only
exception to this is one gurine showing a sitting
female who appears to be naked (Figure 12). The
male gurines wear some form of headdress (some
of which are nely detailed feline or avian headdresses), while the females have straight, shoulderlength hair. All gures in Group A wear a broad necklace/collar with multiple layers of thin rectangular
elements (with the exception of Figure 5). All of the
male gures except one (Figure 6) hold utes or
shell-trumpets and most of these musicians in
addition wear multi-component earrings and
bracelets.
Aside from the sitting female already mentioned,
two gurines stand out and, in the future, they may
be recognized as regionally or chronologically
different manifestations of this gurine tradition.

Both show standing male gures in loincloths, have
rectangular slit eyes, and are playing utes
(Figures 9 and 10). What distinguishes them is the
double-crest headdress and, on the back of the
head, both have an incised agnathic face, with fangs
and upturned eyes. Figure 10 further differs from
the rest of Group A due to its bright red color and
the circle-and-dots that decorate the loincloth, necklace, and ute (this gurine was allegedly looted
from Pumape, as were Figures 6 and 8, as discussed
further below).
The gurines assigned to Group B are smaller and
lack the clothing, accessories, and distinctive actions
presented by the gurines of Group A (Table 2,
Figures 1721). Nonetheless, they can be closely
linked to or even considered as part of the same
corpus of gurines: the gurines of Group B wear a
broad necklace/collar with multiple layers of
123
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 6 Plain standing male (Group A).
Figure 7 Conch shell trumpeter 1 (Group A).
rectangular elements that is virtually identical to that

worn by the gurines of Group A (with the exception
of Figure 21). As with Group A, Group B gurines
bear traces of post-re white paint, sometimes also
red paint, and they have a large, round air-hole on
the abdomen. As seen in Group A, Group B gurines
have facial markings, but these can be both asymmetrical and symmetrical and consist of curvilinear
rather than stepped/pulse designs. Their eyes consist
of rectangular slits with round pupils, just as in
Group A. However, in Group B there are additional
pierced holes at the corners of the eyes and mouth.
At 1214 cm tall, the gurines of Group B are
smaller than those in Group A (compare Tables 1
and 2). Unlike the gurines of Group A, clothing is
not represented, and thus we cannot condently
assign gender to the gurines of Group B. All have
long hair, sometimes with nely incised lines at the
fringe and wider strands at the back. The arms are
bent at right angles such that their empty hands are

held on the abdomen. Unlike Group A, no Group
B gurines hold musical instruments.
The third group of gurines, Group C, is quite
different from those described above and the gurines
are also ocarinas (Table 3, Figures 2534). They are
conical and have a large hole on the back, plus two
small holes at the shoulders and ankles (ve holes
in total), comprising the mouth and nger holes of
an ocarina, respectively. At 46 cm tall, these are
much smaller and lack the detailed features (e.g.
modeled noses or adornments) of the gurines of
Groups A and B. Their eyes are either rectangular
slits with pin-prick pupils (as seen in Groups A and
B) or made up of a circle and dot, and some
ocarina gurines feature both (see Figures 25 and 34).
Aside from having the same alleged proveniences as
the other gurines (discussed below) there are a
number of parallels that enable us to link these
124
The gurines that have provisionally been assigned

to Group X are atypical pieces, i.e. gurines that
cannot be adequately described within the other
groups (see Table 4: Figures 2224, plus others not
illustrated). Future study may enable us to assign
these to new groups, or reveal some of them as fakes.
Figures 22 and 23 are closely associated to one
another. They are of a dark red, almost purple, color
and have a polished, reective surface nish. Traces
of cream-colored paint are reported (Alva 1986: 98).
No air holes or perforations are visible on the fronts
or sides of the gurines. Both are seemingly dressed
in long tunics that completely and tightly wrap their
bodies from neck to toe, decorated with one or two vertical bands. These appear to depict female gures (Alva
1986; Lavalle and Lang 1981; Morgan 2009). One of
them covers her eyes with both hands, a gesture
unknown from any other north Peruvian Formative
representation. The other gurine has incised, oval
eyes with incised, upturned pupils, quite distinct
from the gurines of Groups A, B, or C. Stepped,
asymmetric facial markings around the mouth, on
the other hand, are vaguely reminiscent of those
observed for Group A. Another gure is similar to
those just described, but shows a tan color and lacks
the polish of Figures 22 and 23 (see Lapiner 1976:
Figure 61). Figure 24 as well as one piece rst illustrated in Lavalle and Lang (1981: 120) are solid
rather than hollow, and thusdespite the fact that
Figure 24 shows some similarity with gurines of
Group B, especially the collar of Figure 21must be
considered as atypical within the corpus currently
available for study.
Figure 8 Conch shell trumpeter 2 (Group A).
pieces with the Group A and Group B gurines. The

tan paste, surface color, and smooth nish are identical to the other Tembladera gurines, and there are
traces of post-re white paint and sometimes also
red or black paint. The circle and dot eyes seen on
some of these ocarinas are also seen on the feline
and avian headdresses of the gurines described in
Group A. Remarkably, there is a paired gurineocarina (Figure 34) where one gure appears to
wear a full-length dress with circle decoration, as
seen on the large (Group A) paired gures.
It is worth noting that, in addition to the human
gurines, there are a number of bird ocarina-gurines
(Figures 29 and 33), but these can be classied to
Group C with condence: they are of the exact
same size, have the same conical body-shape, circleand-dot eyes, white and red or black post-re paint,
and the same arrangement of air and nger holes.
Particularly notable is a paired bird gurine
(Figure 33).
Manufacture
With the exception of the two atypical pieces just
mentioned, all the gurines are hand-made and
hollow. While admittedly difcult to determine
with certainty, they appear not to have been made
using a mold, which is consistent with the manufacture of sculptural vessels from the Formative Period
(Donnan 1992; Elera 1998). The number and position of the air holes vary and could not always be
125
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 9 Flutist with face on the back (Group A).
ascertained on the specimens known only from publications; however, there is a tendency to place the
holes on top of the head and at the base and/or
navel. In some cases, even for the large Group A
and Group B gurines, these holes are said to form
part of the gurines function as ocarinas (Morgan
2009), but it must be noted that air holes are necessary on all hollow ceramic bodies to facilitate the ring
process and prevent breaking. Based on personal
examination of the gurines, it seems that, except
for the ocarina gures described in Group C, these
holes do not serve as a whistling mechanism.
The paste color varies from a pale tan to orange
(and dark brown for Group X), and is fairly coarse
with a sandy temper. There is no slip, but the
surface is often smoothed or burnished and many of
the gurines show traces of white and/or red postre paint. On some of the Group C gurines, traces
of black also remain. The colors are applied in
zones bounded by lines incised into the damp/

drying paste.
The gurines visual impact derives primarily from
the skill of the artisan and character of the iconography. The elaborate and delicate features of the gurines indicate that they were probably made by a
specialist; however, as their manufacture involves no
complex techniques or access to rare materials, it has
been suggested that their manufacture was unlikely
to have been controlled by an elite patron (Morgan
2009). Being hand-modeled rather than moldmade, they were also not mass-produced like later gurines (for example, Moche gurines, see Morgan
2009).
Previous Research
Tembladera gurines have appeared in a number of
publications and exhibitions, however, interpretations
126
Figure 10 Red utist with face on the back (Group A).
or discussions have been brief. The rst research was

by Lapiner (1976) who published eight gurines,
assigning the label Tembladera-style not just to
the gurines, but also to a diverse set of gurative
vessels. In 1986, Walter Alva included nine gurines
in his publication of some 470 Formative Period ceramics from the Jequetepeque and adjacent valleys,
albeit without reference to Tembladera as a style or
site of origin (Alva 1986). Most subsequent publications only feature isolated examples of the now
so-called Tembladera gurines, leaving common
characteristics and their potential implications unexamined (see Burger 2008; Denver Art Museum 1990;
Kan 1972; Lavalle and Lang 1981; Parsons 1980;
Quilter 2005).
One exception is Alexandra Morgan (2009) who
considered Tembladera gurines as part of her extensive study of north Peruvian gurines. Morgan illustrated 24 classic Tembladera gurines.3 A detailed
description of the group as a whole was followed by

a discussion of some specic traits, including eyeshapes, facial markings, hairstyle, headdresses, clothing, and hand positions. Without dening stylistic
or cultural labels in general, Morgan pointed out
that, based on the gurines, Tembladera was distinct from the more frequently cited Cupisnique tradition of the north coast, writing: it is remarkable
that no similar gurines were found further south,
in the general area of the Cupisnique culture, in
spite of strong similarities between Tembladera and
Cupisnique ceramics In contrast to the wealth of
gurines from the Jequetepeque Valley, no gurines
at all have yet come to light from a Cupisnique
context in the Moche-Chicama valley (Morgan
2009: 3839).
Morgans work is an invaluable rst compilation
and description of a number of Tembladera gurines,
and she situates them within the wider context of
127
Figure 11
Volume 33, Number 2
gurines rst appeared in the academic sphere they

were dated, on the basis of stylistic similarities with
Chavn and Paracas, as Late Chavn, 700400
B.C. (Kan 1972; Keatinge 1980; Lapiner 1976;
Lavalle and Lang 1981; Parsons 1980). Kan (1972)
associated them with the feline cult practiced at
Chavn de Huntar. Stylistic similarities with
Paracas were also noted: The zoned-incised, postre painting technique surprisingly parallels contemporary Paracas pottery far to the south and is otherwise absent on the North Coast (Parsons 1980:
256).4 In summary, these stylistic similarities placed
Tembladera ceramics and gurines in the Late
Formative Period, contemporary with or post-dating
the apogee of Chavn de Huntar.
It must be noted that several scholars have referred
to a Tembladera style of ceramics in general, as
opposed to gurines specically. More recently, this
Tembladera material culture (however dened,
but mostly left undened) has been associated with
the Early/Middle Formative periods, connecting it
closely to north-coast ceramics usually referred to as
Cupisnique (Burger 1995, 2008; Cordy-Collins
1998; Donnan 1992; Jones 2010; Torres 2008)
and dating to approximately 1500500 B.C.
(Burger 1995; Elera 2009; Fux 2012). All of these stylistic denitions remain to be claried (BurtenshawZumstein 2014). Alva noted there is great variation
in the ceramic types said to come from the
Formative Period middle Jequetepeque Valley and
suggested that the pieces illustrated probably span
several centuries (Alva 1986: 16). Burger writes:
Although some scholars once believed that the
Tembladera style might be post-Chavn because of
similarities with the Paracas style of the Late Early
Horizon, this position has become less plausible
with recent archaeological results from Jequetepeque
and Kuntur Wasi, thereby suggesting an EarlyMiddle Formative chronological association (Burger
1995: 98, note 86).
Nonetheless, a Late Formative Period association
for Tembladera gurines specically (as opposed to
the more vaguely dened Tembladera ceramic
style) remains in the scholarly literature (Denver
Art Museum 1990; Morgan 2009; Quilter 2005).
Standing female (Group A).
gurine-making traditions in north Peru. She points

out basic trends and features, such as the uniqueness
of the paired male-female gurines, but does not elaborate on the signicance of this, above and beyond
noting that male/female dualism is a fundamental
concept in Pre-Columbian Peru (Morgan 2009:
37). One key observation she makes is the clear association of the gurines with music, indeed, Morgan
interprets the majority of gurines (14 of her 24
classic Tembladera gurines) as ocarinas themselves
(Morgan 2009: 38), an interpretation which, as
noted, is refuted here for all except the Group C gurines classied.
Dating and Chronology

The chronological frameworks for the Formative
Period of northern Peru remain matters of debate
(Kaulicke 2010). When Tembladera ceramics and
128
Figure 12 Seated naked female (Group A).
the other gurines of Groups A, B, and C do not

feature carved agnathic faces, they do share a large
number of other traits with gurines 9 and 10, and
may be roughly contemporaneous with them.
The association of the gurines with a
Tembladera or Cupisnique ceramic style in
general remains to be proven. Chronologically,
suggested dates for the Tembladera gurines as
based on the Chavn comparison fall into the latter
half of a broadly dened Cupisnique sequence
(1500500 B.C. [Elera 2009]). As is also mentioned
below, however, the gurines share few or no iconographic or formal traits with human depictions seen
on north-coast Formative Period sculptural vessels.
Eye and mouth shapes, facial decorations, as well as
the detail of dress and adornment are unique to the
gurines (for example, see vessels depicted in Alva
1986; Elera 2009; Jones 2010; Lapiner 1976). This
would suggest the existence of contemporaneous
The justications for this temporal association are

limited, but should not be ignored: two gurines
(Figures 9 and 10) have a carved face on the back stylistically interpreted as Chavn-related (Kan 1972;
Lapiner 1976). The characteristics of this carved
face (an agnathic mouth and up-turned eyes) indeed
nd close parallels with the Raimondi Stela and
Black and White Portal at Chavn de Huntar, both
of which have been consistently attributed to late
phases in the Chavn sequence (Rowe phases D and
EF). More recently, Kembel (2001) has provisionally
dated the Black and White Portal to the last monumental construction phase at Chavn de Huntar,
although she places this nal construction phase at
750500 B.C. or possibly earlier. Thus, even if the
gurines are coeval with the Black and White phase
at Chavn de Huntar, the associated absolute dates
are between 1000500 B.C. or the Middle
Formative rather than Late Formative Period. While
129
Figure 13
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 14 Embracing pair 1 (Group A).
Seated female with child (Group A).
but separate ceramic traditions. At least for the

moment, we cannot convincingly tie the gurines
into the general ceramic sequences suggested for the
north coast (for example, the seven-phase
Cupisnique sequence proposed by Toshihara 2002).
Four gurines now located in the Reiss-Engelhorn
Museen (REM; in Mannheim, Germany) have been
directly dated using thermoluminescence (TL) (see
Hickmann 2008). One is a large gurine showing a
male playing a double ute (Figure 5). It has here
been attributed to the Group A gurines, but is a
somewhat simplied version: the facial decoration is
only around the eyes, there is no white paint, the
necklace lacks the horizontal divisions, and the headdress is more like that of some of the ocarina gurines
(Group C). It has been TL dated to 400 B.C.
Another gurine (Figure 32) is a human-shaped
ocarina and as such ts reasonably well into the
descriptions for Group C, except that it features
oversized, incised hands holding a panpipe, which

are colored bright red. The TL date is given as 800
B.C. Two other gurines (not illustrated here) are
also miniature ocarinas, but both are atypical in comparison to the rest of the corpus (hence here have been
assigned to Group X): one is almost gray in color and
has a crocodilian mask or head, the other a long neck
and separate head with irregular eye shapes, as well as
angular decoration all over the body. These two ocarinas are dated to 300 B.C. (Hickmann 2008).5
None of the TL-dated gurines ts perfectly into
the descriptions for Groups A, B, and C, but there
are similarities with examples in Groups A and
C. This would indicate that these kinds of gurines
were indeed made and used in the early-middle centuries of the rst millennium B.C. (i.e. Middle
Formative). The 300 B.C. date for the atypical
ocarina gurines suggests that new versions of the
ocarina gurines described in Group C may have
130
area (Alva 1986). As mentioned already, of the 54 gurines known to the author, not a single one has been
retrieved from a controlled archaeological context.
This also leaves open the inevitable possibility that
some of the gurines are fakes.6
The proveniences given by Alva (1986) are based
on his conversations with informants, looters, and
collectors, rather than excavation, and thus are not
necessarily precise. Two large, elaborate gurines
illustrated in Alva are said to be from the
Jequetepeque Valley (Alva 1986: Figures 463, 466;
see Figures 3 and 16Group A). Two smaller,
simpler gurines illustrated are said to be from the
Zaa Valley (Alva 1986: Figures 461, 462; see
Figures 19 and 21Group B). Another two gurines
(currently assigned to the atypical Group X) are said
to be from the Chancay (Lambayeque) Valley (Alva
1986: Figures 464, 465; see Figures 22 and 23). If
these proveniences are accurate, these variations may
indicate regional stylistic differences, but the dataset
is too small and the information too vague to be
certain at this stage.
Three gurines in the Museo de Arte Lima
(Figures 6, 8, and 10) are said to be from Pumape
(Castillo and Pardo 2009: 86), a Cupisnique cemetery on the coast between the Chicama and
Jequetepeque valleys (Elera 1998). It has not been
possible to determine or validate the sources for this
attribution, i.e. whether this provenience is based
on excavation, information from looters, or assigned
by the authors on the basis of perceived similarity.
Figures 6 and 8 t perfectly with the descriptions
for Group A, while the third (Figure 10), as
described, stands out due to its bright red coloring,
absence of post-re paint, the circles decorating its
loincloth, and the agnathic face carved on the back.
Figure 15 Embracing pair 2 (Group A).
been made well into the Late Formative Period.

Without grouping them as such, Morgan has hypothesized that the differences between more elaborate
(i.e. Group A) and more simple (i.e. Group B)
gurines might be due to a change over time
(Morgan 2009: 39). However, there are also indications that they are attributable to provenience (see
below) andas presently classied into Group
Cfunction.
Possible Proveniences
Contexts of Figurine Use
In 19671968 the sites around Tembladera saw an

especially intense period of looting, as a severe
drought in the Jequetepeque region drove increasingly
more people to grave-robbing in order to sell artifacts
for cash. This resulted in the almost complete destruction of the once rich Formative Period burials of the
Formative Period gurines are abundant in

Mesoamerica and coastal Ecuador, but much rarer
in Peru, and the uses of gurines in the northern
Andes are poorly understood. They have often been
considered as symbols of fertility/fecundity (Bruhns
131
Figure 16
Volume 33, Number 2
Embracing pair 3 (Group A).
breakage, and were not found in burial or household

contexts (Burger 2007).
Because none of the Tembladera gurines was
excavated from a controlled archaeological context,
it is impossible to know the contexts of their use;
however, it is highly likely that many were looted
from tombs (Alva 1986), and the Museo de Arte
Lima gurines reportedly were looted from the
Pumape cemetery (Elera 2009).
The only ceramic gurines that have ever been
excavated from a controlled context in the
Jequetepeque region come from Tomb 6 at
Kuntur Wasi, a temple site in the upper
Jequetepeque Valley at 2,300 m above sea level.
The tomb was dated to approximately 550250
B.C. (Onuki and Inokuchi 2011). The two
human gurines were found together with two
feline gurines, which are unique for the period
and region (see Onuki 1995: Lamina 18; Onuki
and Stothert 1999), used in household rituals, as

votive offerings or dedicatory sacrices (Shady
2005), charms, cult-objects, or healing/curing aids
(Lesure 2011; Meggers 1966; Reichel-Dolmatoff
1961). Based on ethnographic studies from lowland
South America, Stahl (1986) elaborates on this nal
concept, arguing that anthropomorphic gurines
from coastal Ecuador (in particular, Valdivia) functioned as repositories for spirits contacted or summoned by shamans during their ecstatic journeys.
Their use in healing or other ceremonies was by
their role as shamanic aids. Once used, they were
often ritually broken and discarded (Stahl 1986:
141). The earliest gurines from Peru date to the
Late Preceramic Period (c. 25001800 B.C.). They
were almost always encountered in the context of
public architecture where ceremonial activities were
carried out (Feldman 1991). Most gurines were
incomplete, interpreted as indicating meaningful
132
Figure 17 Standing gurine (Group B).
vessels of that style also have been found in the

mid-Lambayeque Valley at Chongoyape (Donnan
1992; Lapiner 1976: 26; Lothrop 1941) and at
Morro de Etn on the coast (Elera 1994). Thus,
the Kuntur Wasi gurines do not clarify the
chronological placement of the Tembladera gurines
nor lead to a better understanding of the use of gurines other than as grave goods. However, they do
appear to strengthen the hypothesis that the manufacture and use of distinctive gurine styles in
Formative Period north Peru was restricted in
space and, probably, in time.
Unlike anthropomorphic gurines found at Aspero
and Caral located on the central coast of Peru, where
gurines were associated with the ritual inlling of
temple enclosures (Feldman 1991), the Tembladera
gurines were not broken deliberately and no fragments have been found in public architecture or domestic refuse. At present, it seems probable that most
Tembladera gurines were looted from graves,
and Inokuchi 2010: 150, Catalog 8184). Despite

an assumed geographical and chronological proximity, the gurines from Kuntur Wasi are remarkably different from the Tembladera gurines
described above, including Group X. The Kuntur
Wasi gurines range in color from black to graytan. One human gure sits in a cross-legged
position; the other stands. They have nubbin-eyes,
consisting of almond-shaped incised lines with a
round, appliqu nubbin of clay for the pupil.
They lack elaborate dress or jewelry (the earlobes
are elongated on the seated gure but contain no
earrings). They do not have post-re paint. Bodily
features such as the hands and nose are larger and
more precisely modeled than those seen on the
Tembladera gurines. It is worth noting that the
faces of the Kuntur Wasi gurines do resemble
certain gure vessels, some of which may be from
the mid-Jequetepeque Valley (Alva 1986: Figure
347, allegedly from the site of Quindn), although
133
Figure 18
Standing gurine (Group B).
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 19 Standing gurine (Group B).
although future investigations may alter this inference. The functions of the Group A and Group B gurines are unknown. By contrast, it seems likely that
the Group C gurines, as musical instruments, were
used in rituals, as music playedand still playsa
key part in ritual practices of the Andes (Baumann
1996; Herrera 2010). Some rituals may have been
public events and others may have occurred in domestic or mortuary settings. The larger gurines also
may have featured in ritual contexts, but their function is harder to interpret. Their size and detailing
imply that they were meant to be seen up close.
It has been argued that Formative Period burials

indicate a particular interest in personal adornment
(Elera 1998). For example, abundant beads from
exotic stone (lapis and quartz) and shell, including
skirts made of thousands of beads, are known from
Cupisnique contexts in the lower Chicama Valley
(Elera 1998). Some individuals were buried wearing
numerous rings of carved bone, sometimes on all
ve ngers of one hand (Elera 1998; Larco 1941).
Shell adornments on clothing and bone pendants
with turquoise or shell inlay also have been found.
Furthermore, roller and stamp seals used to paint
skin have been reported, and anthracite mirrors are
commonly found (Elera 1993: 237). In the highlands, personal adornments in burials also were
abundant: a shaft tomb at Cerro Blanco contained
lapis bead necklaces (Burger 1995: 113), Tomb 4
at Kuntur Wasi contained 2.5 kg of beads in
turquoise, lapis, greenstone, and Spondylus
Links to the Archaeological Record

The detail of dress and jewelry depicted on the
Tembladera gurines, particularly among Group A
and Group B gurines, is unique among artistic representation of the Formative Period in northern Peru.
134
Figure 21 Standing gurine with garland necklace (Group B).
Figure 20 Standing gure with collar (Group B).
(Kato 1993: 222), and nds at Chongoyape yielded

several pairs of gold ear-spools and crowns (Lothrop
1941).
However, except for the Tembladera gurines, depictions of dress or jewelry other than ear-spools are rare
among portrayals of humans during the Formative
Period in northern Peru, including among the gurines
found at Kuntur Wasi. Figurative vessels show modeled
animals, plants, fantastical creatures, and humans
engaged in a variety of activities but, with the exception
of just a handful of vessels, the represented persons
wear little more than a loincloth and occasionally
plain round ear-spools (see Alva 1986; Jones
2010; Lapiner 1976). In this sense, the detail of
dress and ornaments depicted on the Tembladera
gurines, while echoing the archaeological record of
the Formative Period north coast and highlands, set
it apart from other gurative representation of the
time.7
For some of the jewelry and adornments depicted

on Tembladera gurines (especially those described
in Groups A and B), exact material matches have
been found in the archaeological record. The
collars worn by the gurines are strikingly similar
to a multi-layer shell and turquoise necklace
housed in the Larco museum (see Burger 2008:
37). The feline and avian headdresses worn by the
male gures of Group A anticipate the headdresses
known from the much later Moche culture (A.D.
200700). Depicted on numerous Moche vessels
and almost identical to the ones worn by the
Tembladera gurines, it seems that animal headdresses had a long history of use in northern Peru.
The construction of the Tembladera headdresses is
not known, however, discoveries at sites such as
Loma Negra and San Jos de Moro yield some
clues. Moche headdresses consisted of genuine
animal pelts stuffed with organic materials of ber
135
Figure 22
Volume 33, Number 2
Figure 23 Red polished female covering both eyes (Group X).
Red polished female plain (Group X).
perhaps precursors to the later metal-embellished

ones. Regardless, the artifacts depict how modes of
adornment had great continuity and temporal
depth.
Headdresses of this kind were clearly a key feature
of ritual and the costume of priests or shamans and
the narratives enacted by them in later times
(Donnan and McClelland 1999).8 How much the
practices and meanings associated with these headdresses endured or changed over time is uncertain.
Parallels are certainly conceivable for the
Tembladera gurines, which show individuals in
highly prescribed dress and poses, and engaged in a
very limited range of actions, essentially musicmaking. This may indicate that the actors and
rituals were also formalized and dened. As such, I
suggest that the gurines are indicative of a formalization and institutionalization of Formative Period
ritual practice that has previously been inferred only
and cloth, with the real tail hanging down the back.
The head and paws of the fox or feline were rendered in hammered and gilded copper (Carlos
Rengifo, personal communication 2009; Strong
and Evans 1952). A rare example from Vir shows
that Moche bird headdresses also were made of
actual bird skins (Strong and Evans 1952: 159).
Whether the Tembladera headdresses would have
featured metal heads and paws is unknown.
Sophisticated metalworking, especially of gold, had
developed by the Late Formative Period, and
nds from Chongoyape and Kuntur Wasi are testimony to the high level of technological and artistic
skill exercised by these metalworkers in the late
rst millennium B.C. (Lavalle 1998: 57; Lothrop
1941; Onuki and Inokuchi 2011). Conversely,
Tembladera headdresses could have been made
from only animal pelts, skulls, and mandibles,
padded or stuffed with organic materials,
136
from architectural comparisons to ethnographic

examples (Moore 2005).
Conclusions
A number of difcult issues and gaps in our knowledge surround the Tembladera gurines. At the
time of this writing, no Formative Period gurine
has ever been recovered from a controlled archaeological context on the north coast of Peru. The origin of
the gurines here discussed therefore cannot be stated
with certainty. Allegedly the gurines proveniences
are the middle to lower Jequetepeque Valley and, in
some cases, the adjacent Zaa and Chicama valleys.
Their possible northern coastal provenience is bolstered by the Tembladera gurines marked difference
from gurines recovered in north highland sites, such
as Kuntur Wasi, or preceramic gurines found on the
north-central coast. Thus, I have retained the label of
Tembladera for these types of gurines, although
their proveniences remain to be conrmed. Based
on current knowledge, however, it seems that this gurine tradition was relatively narrowly restricted both
in space and time.
Figure 24 Solid gurine with garland necklace (Group X).
Figure 25 Mini gure with face on headdress (Group C).
137
Figure 26
Mini gure with cap (Group C).
Figure 27
Mini gure with no headdress (Group C).
Volume 33, Number 2
Cupisnique, those commonalities are rather broad

and unspecic. The only direct iconographic comparison is the stylized face incised onto the back of
two gurines, associating them to late in the Chavn
de Huntar sequence (Figures 9b and 10b). The
The exact chronological placement and cultural

association of the Tembladera gurines is also a
matter of uncertainty. Although the Tembladera gurines share some themes with highland Kuntur
Wasi and have been associated with coastal
138
Figure 28 Mini gure with front-peak headdress (Group C).
Figure 30 Mini sitting utist gure (Group C).
Figure 29 Mini bird gures (Group C).
139
Figure 31
Mini gure with drum (Group C).
close association between these and many of the other

gurines, as well as the TL dates obtained for the
REM pieces, suggest a tentative date of circa
1000400 B.C.
Figure 32
Volume 33, Number 2
Despite such chronological and geographical

uncertainties, the analysis of the Tembladera gurines
presents insights into issues related to gender, music,
ritual, and political leadership. For example,
Tembladera gurines show both men and women
seemingly dressed in equally rich garments, wearing
some of the same jewelry (for example, the wide
collar). Men and women also seem to be represented
in approximately equal numbers, perhaps implying
that there was not a simple, gender-based hierarchy
of social statuses. On the other hand, male and
female roles were different. Only males are shown as
musicians (Figures 25, 710), while only women
are depicted in a seated position (Figure 12) and/or
with children (Figure 13; see also gurine in
Lapiner 1976: Figure 46).9 Burger states that
Tembladera vessels seem to place the same emphasis
on representing men and women (Burger 2008:
25).10 Nonetheless, although men and women were
equally represented and religious leadership was not
restricted to males, men and women evidently held
and performed different social identities and rolesmales as musicians, females associated with childrearing and, perhaps, fertilityyet both males and
females are depicted as united and balanced. In this
sense, the paired gurines seem to materialize an
apparently ancient principle of complementary
masculinity and femininity, whichin its basic
featuresresonates with more recent past and contemporary Andean world views.
Mini gure with red hands (Group C).
140
Figure 33 Mini paired birds (Group C).
The subject matter of Tembladera gurines was

not the human body per se, but the elaborately
adorned person, depicted in a very specic role.
This was not the domestic body, but the body as
a political instrument, part of a net of complex
social relations in which status and gender were

symbolized in an increasingly formal way during
the Formative Period in northern Peru. The close
connection between specically the male
Tembladera gurines and music, music and ritual,
and ritual and leadership in Andean cosmology
suggests an interpretation of the gurines as representing early elites or their idealized ancestors.
This makes Tembladera gurines highly relevant
for understanding the role of ritual as the basis of
authority in the Andes.
The gurines elaborate costuming and musical
roles suggest a connection to leadership. As Burger
notes: The association of early leaders with
musical instruments is explained by the special
role played by music as a central element in religious ceremony as opposed to everyday, profane
life (Burger 2008: 25 [my translation]). Writing
of a large, unique, ceramic gurine (now in the
Museo Nacional Chavn), Burger remarks that a
specic style of dress may have been associated
with religious elites, observing that [the gurine]
is dressed in a tunic and loincloth and has a
collar. The dress of the religious elite of early
periods was becoming increasingly dened over
time (Burger 2008: 36 [my translation]).
Although scholars have frequently applied the term
shamanism to characterize the basis of elite
ritual authority in the northern Andes (see Burger
Figure 34 Mini paired gure (Group C).
141
Volume 33, Number 2
Table 1. Group A: details and permissions

Measurements
(cm)
Group A
Title
Collection/Museum Inv. No.
Image copyright/Source
Figure 2
Flutist with feline

headdress 1
Museum zu Allerheiligen,
Eb15988
20.9
9.5
8.8 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museum zu

Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen
Figure 3
Flutist with feline

headdress 2
Brooklyn Art Museum

NYC 68.97
20.4
Figure 4
Flutist with avian

headdress
Dallas Museum of Art,

1971.19
15.9
Figure 5
Simple utist
Reiss-Engelhorn Museen,
V Am 7352
17.5
Figure 6
Plain standing
male
Museo de Arte Lima

2007.16.15
19.5 10.5
Figure 7
Conch shell
trumpeter 1
Denver Art Museum,

189.1979
20.4
Figure 8
Conch shell
trumpeter 2
Museo de Arte Lima

2007.16.16
Figure 9
Flutist with face

on the back
American Museum of
Natural History 41.2/8561
Figure 10
Red utist with

face on the back
Museo de Arte Lima

2007.16.17
Figure 11
Standing female
Figure 12
Burtenshaw, courtesy of Brooklyn Art

Museum
8.9
7.0 Wikimedia Commons FA2010 (published in

Dallas Museum 1983: 32, Figure 18; Morgan
2009: 421, Plate 2)
Martina Irion
8.0 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museo de Arte Lima
Burtenshaw, redrawn from: Morgan (2009:
421, pl. 2); Lapiner (1976: Figure 60); Denver
Art Museum (1990: 28, Figure 8)
Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museo de Arte Lima
14.2
6.3
Burtenshaw, courtesy of Division of

Anthropology, American Museum of Natural
History
18
8.0
Fowler Museum UCLA

X90493
18.7
9.4
Seated naked
female
Schaffhausen EB15980
13.0
7.3
Figure 13
Seated female
with child
(private collection)
Figure 14
Embracing pair 1
Schaffhausen EB15858
16.6
9.5

Allerheiligen
Figure 15
Embracing pair 2
St. Louis Art Museum,

Gift of Morton D. May,
186: 1979
18.5
9.0
5.0 St. Louis Art Museum
Figure 16
Embracing pair 3
16.5
(not illust.)
Flutist with feline

(?) headdress 3
David Bernstein Collection,

NY
(not illust.)
Flutist gurine
7.7 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museo de Arte Lima

Fowler Museum at UCLA, photograph by
Denis Nervig
Allerheiligen
Burtenshaw, redrawn from: Jones (2010: 423,
Figure 5.73). Also Lavalle (1990: 64); Morgan
(2009: 421)
Burtenshaw, redrawn from: Lapiner (1968: 9,

1976: 44, Figures 5152); Alva (1986: 190,
Figure 463); Morgan (2009: 421)
(Published in Quilter 2005: 42)
(Published in El Comercio 2001: 31)
2008; Cordy-Collins 1977; Elera 1994; Sharon and

Donnan 1974; Staller and Currie 2001), the
Tembladera gurines may depict other, more
formalized forms of ritual authority (Moore 2005;

Oyuela-Caycedo 2001). The Tembladera gurines
portray dened rituals and specic regalia images,
142
Table 2. Group B: details and permissions

Measurements
(cm)
Group B
Title
Collection/Museum, Inv. No.
Figure 17
Standing gurine
EB15096
14.5 6.5 4.6 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museum zu

Allerheiligen Schaffhausen
Figure 18
Standing gurine
Museum of the American Indian,

NYC, 23/64/67
13.4
Figure 19
Standing gurine
Giorgio Battistini (private

collection)
Figure 20
Standing gure
with collar
Promised bequest Gillett

G. Grifn, Princeton University
Art Museum L1988.138
Figure 21
Standing gurine
with garland
necklace
Giorgio Battistini (private

collection)
(not illust.)
Sitting gurine
holding child/
phallus
14.0
(Published in Lapiner 1976: 46, Figur

5657; Morgan 2009: 421, Plate 2)
(not illust.)
Standing gurine
Museo de la Nacion, Lima

MN-3571
12.2 5.5
(Published in Morgan 2009: 423, Plate 3)
Image Copyright/Source
Burtenshaw, courtesy of National

Museum of the American Indian,
Smithsonian Institution
Burtenshaw, redrawn from: Alva (1986:
Figure 461); Burger (2008: 12); Morgan
(2009: 421, Plate 3)
12.1 5.2 3.6 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Princeton

University Art Museum
Burtenshaw, redrawn from: Alva (1986:
Figure 462); Burger (2008: 17, Figure 5);
Morgan (2009: 421, Plate 3)
Table 3. Group C: details and permissions

Measurements (cm)
Group C
Title
Figure 25
Mini gure with

face on headdress
American Museum of Natural

History 41.2/1816 P
4.7
3.2

Anthropology, American Museum of
Natural History
Figure 26
Mini gure with

cap

History 41.2/1816 R
4.7
3.3

Natural History
Figure 27
Mini gure with no

headdress

History 41.2/1816T
5.3
Figure 28
Mini gure with

front-peak
headdress

History 41.2/1816 E
4.5
3.0

Natural History
Figure 29
Mini bird gures

(+ two not illust.)

History 41.2/1816 O
(41.2/1816 J)
(41.2/1816 L)
4.3
(7.0)
(5.4)
3.2
(3.0)

Natural History
Figure 30
Mini sitting utist

gure

History 41.2/8559
7.5
5.6
5.0 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Division of

Natural History
Figure 31
Mini gure with

drum
MzA Schaffhausen,
Eb15783.01
4.7
2.9

D

Natural History
Continued
143
Volume 33, Number 2
Table 3. Group C: details and permissions (Continued)
Group C
Title
Measurements (cm)
D
Figure 32
Mini gure with

red hands
Reiss-Engelhorn Museen, V Am
7356
6.5
Burtenshaw, redrawn from:

Hickmann (2008, Catalog 1.351)
Figure 33
Mini paired birds

History 41.2/1816 Q
4.0

Natural History
Figure 34
Mini paired gure
The Metropolitan Museum of

Art, Gift of Conny and Fred
Landmann, 1992.60.2
4.5
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

http://www.metmuseum.org
(not
illust.)
Mini gure with

crest headdress

Landmann, 1992.60.1
5.8
(not
illust.)
Mini gure with

necklace
Museo Enrico Poli Bianchi,

Lima, ACEPB 497 (private
collection)
4.2
(not
illust.)
Mini gure holding

hand to mouth

Landmann, 1992.60.3
5.7
3.3
(not
illust.)
Mini gure with

bent knees
Anonymous gift, Princeton

University Art Museum Y1993105
6.3
3.2
2.7
(not
illust.)
Mini gure with

broad horned
headdress

History 41.2/1816 U
5.0
(not
illust.)
4 mini gures with

hats

History (41.2/1816K)
(41.2/1816 M)
(41.2/1816 N)
(41.2/1816 S)
5.5
4.4
4.2
4.5
(not
illust.)
Mini gure with

head on head and
hands to mouth

Landmann, 1992.60.3
6.0
3.3
3.1
(Published in Alva 1986: Figure 468;

Morgan 2009: 423, Plate 3; Museum of
Primitive Art 1969: Figure 218)
(Published in Morgan 2009: 423, Plate
3)
(Published in Morgan 2009: 423, Plate
3)
3.1
3.0
2.9
3.0
(Published at http://www.metmuseum
.org)
Table 4. Group X atypical gurines: details and permissions
Group X
Title
Measurements
(cm)
H
Figure 22
Red polished female

plain

ACEPB 72 (private collection)
Figure 23
Red polished female

covering both eyes
Figure 24
Solid gurine with

garland necklace
19
7.2
Alexandra Morgan

20.7 7.6
Alexandra Morgan
Eb15944
14.0 6.0 5.4 Burtenshaw, courtesy of Museum zu

Continued
144
Table 4.
Group X atypical gurines: details and permissions (Continued)
Group X
Title
Measurements
(cm)
H
(not illust.)
Figure with jagged

deco holding head
7353
5.5
(Published in Hickmann 2008: Catalog

1.352)
(not illust.)
Figure with crocodile

(?) mask/head
7354
6.0
(Published in Hickmann 2008: Catalog

1.353)
(not illust.)
Standing female
14
(Published in Lapiner 1976: Figure 61;

Morgan 2009: 423, Plate 3)
(not illust.)
Solid gurine with

quiff/ headdress

8.1
such as feline headdresses, facial decoration, and

double utes, and the objects appear to be coeval
with the developments of elite wealth, funerary elaborations, and the creation of monumental public
centers during the middle Formative Period.
Indeed, several complex social processes characterizing the northern Andes during the nal two millennia B.C.surrounding gender roles, religious
systems, and the associated hierarchical structuresappear to be more or less directly reected in
the Tembladera gurines.
3.
4.
5.
Notes
6.
1. For a fuller discussion see Burtenshaw-Zumstein

(2014). The most common cultural label for
Formative
Period
north-coastal
Peru
is
Cupisnique
(see
Burger
1995),
with
Tembladera and Chongoyape generally considered to be sub-styles thereof (see CordyCollins 1998; Elera 1998, 2009; Jones 2010;
Toshihara 2002). For varying denitions of
Cupisnique, see Donnan 1992; Elera 1998;
Jones 2010; Larco Hoyle 1941, 1948; Toshihara
2002, 2004.
2. All Formative Period gurines supposedly originating from the far north coast of Peru (lower-middle
Chicama, Jequetepeque, Lambayeque, and Zaa
valleys) have been included. With the exception of
Figures 6, 8, and 10 ( published as Cupisnique),
and Figures 5 and 32 ( published as Chavn), they
were labeled and/or published as Tembladera.
7.
8.
145
2.8 2.2 (Published in Alva 1986: Figure 469; Lavalle

& Lang 1981: 120; Morgan 2009: 423,
Plate 3)
Closer examination indicates that they can all

be considered as part of the same corpus and therefore have here been labeled as Tembladera
gurines.
Morgan additionally published ve post- or subclassic ones (Morgan 2009, following classications
given by Lapiner 1976), which will not be considered for the present study.
It must be noted, however, that some Formative
Period north highland traditions (Huacaloma) also
feature post-re painting in incised zones (e.g. Seki
1998: 152).
The thermoluminescence dating was commissioned by
the previous owner, Dieter Freudenberg, and carried
out prior to the acquisition of the gurines by the
Reiss-Engelhorn Museen (Michael Tellenbach,
personal communication 2013).
None of the personally examined gurines provided
any reason to question their authenticity, however,
this is still far from conclusive proof. The most
unusual thing about the gurines in general is the
lack of stylistic/iconographic parallels on ceramic
vessels from Formative Period north Peru
(Burtenshaw-Zumstein 2014).
As mentioned, the same is true for the way in which
human features (nose, eyes, limbs etc.) are rendered.
In Moche iconography the headdresses are associated
with some key characters engaged in highly prescribed ceremonies, including sacrices done by
Wrinkle Face and his helper Iguana, wearing
feline/canine and avian headdresses respectively
(Donnan and McClelland 1999). These headdresses
also are seen on warriors and ritual runners, but
occasionally they are associated directly with
musical instruments, as can be seen by two gures
wearing fox and bird headdresses playing a pair of

panpipes (see Kutscher 1983: Figures 153155).
9. The same subject (a female gure, seated with legs
outstretched) is represented on two Formative
Period ceramic vessels. One is in the Museo
Brning, the other in the Museo Larco. Both have
been labeled Cupisnique. Regardless of such illdened cultural labels, the conceptual overlap with
the gurines may be signicant in linking the
vessels and gurines to a joint stylistic and/or cultural
group, for better denition and chronological placement in the future.
10. At present, it is unclear what Burger means to
include by the term Tembladera vessels. As a stylistic term, like Cupisnique, it has never been properly dened. A full discussion of these terms and a
proposed stylistic typology will be outlined in a
forthcoming Ph.D. thesis (Burtenshaw-Zumstein
2014).
Volume 33, Number 2
Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Sainsbury Research

Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Castillo, Luis Jaime, and Pardo Cecilia (editors)
2009 De Cupisnique a los Incas: el arte del Valle de
Jequetepeque. Museo de Arte de Lima, Lima.
Cordy-Collins, Alana
1977 Chavin art: its shamanic/hallucinogenic origins.
In Pre-Columbian art history: selected readings,
edited by Alana Cordy-Collins and Jean Stern,
pp. 353362. Peek Publications, Palo Alto.
1998 The Jaguar of the Backward Glance. In Icons of
Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas, edited
by Nicholas J. Saunders, pp. 155170.
Routledge, London/New York.
Denver Art Museum
1990 Little people of the earth: ceramic gures from
ancient America. Denver Art Museum, Denver.
Donnan, Christopher B.
1992 Ceramics of Ancient Peru. UCLA Fowler Museum
of Cultural History, Los Angeles.
Donnan, Christopher B., and Donna McClelland
1999 Moche neline painting: its evolution and its artists.
UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los
Angeles.
Elera, Carlos
1993 El complejo cultural Cupisnique: antecedented y
desarollo de su ideologia religiosa. Senri
Ethnological Studies 37: 229257.
1994 El shaman del Morro de Eten: antecedentes
arqueolgicos del shamanismo en la costa y
sierra norte del Per. In En nombre del Senor.
Shamanes, demonios y curanderos del Norte del
Per., edited by Luis Millones and Moiss
Lemlij, pp. 2251. Biblioteca Peruana de
Psicoanalisis, Lima.
1998 The Pumape site and the Cupisnique culture:
a case study on the origins and development
of complex society in the central Andes,
Per. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of
Calgary.
2009 La Cultura Cupisnique a partir de los datos de
Pumape. In De Cupisnique A Los Incas: El Arte
del Valle de Jequetepeque, edited by Luis Jaime
Castillo and Cecilia Pardo, pp. 68111. Museo
de Arte de Lima, Lima.
Feldman, Robert A.
1991 Preceramic unbaked clay gurines from Aspero,
Peru. In The New World gurine project, edited
by Terry Stocker, pp. 520. Research Press, Provo.
Fux, Peter
2012 Chavin: Perus geheimnisvoller Andentempel.
Scheidegger and Spiess, Zrich.
References Cited
Alva, Walter
1986 Ceramica temprana en el Valle de Jequetepeque,
norte del Peru/Frhe keramik aus dem
Jequetepeque-Tal, Nord-Peru. Materialien zur
Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archologie.
C. H. Beck, Munich.
Baumann, Max Peter
1996 Andean music, symbolic dualism and cosmology.
In Cosmologia y musica en los Andes, edited by
Max Peter Baumann, pp. 1566. Vervuert/
Iberoamericana, Frankfurt am Main/Madrid.
Bruhns, Karen O., and Karen E. Stothert
1999 Women in ancient America. University of
Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Burger, Richard L.
1995 Chavin and the origins of Andean civilisation.
Paperback ed. Thames and Hudson, London.
2007 The emergence of guration in prehistoric Peru.
In Image and imagination, edited by Colin
Renfrew and Iain Morley, pp. 241254.
McDonald
Institute
for
Archaeological
Research, Cambridge.
2008 Los seores de los templos. In Seores de los Reinos
de la Luna, edited by Krzysztof Makowski,
pp. 1338. Banco de Credito, Lima.
Burtenshaw-Zumstein, Julia T.
2014 Cupisnique, Tembladera, Chongoyape, Chavin:
a typology of ceramic styles from Formative
Period
north
Peru,
1800200
B.C.
146
Herrera Wassilowsky, Alexander

2010 Pututu and Waylla Kepa: new data on Andean
pottery shell horns. Proceedings of the Musical
PerceptionsPast
and
Present.
On
Ethnographic Analogy in Music Archaeology.
Papers from the 6th Symposium of the
International Study Group on Music
Archaeology, Ethnological Museum, State
Museums Berlin, September 913, 2008.
Hickmann, Ellen
2008 Klnge Altamerikas: musikinstrumente in kunst
und kult. Primus Verlag/Publikationen des
Reiss-Museums Mannheim, Darmstadt.
Jones, Kimberly L.
2010 Cupisnique culture: the development of ideology
in the ancient Andes. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
University of Texas, Austin.
Kan, Michael
1972 The feline motif in northern Peru. In The cult of
the feline, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson,
pp. 6990. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
Kato, Yasukate
1993 Resultados de las excavaciones en Kuntur Wasi,
Cajamarca. In El Mundo ceremonial Andino,
edited by Luis Millones and Yoshio Onuki,
pp. 203228. Senri Ethnological Studies.
National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka.
Kaulicke, Peter
2010 Las cronologas del Formativo. 50 aos de investigaciones japonesas en perspectiva. PUCP, Lima.
Keatinge, Richard, W.
1980 Archaeology and Development: The Tembladera
Site of the Peruvian North Coast. Journal of Field
Archaeology 7(4):467477.
Kembel, Silvia Rodriguez
2001 Architectural sequence and chronology at Chavin
de Huantar, Peru. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Anthropological Sciences, Stanford University,
Stanford.
Kutscher, Gerdt
1983 Nordperuanische Gefssmalereien des Moche-Stils.
Materialien zur Algemeinen und Vergleichenden
Archologie 18. C. H. Beck, Munich.
Lapiner, Alan C.
1968 Art of ancient Peru. Arts of the Four Quarters Ltd,
New York.
1976 Precolumbian art of South America. Harry
N. Abrams, New York.
Larco Hoyle, Rafael
1941 Los Cupisniques. La Crnica y Variedades, Lima.
1948 Cronologa arqueolgica del norte del Per.
Sociedad Geogrca Americana, Buenos Aires.
Lavalle, Jos Antonio (editor)

1990 Trujillo precolombino. Odebrecht, Trujillo.
1998 Cobre del Antiguo Peru / The Copper of Ancient
Peru. IntegraAFP Southern Peru, Lima.
Lavalle, Jos Antonio, and Werner Lang (editors)
1981 Culturas precolombinas: Chavin. Banco de
Credito, Lima.
Lesure, Richard
2011 Interpreting ancient gurines: context, comparison,
and prehistoric art. Cambridge University Press,
New York.
Lothrop, Samuel K.
1941 Gold ornaments of Chavin style from
Chongoyape, Peru. American Antiquity 6(3):
250262.
Meggers, Betty J.
1966 Ecuador. Thames and Hudson, London.
Moore, Jerry D.
2005 Cultural landscapes in the ancient Andes.
University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Morgan, Alexandra
2009 The pottery gurines of pre-Columbian Peru.
Volume I: the gurines of the north coast. BAR
International Series. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Museum of Primitive Art
1969 Precolumbian art in New York: selections from private
collections. Museum of Primitive Art, New York.
Museum zu Allerheiligen
1992 Idole, masken, menschen: frhe kulturen, alte welt
und neue welt. Museum zu Allerheiligen,
Schaffhausen.
Onuki, Yoshio (editor)
1995 Kuntur Wasi y Cerro Blanco: dos sitios del
Formativo en el norte del Peru. Hokusen-Sha,
Tokyo.
Onuki, Yoshio, and Kinya Inokuchi
2011 Los emelos pristinos. Fondo Editorial del Congreso
del Peru, Lima.
Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto
2001 The rise of religious routinization: the study of
changes from shaman to priestly elite. In
Mortuary practices and ritual associations: shamanic
elements in prehistoric funerary contexts in South
America, edited by John Edward Staller
and Elizabeth J. Currie, pp. 518. BAR 982.
Archaeopress, Oxford.
Parsons, Lee A.
1980 Pre-Columbian art: the Morton D. May and The
Saint Louis Art Museum collections. Harper and
Row, New York.
Quilter, Jeffrey
2005 Treasures of the Andes. Duncan Baird, London.
147
Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo
1961 Anthropomorphic gurines from Colombia: their
magic and art. In Pre-Columbian art and archaeology, edited by S. K. Lothrop, pp. 229241.
Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Seki, Yuji
1998 El Periodo Formativo en el valle de Cajamarca.
Boletn de Arqueologa PUCP 2:147160.
Shady Solis, Ruth
2005 Caral Supe, Per: la civilizacin de Caral-Supe:
5000 aos de identidad cultural en el Per.
Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Proyecto Especial
Arqueolgico Caral-Supe, Lima.
Sharon, Douglas, and Christopher B. Donnan
1974 Shamanism in Moche iconography. In
Ethnoarchaeology, edited by Christopher B.
Donnan and C. William Clewlow, pp. 5180.
University of California, Los Angeles.
Stahl, Peter W.
1986 Hallucinatory imagery and the origin of early
South American gurine art. World Archaeology
18(1): 134150.
Volume 33, Number 2
Staller, John Edward, and Elizabeth J. Currie (editors)

2001 Mortuary practices and ritual associations: shamanic
elements in prehistoric funerary contexts in South
America. BAR 982. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Strong, William D., and Clifford Evans, Jr.
1952 Cultural stratigraphy in the Vir Valley northern
Peru: the Formative and Florescent epochs.
Columbia University Press, New York.
Torres, Constantino Manuel
2008 Chavins psychoactive pharmacopoeia: the iconographic evidence. In Chavin: art, architecture and
culture, edited by William J. Conklin and Jeffrey
Quilter, pp. 239260. Cotsen Institute, UCLA,
Los Angeles.
Toshihara, Kayoko
2002 The Cupisnique culture in the Formative Period
world of the central Andes, Peru. Unpublished
Ph.D. thesis, University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign.
2004 Cupisnique Iconography: Ideology and its
Manifestations in an Ancient Andean Culture.
Journal of Latin American Lore 22(1):3983.
148

Tembladera Figurines

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tembladera Figurines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE TEMBLADERA FIGURINES: RITUAL, MUSIC, AND ELITE IDENTITY IN

FORMATIVE PERIOD NORTH PERU, CIRCA 1800200 B.C.

Formative Period (Figure 1; see Lapiner 1976).

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Figure 1 Map of north coast Peru.

understanding of pre-Columbian beliefs, practices,

dispersed to diverse collections around the world.

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

Figure 2 Flutist with feline headdress 1 (Group A).

Switzerland, which have been personally examined

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Figure 3 Flutist with feline headdress 2 (Group A).

attributes reinforce this gendered identication,

as well as differences compared with those in Group

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

Figure 4 Flutist with avian headdress (Group A).

Figure 5 Simple utist (Group A).

front and shorter bands or a knot at the sides and

different manifestations of this gurine tradition.

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Figure 6 Plain standing male (Group A).

Figure 7 Conch shell trumpeter 1 (Group A).

rectangular elements that is virtually identical to that

bent at right angles such that their empty hands are

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

The gurines that have provisionally been assigned

Figure 8 Conch shell trumpeter 2 (Group A).

pieces with the Group A and Group B gurines. The

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Figure 9 Flutist with face on the back (Group A).

zones bounded by lines incised into the damp/

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

Figure 10 Red utist with face on the back (Group A).

or discussions have been brief. The rst research was

description of the group as a whole was followed by

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

gurines rst appeared in the academic sphere they

Standing female (Group A).

gurine-making traditions in north Peru. She points

Dating and Chronology

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

Figure 12 Seated naked female (Group A).

the other gurines of Groups A, B, and C do not

The justications for this temporal association are

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Figure 14 Embracing pair 1 (Group A).

Seated female with child (Group A).

but separate ceramic traditions. At least for the

oversized, incised hands holding a panpipe, which

Burtenshaw-Zumstein: The Tembladera gurines

Figure 15 Embracing pair 2 (Group A).

been made well into the Late Formative Period.

In 19671968 the sites around Tembladera saw an

Formative Period gurines are abundant in

awpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology

Volume 33, Number 2

Embracing pair 3 (Group A).

breakage, and were not found in burial or household