2-734-273 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Llama Vessel, c. 200-550. It is not clear whether the llama's appearance in Moche art is explained by its importance as a sacrificial animal; as a source of meat, fertilizer, and wool; or as the Andes only burden-bearing beast, as this vessel shows. It also may be important that llamas are natives of the mountains, where seasonal rains charge the fresh-water rivers that flow down to the desert coast and make life possible.