MOCHE: A PERU\'IAN COASTAL COMNOINITi'— GILLIN 



Sierra who originally came to the coast to work as 

 peons on the haciendas and later settled in Moche 

 through friendship or marriage. ' 



VITAL STATISTICS 



Crude vital statistics for 5 years, as compiled of- 

 ficially by the Municipalidad, are set forth in table 3.^^ 



Table 3.— Births, deaths, and marriages in Moche District, 

 1939-1944 



^ First 6 months. 



From these figures may be calculated yearly aver- 

 ages for the years 1939^3, inclusive, of 165.6 births, 

 75.6 deaths, and 54,4 marriages. This gives an 

 average annual e.xcess of births over deaths of 90, or 

 a ratio of births to deaths of 2.19 over a 5-year period. 

 No attempt has been made to test the accuracy of 

 these figures by means of independent recordings,^- 

 which would clearly have been an impossibility for me. 

 I believe, however, that the figures are reasonably 

 accurate, because the District is small and relations 

 are largely those of an in-group in which everyone's 

 business is generally known, so that there is little 

 opportunity for evading the legal requirements for 

 the registration of births and deaths, even were there 

 a desire to do so. During the 5 years under review, 

 no stillbirths were recorded, which may be an indi- 

 cation of the general healthfulness of the population. 



As will appear later, the registered figures on 

 "marriages" have relatively little significance, since 

 it is not customary in Moche to consider an official 

 marriage a necessary preliminary for the establisli- 

 ment of a communal life or household by a man and 

 a woman. 



PHYSICAL TYPES AND CONSTITUTIONS 



Since I was unable to secure a set of anthropomet- 

 ric instruments, either in Peru or in the United 

 States, during the period of the investigation, I am 



^ From the official books of the Municipalidad, copied off by the 

 Secretario, Segundo Celestino, on the official letterhead, stamped with 

 the official rubber stamp, and presented to me on June 30, 1944. 



"The published figures for 1940 in Extracto Estadistico (1942, 

 p. 78) show slight variations from those for the same year provided 

 by the Municipalidad. The published table lists 182 births and 63 

 deaths for 1940. 



653348° — 47—2 



unable to give precise data concerning the physical 

 type and must be content with impressionistic re- 

 marks, based upon some observation of Indian popu- 

 lations and upon a fair intimacy with the various 

 physical groups of Peru. The so-called cholos of 

 the nortlieni Peruvian coast appear to be a mixture 

 of brunette Spanish, Indian, Asiatic (usually 

 Chinese), and Negro. The mixture is probably not 

 genetically stabilized, because it shows considerable 

 variability, and my impression is that it does not 

 breed true, except within broad limits. Generally 

 speaking from an observational point of view, how- 

 ever, cholo men usually show more beard and body 

 hair than do pure Indians, while both sexes generally 

 exhibit wavy or curly hair. In contrast, the "true 

 Mocheros" are more "Indian" in physical appearance, 

 as plates 4 and 5 indicate. However, I do not be- 

 lieve that the true Mocheros are a pure Indian group, 

 genetically considered. Phenotypically, they often 

 show traits of mixture with a brunette white strain. 

 Also, despite the Moche tradition of not breeding 

 with outsiders, genealogical material indicates that 

 it has occurred in the last few generations, and prob- 

 ably sporadically for centuries. The result of these 

 assumed factors is a wide variability in physical type 

 at present. 



In general one may describe the true Mochero type 

 as follows : Short to medium-short stature ; copper- 

 colored skin ; nose bridge of medium height ; nasal 

 index probably medium; head brachy to meso- 

 cephalic; black straight hair; fatty deposits about 

 eyes, which, however, are seldom oblique; mem- 

 braneous lips medium ; integumental lips, thick ; chin 

 prominence, small ; beard and body hair, sparse to 

 medium ; brownish rather than blackish hair, streaked 

 with gray in aged persons. Even slight baldness is 

 rare in "true Mocheros." Body build tends toward 

 the "lateral" type. 



I have no conclusive data on the physical constitu- 

 tion and longevity of the Mocheros, but personally 

 know and have had social relations with 16 individ- 

 uals who claim they are more than 80 years of age. 

 Five of these claim to be more than 90 years old, and 

 3 between 99 and 101 years old. It is impossible to 

 prove their ages, however, owing to the fact that the 

 Libros de Bautismo of the local church were de- 

 stroyed in the flood of 1925, and one can never be sure 

 in talking with the old people that the historical events 

 they claim to have witnessed are not the result of later 

 information. Only one of these individuals is what 

 might be called bedridden. This is an old woman, 



