in the south, to perhaps as far north as the Piura River, near the present-day border between Peru and Ecuador. They did so by developing coastal deserts into rich farmlands and by drawing upon the abundant maritime resources of the Paci昀椀c Ocean’s Humboldt Current. Although the precise nature of Moche political organiza- tion is a subject of debate, these centers, and the monu- mental earthen platforms associated with them, shared unifying cultural traits such as religious practices. Proli昀椀c and inventive, Moche potters created a strik- ing new style on the North Coast during the 昀椀rst centuries ce. While their early vessels portray animals and humans with considerable 昀椀delity (see 昀椀g. 4), later examples fea- ture one or more animals fused with the bodies of warriors in compositions that dissolve the boundaries between species. A vessel in the shape of a warrior on bended knee, 21. Double-chambered bottle. Wari; Central Coast, Peru, 800–900 ce. for example, shows him holding a shield and a war club Ceramic and slip, H. 5 ⼀洀 in. (14.3 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and wearing a crescent headdress with two circular pro- New York; Gift of Nathan Cummings, 1967 (67.167.35) trusions: the standard attire of a Moche warrior (昀椀g. 22). But the face of the warrior is clearly that of a hawk with no 昀氀asklike body of the vessel, the feline’s claws grasp another animal, perhaps a reference to imperial reach and power. The impact of the expansion of the Wari Empire was particularly noticeable in the sudden mixing of previously distinct regional styles, suggesting increased interactions and exchange among populations. Bottle shapes such as the spout-and-bridge type, once largely con昀椀ned to the South Coast, were now being created elsewhere, while other types usually associated with the North Coast, such as the double-chambered vessel, were found along the entire coast. An example of the latter features a bottle on one side and a dignitary on a stepped platform on the other; a chevron pattern, a characteristic Wari motif, decorates the handle (昀椀g. 21). The dignitary wears a four-cornered hat typically worn by high-status Wari men. He holds a Spondylus shell—the casing of an imported tropical bivalve that was perhaps the most highly valued material in the ancient Andes—further underscoring his elite status. Yet the vessel itself, particu- larly in its relatively simple painting style, pales in quality compared to those from the Ayacucho heartland. Also a whistling vessel (the mechanism is located in the open mouth), it is a work that speaks to a desire to emulate and appropriate the styles and symbols of power. Desert Kingdoms of the North 22. Stirrup-spout bottle with warrior. Moche; North Coast, Peru, Over the course of some six centuries, the Moche built 500–800 ce. Ceramic and slip, H. 10 ⼀攀 in. (26 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nathan Cummings, 1963 (63.226.8) thriving regional centers from the Huarmey River Valley, 23