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# Archeologists Find Possible Ancient Cat Costume in Peru
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/archeologists-find-possible-ancient-cat-costume-in-peru/
- Published: 2014-07-23T01:04:07.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:33:07.000Z
- Description: Archeologists in Peru have discovered the 1,500-year-old tomb of a Moche nobleman, which they say could shed further light on the pre-Inca civilization. Along with some things you might expect to find in an archeological dig was a curious pair of metal feline paws with sharp claws.
- Author: Laura C. Mallonee
- Tags: In Brief, Archaeology, Cats, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:03 (2014, 2015, part 1)

![(photo by Johnny Aurazo) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/07/cat-claws_johnny-aurazo.jpg)

An archeological researcher examines artifacts recently found in Peru at Huaca de la Luna. (photo by Johnny Aurazo)

Archeologists in Peru have discovered the 1,500-year-old tomb of a Moche nobleman, which they say could shed further light on the[ pre-Inca civilization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moche%5Fculture?ref=hyperallergic.com). Along with some things you might expect to find in an archeological dig — human remains, a copper scepter, gold earrings, brass instruments, and a mask — was a curious pair of metal feline paws with sharp claws.

![Cerro Blanco and Huaca de la Luna (via Wikimedia Commons) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/07/cerro_blanco_and_huaca_de_la_luna.jpg)

Cerro Blanco and Huaca de la Luna (via Wikimedia Commons)

Researchers told the newspaper [*El Comercio* ](http://elcomercio.pe/peru/la-libertad/huaca-luna-sigue-mostrando-sus-tesoros-noticia-1742197?ref=hyperallergic.com)that these might have been part of an animal skin costume. It would have been given as a prize honoring the winner of a ritualistic game, while the loser would have been sacrificed. The tomb was unearthed near Trujillo at *Huaca de la Luna*, a massive pyramid-temple where the bodies of 70 similarly doomed warriors have been found.

Like the ancient Egyptians, who liked to bury [*real* cats](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats%5Fin%5Fancient%5FEgypt?ref=hyperallergic.com), the Moches had a thing for felines. The culture, which flourished between the 1st and 7th centuries CE, revered Ocelots, Margays, Pampas, and Pumas as symbols of leadership and power, often [interring objects](http://www.nga.gov.au/EXHIBITION/Incas/Default.cfm?IRN=231327&BioArtistIRN=91411&MnuID=SRCH&ViewID=2&ref=hyperallergic.com) inspired by them in the tombs of the elite. That of the ruler known as the [Lord of Sipán](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%5Fof%5FSip%C3%A1n?ref=hyperallergic.com), discovered in northern Peru, is filled with objects embellished with cat faces. These animals bore all the qualities a great warrior could hope for: stealth, class, and killer instincts — you know, kind of like [Choupette](http://www.theweeklings.com/edickson/2013/10/15/an-ode-to-thundercat-choupette-lagerfeld-and-why-we-love-cats/?ref=hyperallergic.com).