Women in Opposition: The Sociopolitical Implications of Loro Female Face-neck Jars of Middle Horizon South Coastal Peru

Abstract

The production and use of Loro ceramics in the Middle Horizon (c. ad 650–1000) south coast of Peru persisted during a period of cultural conflict as the highland Wari empire annexed this region. Primarily residing in the Las Trancas valley, just beyond the locus of Wari control, the Loro developed tight ethnic bonds and seem to have maintained autonomy for the duration of the empire's presence. Loro ceramics embody the culture's development of a local identity, particularly evident in face-neck jars, one-handled vessels consisting of a modelled human head atop a globular body. With standardized facial features, a range of reductive motifs and a tendency toward female representation, Loro face-neck jars contrast markedly with similar Wari vessels depicting individuals dressed in elite male costume and bearing symbols of Wari state religion. A significant percentage of Loro face-neck jars are sexed or gendered female, an unusual occurrence in Andean visual culture. This article frames these objects within Andean constructs of gender complementarity, arguing that Loro female face-neck jars visually declared their gendered opposition to Wari, protecting their autonomy through the implicit acquiescence and complementarity of femininity.