Wine with the Curator: Taming the Desert

Join us for an afternoon walk-through of Taming the Desert: Resilience, Religion, and Ancestors in Ancient Peru, led by exhibition curator Luis Muro. Muro will discuss the Moche and Nazca ceramics and textiles drawn from the collections of LACMA and the Fowler. The works depict fantastic creatures, powerful ancestors, and mythological beings—illustrating how ancient Andean societies looked for spiritual meaning and numinous help in an unpredictable and challenging world. The evening will be paired with wine and appetizers in the courtyard.
Luis Muro is a Peruvian anthropological archaeologist and currently a postdoctoral scientist at the Field Museum of Chicago. He holds a Master's and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has worked on the north coast of Peru for more than 15 years, focusing on the Moche civilization. His research interests encompass the study of religion, death, performance, social body and space, as well as absolute dating techniques, Bayesian statistics, remote sensing techniques, and archaeometry.
Image credit: Unidentified artist(s) (Early Nasca, south coast Peru), effigy jar, 100 BCE–600 CE; ceramic; Fowler Museum at UCLA, X862883; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert L. Lucas, Jr.

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