Word: arachnoid
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Duplicates of animals on Moche pottery and murals, anthropomorphized spiders, crabs and owls appeared on tomb artifacts. They embody real people whose ceremonial roles have those creatures' characteristics. In Moche drawings, for instance, a strikingly arachnoid figure, dubbed the Decapitator by archaeologists, clasps a crescent-bladed knife in one hand and a severed head in the other. The supreme example of Moche craftsmanship was found atop the royal corpse in Tomb 3, oldest of the chambers: on each of 10 gold beads is a spider with a human face etched on its back. "The Moche communicated very effectively through their...