Ancient throne room of a powerful Moche woman discovered in Peru

"We call the painted throne room the 'Hall of the Moche Imaginary' because of the extraordinary abundance of subject matter arrayed on every painted surface-walls, pillar faces and the earthen throne itself, which was built between two pillars," says Lisa Trever, associate professor in pre-Columbian art history and archaeology at Columbia University, and a member of the team studying the site.

"We see the repeated importance of that woman's image-including an image right next to the painted throne that shows her seated on an identical painted throne-to suggest that the throne was once occupied by a real woman or perhaps a lineage of women who held power at Pañamarca during the 7th century CE," Trever says.

"Female leaders were not rare in ancient Moche society or in the northern Peruvian dynasties that followed," Trever says.

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