The moche Temples Of The Sun And The Moon Archaeological Project is one of the largest archaeological research programs in Peru and the Americas since 1991, both in the scope of its objectives and in the range of its initiatives, from archaeological investigations and conservation programs to community outreach efforts. At the heart of the project is the Moche culture's (100 – 800 AD) archeological complex in the coastal desert of northern Peru. The Moche developed the first state-level societies in the Central Andes, which occupies a large part of the desert located between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean mountains. The archaeological complex comprises of two Temples, and an extensive urban sector in between the two, with houses, workshops, streets and open public areas. Huacas, or sacred temples, were the center of the ritual life of ancient Peruvian civilizations, and these two are the largest in the entire American continent.
The Temple of the Sun is an adobe brick temple built by the Moche civilization (100 CE to 800 CE) on the northern coast of what is now Peru. The temple is one of several ruins found near the volcanic peak of Cerro Blanco, in the coastal desert near Trujillo at the Moche Valley. The other major ruin at the site is the nearby Huaca de la Luna, a better-preserved but smaller temple. By 450 CE, eight different stages of construction had been completed on the Temple of the Sun. The technique was additive; new layers of brick were laid directly on top of the old, hence large quantities of bricks were required for the construction. Archeologists have estimated that the Temple was composed of over 130 million adobe bricks and was the largest pre-Columbian adobe structure built in the Americas. The number of different makers' marks on the bricks suggests that over a hundred different communities contributed bricks to its construction. The Temple of the Sun was composed of four main levels. The structure was expanded and rebuilt by different rulers over the course of time. It is believed to have originally been about 50 meters in height and 340m. by 160 m. at the base. Located at the center of the Moche capital city, the temple appears to have been used for ritual, ceremonial activities and as a royal residence and burial chambers. Archaeological evidence attests to these functions.
The Temple of the Moon, is colored the soft brown of its adobe brickwork. At the time of construction, it was decorated in registers of murals which were painted in black, bright red, sky blue, white, and yellow. The sun and weather has since utterly faded these murals away. Inside the Temple are other murals created in earlier phases of construction. Many of these depict a deity now known as Ayapec. Ayapec is a pre-Quechua word translating as all knowing. "Wrinkle-Face" is the name given to another deity by the later Inca because of the deity's appearance.
Many of the later bricks used in the structure also bear one of over 100 different markings, perhaps corresponding to groups of laborers from different communities. Each "team" was maybe assigned a mark to put on their bricks, and these were used to count the number of bricks laid for financial as well as (presumably) competitive purposes. This Temple is a large complex of three main platforms, each one serving a different function. The northernmost platform, at one time brightly decorated with a variety of murals and reliefs, was destroyed by looters. The surviving central and southern platforms have been the focus of most excavations. The central platform has yielded multiple high-status burials interred with a variety of fine ceramics, suggesting that it was used as a burial ground for the Moche religious elite. The grave goods found at the Temple of the Sun suggest it may have been used for the interment of political rulers.
The eastern platform, black rock and adjacent patios were the sites of human sacrifice rituals. These are depicted in a variety of Moche visual arts, most notably painted ceramics. After the sacrifice, bodies of victims would be hurled over the side of the Huaca and left exposed in the patios. Researchers have discovered multiple skeletons of adult males at the foot of the rock, all of whom show signs of trauma, usually a severe blow to the head, as the cause of death.

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