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Erotic Mochica artifact, a ceramic ceremonial vessel representing the sexual union between a man and a woman.  Source: Museo Larco / Google Art Project

Erotic Peruvian Artifacts Being Used to Prevent Cancer in Men

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Health authorities in Peru are teaching men how to inspect their genitals to catch early cancers. To achieve this goal they are using ancient Mochica artifacts depicting sexual scenes. Would you touch the genitals of the Mochicas? This is exactly what the League against Cancer and the Larco Museum in Peru suggest you do in an effort to identify the early development of cancer in men. The new initiative features an exhibition aiming to teach the male public in Peru how to self-examine themselves to catch cancers early enough to be treated.

An example of erotic Mochica artifact, a sculptural ceramic ceremonial vessel that represents a fellatio scene. (Museo Larco / Google Art Project)

An example of erotic Mochica artifact, a sculptural ceramic ceremonial vessel that represents a fellatio scene. (Museo Larco / Google Art Project)

Ancient Erotic Mochica Artifacts Obsessed with Flow

The Mochica culture thrived in northern Peru between 100 and 700 AD, with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo. This agriculturally based society constructed a sophisticated network of irrigation canals to supply their crops with water and their artifacts depict scenes of hunting, fishing, warring, rituals, metalwork, human sacrifice, but most often erotica.

According to a 2004 study titled Moche Sex Pots, published in American Anthropologist, “at least 500 Moche ceramics have sexual themes.” Furthermore, the most frequently depicted sexual act is heterosexual anal sex, “with scenes of vaginal penetration being very rare.” This particular sexual act was exceptionally important to the ancient Mochica agriculturalists because it represented circulation and flow, and irrigation was the number one source of the wealth upon which the empire was founded.

Erotic Mochica artifact depicting a dead man masturbating his enlarged penis. (Museo Larco – Lima, Peru)

Erotic Mochica artifact depicting a dead man masturbating his enlarged penis. (Museo Larco – Lima, Peru)

The Silent Secondary Pandemic Victims

With circulation and flow in mind, scholars consider the sexual Mochica artwork as representing the flow of life fluids through vulnerable human orifices. This concept is also artistically rendered in endless images of defeated warriors losing life fluids through their nose, and people having their eyes torn out by enemies and birds of prey. Losing vital life fluids in Mochica culture, whether water from the land or blood from the body, was like losing a roll of banknotes in modern culture.

Bringing all this ancient sexuality into modern terms, the Global Cancer Observatory indicated that around 8,700 cases of male cancer are discovered each year. However, in 2021 more than ten thousand cases of cancer of the prostate, penis and testicles were registered.

According to Reuters, most concerning is that in “45% of the cases the disease was well developed, with very low chances of being cured.” This is all because of the last two year’s pandemic, which meant prostate cancer victims in Peru didn’t have access to screening sites to identify the disease early enough to be treated.

A sexually active inhabitant of the underworld depicted as an erotic Mochica artifact. (Museo Larco / Google Art Project)

A sexually active inhabitant of the underworld depicted as an erotic Mochica artifact. (Museo Larco / Google Art Project)

Self-Testing to Save Lives: Fighting Cancer with Erotic Mochica Artifacts

José Medina, a urologist oncologist of the League Against Cancer, told memesita that the League against Cancer “call on the population to undergo annual medical examinations in order to have a timely diagnosis.” An organization spokesperson stressed that “an early diagnosis is the line between life and death.” To assure this awful cancer rate drops significantly the group is teaching men how to self-examine themselves.

Wearing a pair of gloves, men are advised to put lubricant on one finger and to assess the area around the rectum and prostate, checking for bumps, soft or hard spots, and other potential abnormalities. To amplify this message, the League Against Cancer will use the huacos portraits of the Mochica culture as a model.

Specialists will teach male members of the public to perform a thorough self-examination looking for changes in the physical appearance of the prostate gland. For all you remote readers, you can follow all the groups activity on their official Facebook page, where the details of the campaign using erotic Mochica artifacts to help men to learn how to inspect themselves to catch early cancers are shared with the public.

Top image: Erotic Mochica artifact, a ceramic ceremonial vessel representing the sexual union between a man and a woman.  Source: Museo Larco / Google Art Project

By Ashley Cowie

 

Comments

I’ve seen the pottery, and don’t agree that all of the rear entry stuff is supposed to be anal.   Is there some other evidence that suggests this?   I don’t see enough detail to identify individual orifi.

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Ashley

Ashley is a Scottish historian, author, and documentary filmmaker presenting original perspectives on historical problems in accessible and exciting ways.

He was raised in Wick, a small fishing village in the county of Caithness on the north east coast of... Read More

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