Moche mural, at the Huaca de la Luna site in Peru. The panels in this painted mural show the 'Decapitator' god of the Moche. Huaca de la Luna (The Temple of the Moon) is thought to have been used by the Moche for religious ceremonies such as human sacrifices. The Moche were a pre-Hispanic people that lived in coastal river valleys in northern Peru. Their civilisation reached its height in the period from 100-700 AD.