Chan Chan: Andean Desert City Open Access

Chan Chan flourished on the north coast of Peru between a.d. 1000 and 1500, as the capital of an empire second only to the Incan in extent. Its crumbling adobe walls cover six square kilometers. This multiauthored volume summarizes the results of a five-year program of archaeological investigations to reconstruct the growth of the city, identify the functions of the various kinds of structures, and reconstruct the sociopolitical and economic organization. Chapters discuss the ciudadelas, ten large, walled compounds, each containing the palace and tomb of a ruler; the burial platforms; the elite compounds; an area containing small rooms occupied by the laboring class; and the storage facilities. Changes in the proportions of adobe bricks provided a relative chronology that allowed tracing changes in the scope of storage facilities and the expansion of the city. This, in turn, shed light on the economic structure. Analyses of faunal remains, irrigation systems, and eth-nohistoric documents aided in interpreting the evolution and character of the state. The authors envisage a hierarchical society, in which a powerful elite wielded absolute control over the production, storage, and redistribution of all resources, including labor. At its peak, the Chimú state controlled at least 66 percent of the irrigated land along the coast (p. 25). Around a.d. 1465, it was conquered by the Inca, who adopted several Chimú administrative features. Although containing more details than general readers may desire, this book exemplifies how archaeologists reconstruct intangible aspects of prehistoric societies and it provides much insight into the history, economics, and sociopolitical structure of this remarkable pre-Columbian civilization.