essay

The development of Chimu administration in Chan Chan

origins and development of the andean stateCambridge [Cambridgeshire] • Published In 1987 • Pages: 97-110

By: Klymyshyn, Alexandra M. Ulana.

Abstract
Architectural remains at Chan Chan provide the basis for diagnosing administrative organization and changes wrought by the expansion of the Chimu empire, divided for this purpose into two stages. Few artifacts can be associated with administrators other than wooden staffs and vessels for [i]chicha[/i] (maize beer), so identification of administrative rooms is based mainly on their form and their association with other architectural remains. Chan Chan has ten monumental compounds, thirty-four elite compounds, and numerous small irregular agglutinated rooms (SIAR). Courts with U-shaped structures and storerooms in monumental and elite compounds are assumed to have been for administrative activities. A relative chronology is presented for the construction of monumental and elite compounds, and storage capacity is charted over time. Capacity was highest when the Laberinto compound was in use. It has two entrances and lacks a burial platform, so it probably wasn’t used as a palace. It probably was built at the start of the second stage of imperial expansion, and could have served to store tribute surpluses redistributed to lower-class residents of Chan Chan. U-shaped structures and elite compounds appear with the first stage of expansion, but there are more of each after the second expansion, along with a new type of elite compound without burial platforms, smaller elite compounds, and isolated [i]arcones[/i] (smaller U-shaped structures, with bins). These changes reflect the expansion of the administrative hierarchy, evidently with two levels added in the second phase: administrators in Type A elite compounds and those in the isolated [i]arcones[/i].
Subjects
Administrative agencies
Public structures
Miscellaneous facilities
Housing
Warehousing
Cities
Classes
tradition
Chimu
HRAF PubDate
2015
Region
South America
Sub Region
Central Andes
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Archaeologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Sarah Berry; 2014
Field Date
1983
Coverage Date
1100-530 BP (AD 900-1470)
Coverage Place
Chan Chan, Huanchaco, Trujillo province (Moche Valley), La Libertad, Peru
Notes
Alexandra M. Ulana Klymyshyn
For bibliographical references see document 39:[Haas, Pozorski, and Pozorski] (1987, References cited)
LCCN
86019332
LCSH
Chimu