essay
Lower-class social and economic organization at Chan Chan
chan chan: andean desert city • Albuquerque • Published In 2010 • Pages: 145-175
By: Topic, John R..
Abstract
Starting from the proposition that the urban lower class is key to understanding pre-industrial cities, a model is constructed for the characteristics, organization, and orientation of the lower class in Chan Chan. An overview of the urban settlement pattern incorporates excavation data, with descriptions of rooms-on-platforms and SIAR (small irregularly agglutinated rooms), administrative features, barrios, the layouts of various households, workshops (some with an [i]arcón[/i], a type of U-shaped structure with bins), wells, and access patterns within the site. SIAR residents came from several different groups, including traders and [i]mit'a[/i] (corvée) laborers that formed a social class the author calls the urban proletariat. The urban residences of Chan Chan are compared with several rural ones. Photos of Chan Chan and some of the excavations are included here.
- 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
- 1969-1974
- Coverage Date
- 1100-524 BP (AD 900-1476)
- Coverage Place
- Chan Chan, Huanchaco, Trujillo province (Moche Valley), La Libertad, Peru
- Notes
- John R. Topic, Jr.
- For bibliographical references see document 18:[Moseley and Day] (2010, References)
- Reprint of 1982 copy
- LCCN
- 80054567
- LCSH
- Chanchán (Peru)