essay
Changing priorities within the Chimu state: the role of irrigation agriculture
origins and development of the andean state • Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] • Published In 1987 • Pages: 111-120
By: Pozorski, Thomas George.
Abstract
Intensive investigation of canal systems and associated structures in the Chicama and Moche valleys and of the associated structures provide the basis for this study of the role of irrigation canals in the expansion of the Chimu state. The buildings appear to have been for administration of the construction of canals and field systems and, at times, for managing agricultural production. Due to poor engineering, not all canals carried water regularly, and fields were left unused. The maximum extent of the canal system is not correlated with the time of the maximum territorial extent of the empire, but with its first phase of expansion (circa A.D. 1300), after which the cultivated area shrank to approximately its modern limits. The impetus for agricultural expansion may have been as a way to gain or maintain status. The subsequent push to expand state territory is seen as a shift in emphasis to gaining control over craft production, as evidenced by the growth in the number of storerooms, [i]audiencias[/i], elite compounds, and small irregular agglutinated rooms (SIAR) at Chan Chan.
- 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
- 1976-1979
- Coverage Date
- 1100-530 BP (AD 900-1470)
- Coverage Place
- Ascope and Trujillo provinces (Chicama and Moche valleys), La Libertad, Peru
- Notes
- Thomas Pozorski
- For bibliographical references see document 39:[Haas, Pozorski, and Pozorski] (1987, References cited)
- LCCN
- 86019332
- LCSH
- Chimu