essay

Changing priorities within the Chimu state: the role of irrigation agriculture

origins and development of the andean stateCambridge [Cambridgeshire]Published In 1987 • Pages: 111-120

By: Pozorski, Thomas George.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
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.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Water supply
Land use
Tillage
Sociocultural trends
Location
Administrative agencies
Warfare
State enterprise
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Chimu
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2015
RegionThe area the document pertains to
South America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central Andes
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Sarah Berry; 2014
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1976-1979
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1100-530 BP (AD 900-1470)
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Ascope and Trujillo provinces (Chicama and Moche valleys), La Libertad, Peru
NotesAdditional notes
Thomas Pozorski
For bibliographical references see document 39:[Haas, Pozorski, and Pozorski] (1987, References cited)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
86019332
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Chimu