144 Chimú
Learning Objective
- Discuss distinguishing aspects of Chimú religion, craftsmanship, and agriculture
Key Points
- The Chimú expanded to cover a vast area and include many different ethnic groups along the northern coast of modern-day Peru.
- Chimú artisans made notable multi-colored textiles and monochromatic pottery and metalwork.
- In 1470, the Chimú were conquered by the Inca.
- The Chimú worshipped the Moon as the essential deity of fertility, good weather, and bountiful crops.
Terms
Chan Chan
The capital of the Chimú culture. It is in modern-day Peru.
Chimor
The long swath of land along the northern coast of Peru that was ruled by the Chimú elite.
ciudadela
Any one of a number of walled cities in the Chimú capital of Chan Chan where elites consolidated power and artisans lived in organized groups to make prestige goods.
The Chimú were a culture that lasted from approximately 900 CE until 1470 CE along the northern coast of modern-day Peru, centered in the city of Chan Chan. This is not to be confused with the Early Chimú, a related group also known as the Moche that lived in the region until about 800 CE.
The Inca ruler Tupac Inca Yupanqui led a campaign that conquered the Chimú around 1470 CE. This was just fifty years before the arrival of the Spanish in the region. Consequently, Spanish chroniclers were able to record accounts of Chimú culture from individuals who had lived before the Inca conquest. Similarly, archaeological evidence suggests Chimor, the large coastal swath of land inhabited by Chimú culture, grew out of the remnants of Moche culture. Early Chimú ceramics in a high-sheen black, along with detailed and intricate precious metalworking, shared many of the same aspects as Moche craftsmanship.
The mature Chimú culture developed in roughly the same territory where the Moche had existed centuries before, which made the Chimú another coastal culture. It was developed in the Moche Valley south of present-day Lima, northeast of Huarmey, and grew to include central present-day Trujillo, where the bureaucratic and artisanal capital of Chan Chan developed.
The Chimú expansion also incorporated many different ethnic groups, including the Sicán culture, which lasted independently until 1375. At its peak, the Chimú advanced to the limits of the desert coast, to the Jequetepeque Valley in the north, and Carabayallo in the south. Their expansion southward was stopped by the military power of the great valley of Lima.
Agriculture and Bureaucracy
The Chimú expanded and gained power over their 500-year growth through intensive farming techniques and hydraulic works, which joined valleys to form complexes. A few of these landmark agricultural techniques included the following:
- Huachaques: These sunken farms included the removal of the top layer of earth and allowed farmers to work the moist, sandy soil underneath.
- Walk-in wells, similar to those of the Nazca, were developed to draw water.
- Large reservoirs were developed to ret