CHAN CHAN

CHAN CHAN

Chan Chan is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. Visitors to Chan Chan can enter the Tschudi Complex, a later citadel. Other Chimú and Moche ruins are also in the area around Trujillo. Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimú kingdom (c. ad 1100–1470) and the largest city in pre - Columbian America. It is situated on the northern coast of present-day Peru, about 300 miles (480 km) north of Lima in the Moche valley, between the Pacific Ocean and the city of Trujillo.

  

The ruins of Chan Chan, which cover nearly 14 square miles (36 square km), are in fairly good condition because the area is usually rainless. The building material used was adobe brick, and the buildings were finished with mud frequently adorned with patterned relief arabesques. The centre of the city consists of several walled citadels, or quadrangles. Each of these contains pyramidal temples, cemeteries, gardens, reservoirs, and symmetrically arranged rooms. These quadrangles presumably were the living quarters, burial places, and storehouses of the aristocracy. Most of the city’s population (artisans and farmers) lived outside the quadrangles in modest quarters of less-durable construction.

Ruled from Chan Chan, the Chimú kingdom was for two centuries the chief state in Peru. It extended approximately from Piura in the north to Paramonga in the south. Its economy was based on agriculture, which in that dry region was supported by irrigation ditches. The Chimú seem to have elaborated a system of social-class stratification. Craftsmen produced fine textiles and gold, silver, and copper objects; a polished blade pottery was mold-made and produced according to standardized designs.

As successors to the Moche civilization, the Chimú spoke Yunca (Yunga, or Moche), a now-extinct language, but had no writing system. Between 1465 and 1470 they came under Inca rule, apparently persuaded that Inca arms were invincible. Chimú historical and mythological traditions were recorded by Spanish writers after the conquest (c. 1532).

In 1998, The "Master Plan for Conservation and Management of the Chan Chan Archeological Complex" was approved by the Peruvian Government. On 28 November 1986, UNESCO designated Chan Chan as a World Heritage Site. Nowadays the ancient structures of Chan Chan are threatened by erosion due to changes in weather patterns — heavy rains, flooding, and strong winds. In particular, the city is severely threatened by storms from El Niño, which cause heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast. The city's ruins are also threatened by earthquakes and looters.