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The
ancient Chimú kingdom (700-1400 AD) founded their capital
by the banks of the Moche River in the department of La Libertad
and called it Jang-Jang, which in the ancient Mochica language
means "sun-sun".
Chan Chan, which spans an area of 20 square km, is the largest
mud-brick citadel dating back to the pre-Hispanic era. To
build it, the Chimú architects used clay, mud, pebbles,
wood, reeds, straw and cane, materials which enable the citadel
to blend in with the sandy coasts.
The complex is made up of many cities within a city, each
of which has its own single entrance which leads down a corridor
that opens up into other passageways lining walls and buildings
featuring some marvelous rectangular architecture: inner patios,
residences, administrative buildings, temples, platforms and
storehouses. The walls were decorated with haut-relief friezes
done in geometric and animal figures. The T-shaped platform
that housed the king's burial chamber was the most important
construction in the complex. The citadel was surrounded by
outlying quarters which housed the kingdom's producers and
servants.
The separate cities today have been given the names of the
archaeologists who studied them (Rivero, Tschudi, Bandelier,
Uhle, Tello). The Rivero city was the seat of Minchancamán,
the last of the Chimú rulers, who was captured by the
Incas and taken to Cuzco, according to the Spanish chroniclers.
The city was the urban center of a vast regional state which
covered half of the Peruvian coast, stretching from Tumbes
on the Ecuadorian border down as far south as Lima. All roads
branched out from Chan Chan. |
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