Why the Chimu State of the Northern Coast of Peru Failed: Rapid Expansion Is Not Always Enough

Summary

In the last 1000 years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1532, the expansionist states of the Andean region of Peru—like those of the Old World--appear to have grown incrementally, flourished briefly, and disappeared. Despite intensive study in the 1970’s and since, the inner structure and dynamics of Chimor have eluded archaeologists because there is limited information from European observers and because there are many questions archaeologists have not yet addressed. At its maximum, Chimor extended some 1200 km. from Carabayllo north of Lima to the Zarumilla River at the modern frontier with Ecuador. It had conquered and administered polities which spoke different languages: Quingam, the Muchic-speaking heartland of Lambayeque and Jequetepeque, and the valleys of the far north where Tallan and Sec were spoken. South of the Santa River, Quechua may have been a common language. In this region the economic structure differed. A study of new data and a reexamination of old evidence suggest that Chimor’s successes arose from its social and political structure, much like those of its predecessors, the Moche and Lambayeque. However, the seeds of its defeat by the Inka lay in these same institutions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21279