The Sican Capital: Neighborhoods and Urban Organization in Pre-Columbian Peru

Summary

Cities which become capitals of large states provide unique information on the sociopolitical political organization and the nature of power, as they are home to a society’s leaders and central institutions. In the Andes, scholars have highlighted the existence of cities dominated by a centralized single governing institution, like the Moche capital of Pampa Grande; while others have drawn attention to the empty ceremonial centers, such as Cahuachi, main settlement of the Nazca society. A different urban organization model based on extended, low density population has been studied for Mesoamerica but never for the Andes. I present recent work arguing that the capital of the Sican State (800-1375 AD) on the North Coast of Peru presents a dispersed urban pattern with several nuclei. The city is composed by the "Sican Core" that has a monumental center for political-religious activities and the "Greater Sican" forming a dispersed urban pattern with several neighborhoods each with public architecture and residential occupation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20879