Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimú kingdom (AD 850-1470), located on the north coast of Peru. Chan Chan's heyday was between AD 1200 and 1470, when it was conquered by the Inca; there is also evidence of a Tiwanaku colony at Chan Chan.
Chan Chan includes an area of 2.5 square miles, and included some 10 enclosed palace complexes, 35 intermediate or elite residential compounds, and thousands of small rooms. The population has been estimated at 30,000 people or more.
Architecture at Chan Chan
The core area of Chan Chan contains compounds, palaces constructed by and for Chimu kings. Surrounding the compounds are smaller residences of the lower nobility and, in turn, these are surrounded by residential barrios. The barrios housed families of artisans who specialized in metal, shell, stone, wood, and textile working.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to the Inca Empire and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Jackson, Margaret A. 2004 The Chimú Sculptures of Huacas Tacaynamo and El Dragon, Moche Valley, Peru. Latin American Antiquity 15(3):298-322.
Topic, John R. 2003 From Stewards to Bureaucrats: Architecture and Information Flow at Chan Chan, Peru. Latin American Antiquity 14(3):243-274.
