During the Early Horizon, the north Peruvian coastal valleys were under the influence of the Chavín culture. As we said in the last post, the Chavín were people from the highlands, but created a pan-Andean movement that also included cultural features from these coastal areas, in particular from the
Cupisnique, the inhabitants from these valleys that were renowned for their ceramics and clay/adobe architecture found particularly in the Moche river valley. The Cupisnique continued to exist under Chavín influence until 500 BCE, when they declined from unknown reasons; shortly after, the Chavín also were collapsing and the region saw the emergence of new regional cultures. The main one, whose core area was also the Moche valley, was the
Salinar. They expanded the irrigation systems in the area and built several small and fortified towns, which seems to indicate that they lived in troubled times. To the north, in the coastal deserts and valleys near the modern Ecuadorian border, another contemporaneous culture emerged, the
Vicús, also notorious for their expanding irrigation systems and metalworking. Both cultures declined in the first centuries CE, when two new cultures emerged roughly in the same area: the
Gallinazo/Virú culture and the Moche, the latter becoming the dominating power in the region.
Traditionally, the Moche were regarded as a single polity, whose capital was on the Moche valley (hence their name), that eventually conquered all the north Peruvian coast, but more recent studies presented a quite different picture First, there was actually several Moche political entities that emerged more or less at the same time, each organized around river basin so they were a kind “valley states”. Thus, just like the contemporaneous Maya, the Moche had a complex cultural unity, but were politically divided. While there are at least four or five identified “valley states”, usually the archeologists point to these distinct Moche societies as southern (encompassing the Moche and Chicana valleys) and the northern ones (Jequetepeque, Lambayeque and Piura valleys), giving their cultural differences.
Early Moche. Taken from Silverman and Isbell (Eds.)The Handbook of South American Archaeology.
Second, the archeological evidence point that the Moche coexisted with Salinar for couple centuries and, particularly, the Gallinazo culture for all their existence, sharing valleys and even their own cities; recent genetic studies also shows that there were not significant differences between the Gallinazo and Moche populations. Thus, more than a distinct society/people, the Moche probably were the region’s ruling elite, sharing a similar cultural pattern that was distinct from the common people; some archeologists also pose the hypothesis that what we understand as Moche was actually a part of the Salinar and Gallinazo peoples that developed a new ideology, ceremonies and rituals to emphasize their status and ensure their legitimacy as rulers; over time, the common people was slowly incorporating Moche’s cultural characteristics.
The Moche society was highly stratified, dividing itself into a noble elite, the commoners, and the poor. The first concentrated wealth and held political, religious and military power; below were the commoners, who were neither rich nor poor; they had certain assets and worked as artisans but could not participate in the activities of the elite. The poor were mostly the farmers, fishermen and brewers (the Moche produced a corn-based beer called
chicha), and most of them couldn’t even live in Moche cities. The Moche ideology and religion certainly played a central role legitimizing this hugely unequal society, but by later times the social system proved to be unstable, when riots and unrest became more common.
One of the most important key elements of Moche power was their control over the region’s irrigation systems. In fact, they developed new techniques and significantly expanded the canals, ensuring that this was possibly the richest region in the Andean region by their time giving their superior agricultural output. Some researchers say that we can properly call the Moche as “hydraulic states”, giving how the control of the canals was important both for their prosperity and state-building.
This wealth also reflected on their artistic achievements, whose masterpieces were in many ways incomparable to any previous or later Andean civilizations. The Moche ceramic art is singular in the region, being one of the few pre-Columbian adorned with figurative and narrative images (the Maya being another famous one for the same reason), depicting mythological stories and events, religious ceremonies and other social activities, battles, sex scenes, and the portrait of important people like rulers, priests and warriors. They were also quite prolific using textiles and in metalworks, making excellent and impressive jewels and artifacts who also surpassed in quality any previous and even later works. In the architecture, the Moche built impressive and planned cities with adobe bricks, that included huge platforms (called by the Incas as
wak’as or
huacas) with temples, royal compounds and burials, all richly decorated with colorful carvings, friezes and murals. A good example of the Moche wealth can be seen by looking a historical fact that happened much later, in the 17th century, when looters called
huaqueiros diverted the river Moche to crack open the massive
Huaca del Sol and proceed to take almost 2 tons of gold, silver and other precious stones, according to the Spanish colonial authorities.
Reconstruction of the Huaca de la Luna, located on the opposite side of the Huaca del Sol in Moche, the capital of the Southern Moche. From
Proyecto Arqueológico Huacas del Sol y de La Luna, available online.
The northern Moche were wealthier than their southern neighbors, giving how richly were their burials and art. The reason was precisely the fact that the each river system there had more irrigation potential and agricultural output than all combined southern valleys. The Piura valley polity (capital in Loma Negra site) declined after some time for unknown reasons (archeologists suggest that Moche elite there failed in imposing their ideology and thus reverted to other cultural patterns) and the core of the northern Moche was in the Lambayeque (whose capital was Sipán) and Jequetepete (San José del Moro or Pacatnamu) valleys. There are few evidences that these northern Moche tried to expand militarily against each other; they were more concerned in expanding the agricultural potential inside each valley building new canals. Their elite most likely intermarried and fought each other giving the circumstances, but apparently lived in an established common ground.
The southern Moche, on the other hand, were conquerors. Since early times, the polity in Moche valley expanded over southern valleys, going as far as the Huarmey valley, but also north, conquering the Chicana valley polity and possibly even the northern Jequetepete and Lambayeque states (thus unifying all Moche) for a brief time. The reason for their expansionism is likely related to the fact that these southern valleys provide less irrigation and agricultural potential, thus giving an impetus to the conquest of neighboring valleys.
Moche at their maximum extent. Taken from Solomon and Schwartz (Eds.) The Cambridge history of the Native Peoples of the Americas, vol. III: South America.
Around the 6th century CE, the Moche entered in decline. Although certainly several elements played a role, researchers like to point that during the century environmental changes (likely related to the world-wide
extreme weather events in 535-536 CE) led by intense El Niño events and ultimately provoked a thirty-year drought that put extreme stress over the highly stratified Moche social system, giving rise to social unrest and rebellions. In fact, even their art and iconography changed during this moment, since most likely the Moche elites tried to find new elements to legitimize their status and social organization. Nonetheless, the result of these catastrophic events was the collapse of the southern Moche, who were eclipsed by their northern counterparts. The latter received many refugees from the south and reformed their old polities, building a new capital in Pampa Grande (Lambayeque valley) which in many ways represented a last and desperate collective effort to survive within the old framework of Moche society. This new valley state lasted for a century and around 700 CE the Moche culture disappeared.
Around this time, there is an increasingly expansion of
Wari influence in the region. The Wari were a polity from the central Andes and a major culture from the Middle Horizon, and this increased influence coincides with the second wave of expansion of that empire. However, most of the historians and archeologists argue that the Wari arrived when the Moche were on the verge or already collapsed, thus more taking opportunity from the power vacuum instead of imposing a full-scale military invasion. Wari influence was visible in the new style of ceramics and architecture, changing many aspects of these northern coastal peoples despite that effective control lasted for few generations (possibly 50-60 years at maximum).
In the ancient northern Moche lands, where Wari political control and influence was more limited, a new polity emerged at the same time in the Lambayeque valley called Sicán. According to legends collected by Spanish chroniclers centuries later, the Sicán was founded by a mythical noble called Naylamp, who came by the sea (much likely from north in modern-day Ecuador). Interestingly, recent genetic studies have confirmed that this new state was formed by a foreign elite. Nonetheless, the new dynasty established a new kingdom to rule these old Moche peoples and was consolidated around 900 CE, when the Wari empire declined and they established themselves as the new regional power, building a new capital in Batán Grande and becoming one of the richer and prosperous polities from that time. By mid-11th century, the Sicán kingdom was declining (again, environmental and social unrest are usually pointed as causes), but it was able to reform into a new Sicán kingdom (probably with a different ruling dynasty) around the new capital in Túcume. This later Sicán kingdom would last couple more centuries, until its final demise under the Chimú.
The southern Moche lands were incorporated directly by the Wari Empire, and thus felt its influence much more intensely. Nonetheless, by the time that Sicán emerged in the north, another obscure culture also emerged in the south, whose capital was in Casma, on the valley of the same name (and quite closely to the old capital of Sechín/Casma culture), but it proved to be precarious and short-lived polity. The region would only become united with the ascension of the Chimú (or Chimor) Empire by the early Late Intermediate Horizon.
Because the Chimú lasted for a long time, being annexed by the Incas merely 50-60 years before the Spanish conquest, the conquistadors found many stories and even people who were alive by that time. The Spanish chronists wrote that the Incas called the people there
Yunka (or
Yunga), which was a reference to them being people of the coastal valley. They also spoke a different language that was very distinct from the Quechua (spoken by the Incas and basically all Peruvian highlands) or the Aymara (spoken largely in the southern Inca lands, particularly in modern-day Bolivia and northern Chile). Nonetheless, there was some differences in the language of the more northern (in the lands of the old northern Moche) and the southern (going from the Chimú core area to as south as neighboring areas of modern Lima) areas: in the first, they spoke Mochica (
Muchik), which was supposedly the same old language of the old Moche, while in the latter they spoke
the lengua pescadora, or
Quingnam, spoken by the Chimú. Despite their differences, they were similar, probably belonging to the same linguistic family. Thus, we can reconstruct Chimú history using both those historical sources and also the archeological evidence.
The Chimú emerged around 900 CE, whose core area was at the very center of the old southern Moche kingdom: the Chimú capital, Chan Chan, is located few kilometers northwest from the old Moche capital. The kingdom’s mythical foundation was strikingly similar to the story about Sicán: a foreign noble, called Taycanamo, arrived in the Moche valley in a raft coming from the other side of the sea (tough more probably Ecuador), earned respect from the local population, married the chief’s daughter and was elected their leader, establishing a new dynasty. His son and grandson consolidated the emerging kingdom, expanding to the entire valley and neighboring regions, though archeological evidence point that the Chimú was essentially a small regional polity until 12th century.
Just like the old Moche, the main source of wealth for the Chimú was their huge agricultural output ensured by the large and complex system of irrigation. In fact, the Chimú state was directly involved and responsible for building new and expanding old canals and irrigated fields, also establishing small agricultural colonies whose workers were paid and fed by the state. The Chimú capabilities in these works were impressive, since some canals built were more than 80km long and in their peak they had more than 200 km² of irrigated area, which was surprisingly superior to what it was in the same area in the 1990s and possibly even today. To complement the agricultural output, the Chimú also made use of its large marine resources. Fishing was an essential economic activity, they hunted marine mammals and birds for their meat, bones and pelt, and used fish heads, guano, and carcass of dead marine animals as fertilizer for their fields, increasing its productivity even more.
To be able to mobilize people to these large works, the Chimú developed a strong and centralized state. Not much about their government is known, but we are certain that the Chimú kingdom was a secular state (so priests were not the rulers; archeologists argue that the old Moche, in its last days, was a kind of “transitional” state between the old theocratic chiefdoms to these new “proper” kingdoms). The ruler was hereditary and heirs chosen among the sons and brothers; there are some suggestions about some form of dual hierarchy of power. The ruler was called
Çie-quic (great lord; the Inca called him
Chimor Capac), the nobility below him was called
Alæc, then we had some courtesans called
Pixllca who were free from manual labor and taxes. The common workers were called
Paraeng and below then we had the
Yana, which seems to be something like servants and had the lowest status in Chimú society. Just like the old Moche, their society was quite unequal and, considering their mythology (which says that each of these social classes came from specific stars), we can safely argue for some form of caste system.
The Chimú also inherited much of the old cultural traditions from the Moche, though they also had their unique characteristics. Artisans and artists had a special status in Chimú society and likely were paid and fed by the state, living in specialized quarters and workshops in the large cities; when the Chimú conquered new territories, the most skilled artisans and artists from these new lands were moved to Chan Chan. Thus, they were skilled and renowned for their artistic achievements, even though their art did not achieved the same level of excellence from the old Moche. They were prolific in textiles, metalworking and pottery; the latter was mass produced in molds and had a distinct style of being all-black. The Chimú also were remarkable in their architecture, using much of the same materials of Moche (adobe bricks) but developing a distinct architectural style: instead of using large pyramidal platforms with building complexes above, the Chimú constructed their buildings in the same level but surrounded with huge walls decorated with colorful figures in bas-relief with geometric or figurative motifs, some mimicking their textile patterns. Chan Chan was their largest city, being the largest adobe/brick city in Pre-Columbian Americas with a population that may have been as high as 80k people.
Archeological remains of Chan Chan. The largest walled compounds are the remains of the so-called ciudadelas. From National Geographic, available online.
There is some discussion about the precise routes and dates for Chimú expansionism, but in general researchers point that around 1200 CE the Chimú began its imperial conquests. They probably expanded first to the north, conquering parts or the entire Sicán Kingdom, then they turned to the south, conquering all the valleys (ruled by chiefdoms and small valley-states) down as far as Casma or Fortaleza. By mid-14th century, they again resumed the northern expansion, conquering as far north as Tumbes and possibly even some areas in modern-day Ecuador, since this area produced essential resources for the empire, in particular
Spondylus shells that had high religious value. After each conquest, the Chimú would consolidate their expansion by building (or rebuilding) a regional capital, whose status was second only to Chan Chan; by 15th century, there were three of these, Tucume, Farfán and Manchan.
Chimú main centers and routes of expansion. Taken from Silverman and Isbell (Eds.)The Handbook of South American Archaeology.
Around 1450-1460 CE, a new and ambitious
Çie-quic ascended to the throne, possibly the 11th from the dynasty established long ago by Tacaynamo, called Minchançaman (or Minchancaman). His rule started during a troubled times, not long after or during the first Inca raid against Chimú territory led by Capac Yupanqui (the brother of the powerful emperor
Pachacuti). The resistance against the incursion was poor because their army was concentrated in the northern edges of the empire, consolidating their newly acquired lands.
Minchançaman was aware of the existential menace that the Inca posed to his empire. While Chimú was the one of the largest and more powerful polities in the Andean region (second only to the Inca) and had an extensive system of fortifications to protect strategic crossroads and important cities, Minchançaman knew that his empire was quite vulnerable to an Inca invasion; coming from the highlands, they could attack from several places at the same time and, more importantly, could easily block the springs in the mountains that were the vital source of water to Chimú irrigated fields and cities. Taking advantage from the constant domestic unrest of the expanding Inca Empire, Minchaçaman decided to act aggressively.
We are not certain about what was his objective in these campaigns, nor the exact routes taken, but it seems that he tried to expand to all directions. In the north, he completed the conquest of the Piura region and advanced into the rainforest in the Ecuadorian lowlands; to the east, he tried to conquer many mountain passes as he could, so he could mitigate Chimú vulnerability on that border and ensure the regular flow of water, and seems to have even tried to raid the Inca city of Cajamarca; finally, he seems to have been particularly concerned in conquering southern lands in the modern-day Lima and the famous oracle in Pachakamaq and perhaps even considered advancing up to the nearby highlands, were the rebellious
Chanka maintained an uneasy relation under the Inca.
Minchançaman’s actions soon caught attention of the old Inca emperor Pachacuti, who decided to mount a full-scale invasion force by 1462, whose size is estimated between 100-30k men, and gave the command to his young son and heir apparent,
Topa Inca, aided by his most trusted and competent generals. The Inca force outnumbered by far the army of Minchançaman (around 15k men), but it had to quell few rebellions within the empire before coming to Cajamarca, in the highlands, where Topa Inca mounted his center of operations. Again, information about the Inca-Chimú war is incomplete and often contradictory, but it seems that first Topa Inca sent a column attack from the south; this force advanced swiftly until Paramonga fortress (the most impressive fortification from that time), laid siege but was defeated after a bloody battle against Chimú reinforcements.
Giving the impasse and defeat in the south, Topa Inca invaded with his main force from Cajamarca, defeating several Chimú fortifications until the last one before Chan Chan. In this last bastion, the Inca suffered another defeat; to mitigate the hit in his army prestige and moral, Topa Inca marched north, raiding and burning as much as he could in Jequetepete and Piura valleys before returning to Cajamarca. There, he changed his plans and decided to conquer the northern tribes and chiefdoms in modern-day Ecuador; it is possible that during this time there was an armistice between the two empires. After a successful campaign in the north and the conquest of Quito Kingdom, Topa Inca was recalled to Cuzco in 1466, when he was elevated to co-emperorship. After few years fighting tropical tribes and chiefdoms in Ecuador, and dealing with unrest within the empire, Topa Inca prepared another invasion against Chimú.
The Inca-Chimú war resumed with Inca conquest of Tumbes, who back then was ruled by a female
kuraka (chief), opening the northern route to invade Chimú. Topa Inca then divided his army in new columns and returned to Cajamarca. In the south, an Inca force resumed the invasion of Chimú, this time finally sieging and taking down Paramonga, and thus quickly advanced in the northern valleys; there are few battles recorded won by the Incas. The northern force marched south at same time but faced more challenges from the desertic terrain than from organized resistance. We are uncertain about which of these forces came first to Chan Chan, but in 1470 (or 1476) the Chimú Empire was finally conquered by the Inca. Minchançaman was captured and taken as hostage to Cuzco; his sons became governors of his former lands under Inca supervision. Chan Chan itself was sacked and its riches transferred to Cuzco; likewise, many Chimú artists were also taken to live and work in Cuzco. There was some rebellions and organized resistance to the Inca occupation afterwards, but the conquest was consolidated during Topa Inca rule as emperor.