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Some Formal Correspondences between the Imperial Architecture of the Wari and Chimu Cultures of Ancient Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gordon F. McEwan
Gordon F. McEwan*
Affiliation:
Pre-Colombian Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, 1703 32nd St. N.W., Washington, DC 20007
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Abstract

The degree and nature of the influence of the Middle Horizon Wari empire (ca. A.D. 540-900) on the culture history of Peru's north coast has been a topic of much heated debate over the past two decades. The arguments have tended to polarize around the issue of whether or not there was a Wari invasion of the north coast. Those arguing against the invasion hypothesis have claimed that there was no direct Wari influence on north coast cultural history. Those arguing in favor of the invasion hypothesis have attributed nearly all changes evident in the archaeological record to the results of a Wari military conquest. An attempt is made here to decouple the issues of Wari influence and Wari invasion. In an analysis of the architecture of the Wari imperial administrative sites and the ciudadela architecture of Chan Chan, capital of the north coastal Chimu empire, some remarkable similarities are seen. The shift from the pre-Middle Horizon Moche (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 650) pattern of pyramid-dominated ceremonial centers to the Late Intermediate period (ca. A.D. 900-1476) ciudadela form of the Chimu is seen as a result of conscious imitation of the prestige Wari imperial style. It is argued that this imitation is a likely result regardless of whether or not there was a Wari invasion.

Para intentar comprender la influencia de una cultura sobre otra en la prehistoria, los arqueólogos frecuentemente cuentan con los estudios de las influencias estilísticas que se ven en colecciones de artefactos. Estos estudios han puesto énfasis sobre objetos portátiles como la cerámica. Otra clase de información que no ha recibido tanta atención pero todavía tiene el potencial para revelar mucha información sobre el proceso social es la arquitectura. En este artículo el análisis arquitectónico es aplicado a la interpretación de la evolución cultural de la costa norte del Perú. El grado y modo de la influencia del imperio Wari del Horizonte Medio (540-900 D.C.) sobre la historia cultural de la costa norte del Perú ha sido un tema del debate durante las dos décadas pasadas. Los argumentos tienen una propensión a polarizarse alrededor la cuestión si hubo o no una invasión Wari de la costa norte. Los que no aceptan la hipótesis de la invasión han reclamado que no hubo influencia Wari directa en la historia cultural de la costa norte. Los que apoyan la hipótesis de la invasión han atribuido casi todos los cambios que son evidentes en el registro arqueológico a las consecuencias de la conquista militar Wari. Se hace aqui un intento de separar las cuestiones de la influencia Wari de las de la invasión Wari. En un análisis arquitectónico de los sitios administrativos imperiales Wari y de la arquitectura ciudadela de Chan Chan, la capital del imperio Chimu de la costa norte, se puede ver semejanzas notables. El cambio arquitectónico desde los centros ceremoniales dominados por el chanclo de pirámides de la cultura Moche (100 A.C.-650 D.C.), a la forma ciudadela del Período Intermedio Tardío Chimu (900-1476 D.C.), se puede ver como una resulta de una imitación consciente del estilo prestigio imperial Wari. Este estudio demuestra que esta imitación es una resulta probable, no obstante si hubo o no una invasión Wari.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 1990 , pp. 97 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1990

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