Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
REGIONAL KINGDOMS
The Wari were eventually replaced by a gaggle of small nation-states that thrived from
about 1000 until the Inca conquest of the early 15th century. One of the biggest and best
studied of these are the Chimú of the Trujillo area, whose capital was the famed Chan Chan
(
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)
, the largest adobe city in the world. Their economy was based on agriculture
and they had a heavily stratified society with a healthy craftsman class, which produced
painted textiles and beautifully fashioned pottery that is distinctive for its black stain.
Closely connected to the Chimú are the Sicán from the Lambayeque area, renowned me-
tallurgists who produced the
tumi
- a ceremonial knife with a rounded blade used in sacri-
fices. (The knife has since become a national symbol in Peru and replicas can be found in
crafts markets everywhere.)
To the south, in the environs of Lima, the Chancay people (1000-1500) produced fine,
geometrically patterned lace and crudely humorous pottery, in which just about every fig-
ure seems to be drinking.
In the highlands, several other cultures were significant during this time. In a relatively
isolated and inaccessible patch of the Utcubamba Valley, in the northern Andes, the cloud-
forest-dwelling Chachapoyas people (
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)
erected the expansive mountain settle-
ment of Kuélap (
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), one of the most intriguing and significant highland ruins in
the country. To the south, several small
altiplano
(Andean plateau) kingdoms situated near
Lake Titicaca left impressive
chullpas
(funerary towers). The best remaining examples are
at Sillustani (
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)
and Cutimbo (
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)
.
The formation of chiefdoms in the Amazon began during this period, too.
Guns, Germs & Steel,
the Pulitzer Prize-winning
book by Jared Diamond is a thoughtful, biological
examination of why some European societies tri-
umphed over so many others. The battle for Ca-
jamarca and Atahualpa's capture by the Spanish is
discussed at length.
