Assessment Questions 13.5

The Chimu civilization, also known as the Chimu, was one of the pre-Inka complex societies that developed in South America. The Chimu produced an empire that extended across more than 1,300 km (800 mi) of the western coast of South America, covering the entire northern coast of Peru. The capital of the Chimu was Chan Chan, one of the most impressive urban centers constructed in the ancient world.

Chan Chan, the Chimu capital, was organized as a true city covering approximately 20 km2 (almost 8 mi2) in extent. The city had neighborhoods divided, in part, based on the crafts produced by its inhabitants. Chimu art, represented in ceramics, metallurgy, and weaving, was considered spectacular.

Irrigation was crucial to the development of the Chimu state. The Chimu constructed a sophisticated and monumental complex of irrigation canals to produce a rich harvest for the inhabitants of Chan Chan. The desire of the elite to incorporate surrounding territories into its polity, coupled with the need for additional farmland, likely drove the Chimu expansion across a vast territory. Local irrigation in the Moche valley may not have been sufficient to satisfy the growing population, and the concentration of salt in irrigated lands necessitated the incorporation of new lands into the system.