Chancay culture

The Chancay were a pre-Columbian archeological civilization which developed between the valleys of Fortaleza, Pativilca, Supe, Huaura, Chancay, Chillón, Rimac and Lurin, on the central coast of Peru, from about CE 1000 to 1470.

Not much is known about the Chancay civilization, which developed in the later part of the Inca Empire. This culture emerged after the fall of the Wari civilization. Parts of the southern Chancay area were conquered by the Chimú in the early fifteenth century and in about 1450 A.D. the Incas were occupying both areas. It is believed that the Chancay had a centralized political structure, forming a small regional state. Thus the Chancay culture declined in the fifteenth century to make way for the territorial expansion of the Inca Empire.

Occupying the central coast coastal region of Peru, the Chancay were centered mostly in the Chancay and Chillón valleys, although they also occupied other areas such as the Rimac and Lurin valley areas. The center of the Chancay culture was located 80 kilometers north of Lima. It is a desert region but has fertile valleys bathed by rivers and is rich in resources that allowed for, among other things, extensive agricultural development.

The Chancay developed intense trade relations with other regions, allowing them to interract with other cultures and settlements in a wide area.

The Chancay culture based its economy on agriculture, fishing and trade. Water reservoirs and irrigation canals were built by engineers in order to develop agriculture. As the culture was geographically located on the oceanfront, they were involved in traditional fishing both from the shore as well as further out to sea from their caballitos de totora, an ancient type of watercraft unique to Peru. The Chancay also traded with other regions either by land towards the Peruvian highlands and jungle or by sea to the north and south of their borders.

The settlements in Lauri, Lumbra, Tambo Blanco, Handrail, Pisquillo Chico and Tronconal focused mainly on artisans producing large-scale ceramics and textiles. The Chancay culture is the first of the Peruvian cultures that had mass production of ceramics, textiles and metals such as gold and silver which were ritualistic and domestic goods. They were also noted for their wood carved items.

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