Chimú

Chimú culture
Chimor
Culture
1100–1470
Chimú pottery and ceramics, Chan Chan, Gold ceremonial dress, A map of Chimu cultural influence within Peru.
Capital		Chan Chan
Languages		Mochica, Quingnam
Religion		Polytheist
Political structure		Culture
Historical era		pre-Columbian
•	Established	1100
•	Disestablished	1470
Preceded by Succeeded by Moche culture Inca society

The Chimú culture was centered on Chimor with the capital city of Chan Chan, a large adobe city in the Moche Valley of present-day Trujillo, Peru. The culture arose about 900. The Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui led a campaign which conquered the Chimú around 1470.

This was just fifty years before the arrival of the Spanish in the region. Consequently, Spanish chroniclers were able to record accounts of Chimú culture from individuals who had lived before the Inca conquest. Similarly, archaeological evidence suggest Chimor grew out of the remnants of the Moche culture; early Chimú pottery had some resemblance to that of the Moche. Their ceramics are all black, and their work in precious metals is very detailed and intricate.

The Chimú resided on the north coast of Peru: "It consists of a narrow strip of desert, 20 to 100 miles wide, between the Pacific and the western slopes of the Andes, crossed here and there by short rivers which start in the rainier mountains and provide a series of green and fertile oases." The valley plains are very flat and well-suited to irrigation, which is probably as old as agriculture here. Fishing was also very important and was almost considered as important as agriculture.

The Chimú were known to have worshipped the moon and it is believed they considered it more powerful than the sun, which was preferred by the Inca Empire. Offerings played an important role in religious rites. A common object for offerings, as well as one used by artisans, was the shell of the Spondylus shellfish, which live only in the warm coastal waters off present-day Ecuador. It was associated with the sea, rainfall, and fertility. Spondylus shells were also highly valued and traded by the Chimú people.

The Chimú are best known for their distinctive monochromatic pottery and fine metal working of copper, gold, silver, bronze, and tumbaga (copper and gold). The pottery is often in the shape of a creature, or has a human figure sitting or standing on a cuboid bottle. The shiny black finish of most Chimú pottery was achieved by firing the pottery at high temperatures in a closed kiln, which prevented oxygen from reacting with the clay.