>>11323222

(Please read from the start)

“Architecture

Differential architecture of palaces and monumental sites distinguished the rulers from the common people. At Chan Chan, there are ten large, walled enclosures called ciudadelas, or royal compounds, thought to be associated with the kings of Chimor. They are surrounded by adobe walls that are nine meters high,[30] giving the ciudadela the appearance of a fortress.”

>> With a 9 m high wall it surely is a fortress.

“The bulk of the Chimú population (approximately 26,000 people) lived in barrios on the outer edge of the city.[12] They consisted of many single-family domestic spaces with a kitchen, work space, domestic animals, and storage area.

Ciudadelas frequently have U-shaped rooms that consist of three walls, a raised floor, and frequently, a courtyard,[31] and there were often as many as 15 in one palace.[8] In the early Chimú period, the U-shaped areas were found in strategic places for controlling the flow of supplies from storerooms, but it is unlikely that they served as storage areas.[30] They are described as mnemonic devices for keeping track of the distribution of supplies.[31] Over time, the frequency of the U-shaped structures increased, and the distribution of the structures changed, becoming more grouped, rather than dispersed, and occurring further away from access routes to resources.

The architecture of the rural sites also supported the idea of a hierarchical social order. They have similar structural components, making them mini-ciudadelas with rural adapted administrative functions. Most of these sites have smaller walls, with many audiencias as the focal point of the structures. These would be used to restrict access to certain areas and are often found at strategic points.

Chan Chan shows a lack of a unifying plan or a discernible pattern. The urban core contains six principal classes of architecture:[32]

1. Ten ciudadelas - citadels or palatial fortresses

2. Domestic architecture associated with Chan Chan's non-royal gentry

3. Artisan-class dwellings and workshops spread throughout the city

4. Four huacas or temple mounds[32]

5. U-shaped audiencias or courts[9]

6. SIAR or small irregular agglutinated rooms, which probably served as the residences for the majority of the population.”

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>>11341681

(Please read from the start)

Now let’s take a closer look to Chan Chan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Chan

“Chan Chan was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America.[1] It is now an archaeological site in La Libertad Region 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of Trujillo, Peru.

Chan Chan is located in the mouth of the Moche Valley[3] and was the capital of the historical empire of the Chimor from 900 to 1470,[4] when they were defeated and incorporated into the Inca Empire.[5] Chimor, a conquest state,[3] developed from the Chimú culture which established itself along the Peruvian coast around 1400 AD.[6] In the Chimú tongue, Quingnam, Chan Chan means "Sun Sun;" it was named for its sunny climate which is cooled year round by a southerly breeze.”

>> Wonder if it was named Sun Sun for another reason apart that it was sunny there.

“Chan Chan is in a particularly arid section of the coastal desert of northern Peru.[7] Due to the lack of rain in this area, the major source of nonsalted water for Chan Chan is in the form of rivers carrying surface runoff from the Andes.[4] This runoff allows for control of land and water through irrigation systems.

The city of Chan Chan spanned 20 km² and had a dense urban center of 6 km² which contained extravagant ciudadelas.[3] Ciudadelas were large architectural masterpieces which housed plazas, storerooms, and burial platforms for the royals.[8] The splendor of these ciudadelas suggests their association with the royal class.[8] Housing for the lower classes of Chan Chan's hierarchical society are known as small, irregular agglutinated rooms (SIARs).[8] Because the lower classes were often artisans whose role in the empire was to produce crafts, many of these SIARs were used as workshops.

[…]”

“Etymology

The name is probably derived from the Quingnam "Jiang" or "Chang" which means Sun, from which Chan-Chan would be literally: Sun-Sun. It is hypothesized that its true meaning would be: Great sun, resplendent Sun, splendid sun or refulgent sun (since a typical feature of the Quingnam language is that the reduplication of a word acquires a new meaning). Another theory says that the name would derive from the term: Shian or Sian. The "Shi" voice translates as Moon and "An" as a house, meaning House of the Moon, making known that the Moon was the main deity.

Brief history

Chan Chan is believed to have been constructed around 850 AD by the Chimú.[10] It was the Chimor empire capital city with an estimated population of 40,000–60,000 people.

After the Inca conquered the Chimú around 1470 AD, Chan Chan fell into decline.[8] In 1535 AD, Francisco Pizarro founded the Spanish city of Trujillo which pushed Chan Chan further into the shadows.[8] While no longer a teeming capital city, Chan Chan was still well known for its great riches and was consequently looted by the Spaniards.[8] An indication of the great Chimú wealth is seen in a sixteenth-century list of items looted from a burial tomb in Chan Chan; a treasure equivalent to 80,000 pesos of gold was recovered (nearly $5,000,000 US dollars in gold).

In 1969, Michael Moseley and Carol J. Mackey began excavations of Chan Chan; today these excavations continue under the Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Cultura.”

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