Chimu
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Related to Chimu: Chimu architecture
Chimu
(chēmo͞o`), ancient civilization on the desert coast of N Peru. It is believed to have begun c.1200. The MocheMocheor Mochica
, ancient Native American civilization on the coast of N Peru. Previously called Early Chimu (see Chimu), the Moche were warriors with a highly developed social and political organization.
..... Click the link for more information. , an earlier civilization, was previously known as early Chimu or proto-Chimu. After the decline of the Moche (c.800), there was a long transition period about which relatively little is known except that it was probably influenced by TiahuanacoTiahuanaco
, ancient native ruin, W Bolivia, 34 mi (55 km) S of Lake Titicaca on the Tiahuanaco R. in the S central Andes, near the Peruvian border; also called Tiwanaku or Tiahuanacu.
..... Click the link for more information. . The Chimu were urban dwellers and apparently had a powerful military and a complex, well-organized social system. They built many well-planned cities; the largest and most impressive was their capital, Chan ChanChan Chan
, ruins of an ancient city near Trujillo, N Peru. An early example of city planning, with a rectangular grid structure, it was probably begun in the period from A.D. 950 to 1400, and it is estimated that it may have contained as many as 200,000 people.
..... Click the link for more information. . The Chimu exerted considerable influence on the Cuismancu empire, centered at ChancayChancay
, archaeological site in central Peru, center of the ancient Cuismancu empire. Culturally influenced by the Chimu, the Cuismancu dominated less territory and were not as powerful.
..... Click the link for more information. . The last phases of Chimu civilization were contemporaneous with the rise of the IncaInca
, pre-Columbian empire, W South America. The name Inca may specifically refer to the emperor, but is generally used to mean the empire or the people. Extent and Organization of the Empire
..... Click the link for more information. empire, by which it was absorbed c.1460.
Bibliography
See J. A. Mason, Ancient Civilizations of Peru (1957, rev. ed. 1988); V. W. Wolfgang, The Desert Kingdoms of Peru (1965); E. P. Lanning, Peru before the Incas (1967).