Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex
Chimú (1200–1470 CE Chimu Empire; Tschudi palace 1400 CE last Nik An)·Chimú (Chan Chan 9 palaces 100k pop)·🇵🇪 La Libertad, Trujillo, Moche Valley mouth, Chan Chan core, Tschudi Palace (Nik An, last palace), Peru
About
About Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex
Chan Chan excavated by Bennett, Moseley, 1200–1470 Chimú 100k population 20 km². Recorded context — Period: Chimú (1200–1470 CE Chimu Empire; Tschudi palace 1400 CE last Nik An); Culture: Chimú (Chan Chan 9 palaces 100k pop); Field status: partially excavated; Materials: adobe, relief frieze, reed matting, algarrobo beam; Condition: partial — adobe erosion with El Niño 2017 peeling.
Why it mattersKey Chimú (Chan Chan 9 palaces 100k pop) buried-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing
- 02Construction labor organization
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre
- 02Observatory
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 1200–1400 CE successive palaces Nik An 1400 CE
- Period
- Chimú (1200–1470 CE Chimu Empire; Tschudi palace 1400 CE last Nik An)
- Culture
- Chimú (Chan Chan 9 palaces 100k pop)
- Purpose
- Largest adobe city in world — 20 km², 9 palaces walled 20 m high with relief friezes of fish-birds-net and citadel 400 m × 200 m and funerary platform
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1932
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1500 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex
1200–1400 CE successive palaces Nik An 1400 CE
Initial construction / first occupation at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex
On the ground
Structures & features
8.1090° S · 79.0780° W · 30 m · 4 mapped features
- Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — Principal Structurestructurestructure at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — primary structure8.1095° S · 79.0762° W
- Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — Northern Complexcomplexcomplex at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — hydraulic feature8.1101° S · 79.0775° W
- Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — Southern Rock Artrock artrock art at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — outlier feature8.1109° S · 79.0782° W
- Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — Eastern Structurestructurestructure at Chan Chan — Tschudi Palace Nik An Audience Complex — primary structure8.1088° S · 79.0794° W
Gallery