Chimú and Cajamarca: a perspective from Jequetepeque river

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the Chimú culture and the Cajamarca culture. It first summarizes the characteristics of the Cajamarca culture from the Middle Horizon through the Late Horizon, during which the Chimú culture flourished along the northern coast of Perú. The study then addresses the origins of Chimú-style ceramics in the middle Jequetepeque valley during the Middle Horizon. To advance an understanding of the Chimú presence in the highlands during the Late Intermediate period, excavation data from the Tantarica site—located in the mountainous region between the Jequetepeque and Chicama rivers—are presented, followed by a discussion of the sociopolitical distinctions between Cajamarca and Chimú. During the Middle Cajamarca Phase, which was contemporaneous with the Wari culture, ceramic assemblages in the Jequetepeque valley display considerable diversity. Among them appears a ceramic type that served as a prototype for the later Chimú style, clearly differentiated from Sicán-style pottery. In the Late Cajamarca Phase, interaction between the northern highlands and the north coast of Perú became increasingly dynamic. However, during the Final Cajamarca Phase, evidence of interaction between the Cajamarca and Chimú cultures is scarce. The lower Jequetepeque valley contains the site of Farfán, and numerous traces of Chimú presence extend into the middle valley. Tantarica may have served either as the center of a society established under Chimú influence or as a Chimú administrative center in the highlands. While similarities are observed in ceramics and funerary patterns, whether architectural design also exhibits such similarities remains an open question for future research.