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The largest Pre-Columbian city in South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, Chan Chan is an archaeological
Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or arch?ology is the science that studies Homo cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, Artifact , features, Biofact s, and cultural landscape....
 site located in the Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian region of La Libertad
La Libertad Region

La Libertad is a regions of Peru in northwestern Peru. It is bordered by the Lambayeque Region, Cajamarca Region and Amazonas Region regions on the north, the San Mart?n Region on the east, the Ancash Region and Hu?nuco Region regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west....
, five km east of Trujillo
Trujillo, Peru

Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the second largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru....
. Chan Chan covers an area of approximately 20 km², and had a dense urban center of about 6km². Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimor
Chimor

Chimor was the political grouping of the Chim? culture that ruled the northern coast of Peru, beginning around 850 AD and ending around 1470 AD....
 (the kingdom of the Chimú), a late intermediate period civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche
Moche

The 'Moche' civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 C.E. to 800 C.E., during the Cultural periods of Peru. While still the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state but rather as a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite cu...
 civilization. The vast mud city of Chan Chan was built by the Chimu around AD 850 and lasted until its Inca
Inca Empire

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cuzco in modern-day Peru....
 conquest in AD 1470.






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The largest Pre-Columbian city in South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, Chan Chan is an archaeological
Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or arch?ology is the science that studies Homo cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, Artifact , features, Biofact s, and cultural landscape....
 site located in the Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian region of La Libertad
La Libertad Region

La Libertad is a regions of Peru in northwestern Peru. It is bordered by the Lambayeque Region, Cajamarca Region and Amazonas Region regions on the north, the San Mart?n Region on the east, the Ancash Region and Hu?nuco Region regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west....
, five km east of Trujillo
Trujillo, Peru

Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the second largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru....
. Chan Chan covers an area of approximately 20 km², and had a dense urban center of about 6km². Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimor
Chimor

Chimor was the political grouping of the Chim? culture that ruled the northern coast of Peru, beginning around 850 AD and ending around 1470 AD....
 (the kingdom of the Chimú), a late intermediate period civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche
Moche

The 'Moche' civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 C.E. to 800 C.E., during the Cultural periods of Peru. While still the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state but rather as a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite cu...
 civilization. The vast mud city of Chan Chan was built by the Chimu around AD 850 and lasted until its Inca
Inca Empire

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cuzco in modern-day Peru....
 conquest in AD 1470. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor until it was conquered in the 15th century. It is estimated that around 30,000 people lived in the city of Chan Chan.

Chan Chan was added as a Unesco World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
 in 1986. The city is severely threatened by tornados from El Niño, which causes heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast. It is in a fertile, well-watered section of the coastal plain. The city's ruins are additionally threatened by earthquakes and looters. Present-day visitors to Chan Chan can enter the Tschudi Complex, believed to be one of the later citadels built in the city. There are also several other Chimú and Moche ruins in the area around Trujillo. This site was discovered by the Conquistador
Conquistador

Conquistador is the name given to the Spaniards soldiers, leaders, List of explorers, and adventurers involved in the conquest of the Americas following the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492....
 Francisco Pizzaro.

Architecture


The city is composed of ten walled citadeles which housed ceremonial rooms, burial chambers, temples, reservoirs and some residences. Chan Chan is a triangular city surrounded by walls 50-60 feet high. It is speculated that the Aztec borrowed a square shaped city plans from the Chimu. A distinguishable aspect of Chan Chan is that there are no enclosures which open to the north. The tallest walls shelter against south-westerly winds from Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
's coast. Northern-facing walls gain the greatest exposure to the sun, serving both to block the wind and absorb sunlight where fog is frequent. The numerous walls throughout the city create labyrinth of passages.

The walls themselves were constructed of adobe
Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material , which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun....
 brick and were then covered with a smooth surface into which intricate designs were carved. There are two styles of design present in these carvings: one is a ‘realistic’ representation of subjects such as birds, fish, and small mammals; and the other is a more graphic, stylized representation of the same subjects. The carvings at Chan Chan depict crabs, turtles, and nets for catching various sea monsters. Chan Chan, unlike most other coastal ruins in Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, is located extremely close to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. In 1998, The "Master Plan for Conservation and Management of the Chan Chan Archeological Complex" is drawn up by the Freedom National Culture Institute of Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
 with contributions from the World Heritage Foundation - WHR, ICCROM and GCI. The Plan is approved by the Peruvian Government, with involvement at the highest levels up until today.

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