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The Chimú Sculptures of Huacas Tacaynamo and El Dragon, Moche Valley, Perú

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Margaret A. Jackson
Margaret A. Jackson*
Affiliation:
Department of Art and Art History and Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, 1540 Levante Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33124
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Abstract

A corpus of wooden figures archaeologically recovered from the Huacas Tacaynamo and El Dragón (also known as Huaca Arco Iris) at Chan Chan in the Moche Valley, Perú, forms the basis for this inquiry into the role and function of Chimú wooden figure sculpture. Although the sculptures were excavated from a disturbed context, they represent an important body of evidence relating to two problematic architectural complexes. The author places this group of figures within the temporal sequence of the region and defines the specific attributes of each sculpture to clarify social function. In reconciling the architecture’s relationship to the Chimú capital city, Chan Chan, and temporally placing the sites as Early Chimú, the figures are realigned within the larger artistic traditions of Perú’s North Coast. I suggest that the sculptures were part of a coherent artistic program that was integrally linked to the religious and funerary purpose of the architecture. More specifically, these characters depict scenes of socially prescribed ritual activities, including the interment of an important person whose funeral procession was attended by various servitors, and the celebration or consecration of burial through the sacrifice of prisoners.

Un cuerpo distinto de figuras de madera recuperado arqueológicamente de las Huacas Tacaynamo y El Dragón (también conocida como Huaca Arco Iris) en el Valle de Moche, Perú, forma la base para esta investigación de la función de escultura Chimú. Aunque las esculturas fueron excavadas de un contexto perturbado, estas representan un grupo de evidencias importantes relacionados a estos dos complejos arquitectónicos problemáticos. La autora busca colocar el arte en su lugar apropiado dentro la sucesión temporal de la región y definir los atributos específicos de cada escultura individual para clarificar la función social de éste arte. Reconciliando la relación entre éstos dos huacas y la ciudad principal de los Chimú, Chan Chan, el arte se realinea dentro de las tradiciones artísticas más grandes de la Costa Norte de Perú. Se sugiere que las esculturas de las Huacas Tacaynamo y El Dragón formaban parte de unprograma artístico coherente que fue llevado a cabó integralmente con el propósito religioso y funerario de la arquitectura. El grupo de personajes mostraban escenas de rituales funerarios, con el entierro de una persona importante asistida por varios servidores, cuyas reglas eran dictadas por la sociedad Chimú.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 298 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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