Wealthy Chimu burials found in Chan Chan – The History Blog

Archaeologists excavating the ancient site of Chan Chan near Trujillo in northern Peru have discovered burials of wealthy members of Chimu society. The disarticulated remains of 11 individuals were found buried with fine ornaments — necklaces, earrings, bracelets — indicating they were members of the ruling class of the city. The burials are about 800 years old.

The remains were found in an excavation of the Utzh An (the Great Chimu palace) complex. The goal of the excavation was to research and conserve the palace’s eastern perimeter walls, shedding new light on Chimu construction techniques, architecture and materials. Investigations carried out between 2017 and 2022 already uncovered a 19 wooden sculptures on the north wall and a mass grave containing the remains of 25 people.

The director of the project for the Restoration of the perimeter walls of the Utzh An walled complex, Sinthya Cueva, explained that the remains are linked to 3 pairs of ear ornaments and 2 necklaces of beads (chaquiras) and Spondylus shells that would belong to individuals of a high administrative rank from the period.

The archaeologist pointed out that the area was not prepared to be a cemetery, but there is a possibility that once the site was abandoned it was used for that purpose, although everything will be determined at the end of the investigations and analysis that will be carried out together with the team in the office.

Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimu empire (Chimor), a pre-Inca society that occupied the northern coastal area of Peru between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes from the mid-9th century until they were conquered by the Inca in 1470. Chan Chan was a large urban center built of mud brick that was one of the largest adobe cities in the world in and the largest city in pre-Columbian South America with a population of 40,000-60,000.