Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Frontier of the Heartland: Chimu Imperial Strategies in the Sinsicap Valley, Peru

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Under Dr. Paul Goldstein, Alicia Boswell will examine how the late prehistoric Chimu empire interacted with residents in the adjacent Sinsicap Valley in Peru. The goal is to understand Chimú imperial strategies in the valley. By collecting data related to site architectural patterns, domestic activities, economics, and subsistence patterns this excavation strategy allows a comparative study of the domestic activities of two sites occupied during Chimú expansion. This project is relevant to imperial studies both within and outside the Andes, as its methodological approach emphasizes subject groups' degree of leeway and the extent to which they can pursue their own goals. Examining inhabitants' households and how practices changed over time is an important, but underutilized perspective in imperial studies. The Sinsicap Valley is a tributary of the Moche river within the chaupiyunga ecological niche. Located between the coast and the highlands, the chaupiyunga (500-2,000 masl) is the only ecological zone on the western slope of the Andes that produces coca, a highly valued resource important for ritual and other traditional Andean strategies of political economy. Another crucial attribute of the chaupiyunga is its intermediary location between densely populated coast and highland polities with whom residents of this region maintained exchange relations throughout prehistory. In spite of its resources and strategic geographical location little archaeological investigation has occurred in this zone. Ethnohistoric and preliminary archaeological evidence collected by Boswell indicate a Chimú presence in the Sinsicap Valley. An additional consideration in this study is the close proximity of the Sinsicap Valley to the urban Chimú capital Chan Chan, located at the mouth of the Moche Valley on the coast. The Sinsicap Valley is only forty kilometers from Chan Chan. Studies of the northern and southern frontiers of the Chimú Empire have examined administrative centers and associated sites to understand Chimú expansion, finding the use of diverse imperial strategies had a transformative impact on conquered territories and populations. Researchers have focused on how the Chimú interacted with other coastal polities, overlooking Chimú interaction with populations on its eastern frontier and its implications for understanding the empire. This project will further understanding of Chimú imperialism and Andean coastal polities' interaction with populations in other ecological zones. This project emphasizes international collaboration as archaeologists and students from Peru and the United States will work together throughout the project. Project results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications in both English and Spanish, while the raw data will be made available for public use. Boswell has organized a partnership between MOCHE, INC, a 501c3 non-profit organization, and the Communidad Campesina Emiliana Gonzalez Obregoso de Collambay of the Sinsicap Valley. Community members have agreed to protect local archaeological sites from looting in return for assistance in development projects. This partnership is an essential component in developing local awareness of the importance of preserving local archaeological sites/resources. Boswell will continue to promote the cultural heritage of the Sinsicap Valley through presentation of her research at community meetings and schools in the region.