The Chimu

In The Chimu: Ancient Peru's Coastal Empire, Elliot Rowan tells the story of the civilization that transformed the arid northern coast of Peru into one of the most sophisticated kingdoms in the ancient Americas. Between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes, the Chimu built vast irrigation systems, ruled a chain of fertile river valleys, and constructed Chan Chan, the largest adobe city ever built.

Drawing on archaeological discoveries from Chan Chan, the Moche Valley, Huanchaquito Las Llamas, and other important sites, Rowan reconstructs a society known through its monumental architecture, intricate metalwork, textiles, ceramics, and burial traditions. He explores the Chimu system of kingship, the organization of labor and trade, the engineering that brought life to the desert, and the artistic achievements that made their craftsmen renowned across the Andes.

Rowan also follows the kingdom's expansion along the Pacific coast, its rivalry with neighboring powers, and its eventual conquest by the rising Inca Empire. Through archaeology and surviving historical traditions, the Chimu emerge not as a forgotten civilization, but as one of the great powers of pre-Columbian South America.

More than the story of a lost empire, this book reveals how ingenuity, careful administration, and mastery of a harsh environment allowed the Chimu to build a civilization whose legacy still endures in the windswept ruins of Chan Chan and the landscapes they transformed.