Chincha culture
13°27′04″S 76°10′15″W / 13.45111°S 76.17083°W
The Chincha culture (or Ica-Chincha culture
The Chincha disappeared as a people a few decades after the
The Chincha gave their name to the Chinchaysuyo Region, the Chincha Islands, to the animal known as the chinchilla (literally "Little Chincha"), and the city of Chincha Alta. The word "Chinchay" or "Chincha", means "Ocelot" in Quechua. The Chincha are an ethnic group related to the Quechuas people.
Setting
Chincha history
Pre-Chincha era
Human beings have lived along the Peruvian coast for at least 10,000 years. The earliest settlers were probably fishermen, enjoying the rich maritime resources of the
Between the 9th and 10th centuries, there was a shift in the lifestyle and culture of the coastal inhabitants, with different techniques and styles appearing at the shore region. Some scholars claim that the change was the product of a migratory wave of unknown origin, identifying this culture as the "Pre-Chincha" culture. The rudimentary Pre-Chincha culture relied extensively on fishing and shell gathering.
Chincha era
In the 11th century, the sophisticated and warlike culture known as the Chincha began, possibly the product of a migratory wave from the highlands. The Chincha had developed systems of architecture, agriculture and irrigation. The Chincha culture came to dominate the whole valley. The Chincha worshiped a jaguar god, and believed themselves to be descended from jaguars, who gave them their warlike and dominating tendencies. The Chincha fertilized their fields with dead birds and
The Chincha ruin of La Centinela was one of the first archaeological sites in Peru to be investigated by archaeologists. The site covers more than 75 hectares (190 acres) and consists of two large pyramids, La Centinela and Tambo de Mora, constructed of adobe and serving as the habitations of the leaders of the Chincha people. The surrounding residential area housed artisans of silver, textiles, wood, and ceramics,[7] although, like most pre-Columbian monumental archaeological sites, the main purpose of La Centinela was probably ceremonial rather than residential or commercial.
A network of roads radiated out from La Centinela, running in straight lines, as was the Andean custom. The roads are still visible. The roads extended east and south of la Centinela and led to outlying ceremonial centers and also facilitated the transportation of goods to the Paracas valley to the south and toward the highlands of the Andes which rise about 20 kilometres (12 mi) inland from La Centinela.[8]
According to an early Spanish chronicle, the population of Chincha consisted of 30,000 heads of households, among which were 12,000 agriculturalists, 10,000 fishermen, and 6,000 traders. The numbers suggest a total population of more than 100,000 people under Chincha control, likely in a larger area than the Chincha valley itself. The larger than normal number of fishermen and traders in the population illustrates the commercial nature of the Chincha state and the importance of the sea to their economy.[9] According to Spanish sources the Chincha may have used money for commerce, like the Chimor and some other Andean cultures, but the Spanish chroniclers may have mistaken the copper items used in trading shapes as currency when the copper itself was the commodity being bartered.[10]
Chincha and the Incas
Several 16th century Spaniards recorded Chincha history from indigenous Peruvian informants. Although those chronicles are often contradictory, the broad outlines of Chincha history can be discerned. Pedro Cieza de León described Chincha as a "great province, esteemed in ancient times...splendid and grand...so famous throughout Peru as to be feared by many natives." The Chinchas were expanding up and down the coast of Peru and into the Andes highlands at about the same time the Incas were creating their empire in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The Chincha controlled a rich and prominent oracle named Chinchaycamac, probably near La Centinela, which garnered contributions from the Chincha people and others, indicating surpluses of wealth.[11] The Chinchas were most famous for maritime commerce.
The first expedition of the Incas to the Chincha Kingdom was led by the General Capac Yupanqui, under the rule of his brother, the emperor Pachacuti (ruled 1438–71). According to some sources it was an attempt to establish a friendly relationship rather than a conquest, upon the arriving at Chincha, Capac Yupanqui said not wanting anything more than the acceptance of Cuzco superiority and gave gifts to the Chincha curacas to show the Inca magnificence. The Chincha had no trouble recognizing the Inca and continue living peacefully in their dominion. The next emperor, Topa Inca Yupanqui (ruled 1471–93) brought the Chincha Kingdom into a true territorial annexation to the empire, but the rulers of Chincha retained much of their political and economic autonomy and their traditional leadership. The Chincha king was required to spend several months each year attending the court of the Inca emperor, although he was given the honors of the highest Inca nobles.[16]
The lord of Chincha was the only person in the Atahualpa's entourage carried on a litter at the meeting with the Spanish. In the Inca culture, the use of a litter in presence of the Sapa Inca was an outstanding honor. The Chincha possibly supported the Atahualpa's faction at the Inca civil war, Atahualpa said that the lord of Chincha was his friend and the greatest lord of the lowlands. The Chincha lord was initially mistaken for Atahualpa because of his displayed wealth at the meeting with Francisco Pizarro, and then killed in the battle of Cajamarca in 1532 in which the emperor Atahualpa was captured by the Spaniards.
Spanish rule
The Spanish first appeared in the Chincha valley in 1534 and a
See also
Other reading
- Caceres Macedo, Justo. Prehispanic Cultures of Peru. Peruvian Natural History Museum, 1985.
- Rostworowski de Diez Canseco, María. History of the Inca Realm. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
References
- ^ Muzzo, Gustavo Pons (1979). Summary of the History of Peru. Editorial Universo.
The Chincha Culture had its principal seat in the valleys of Ica and Chincha. It is also known by the name of Ica - Chincha Culture.
- ^ Wallace, Dwight T. (1991), "The Chincha roads: economics and symbolism," in Ancient road networks and settlement hierarchies in the New World edited by Charles D. Trombold, New YorK: Cambridge University Press, p. 256; Google Earth
- ^ Stanish, Charles, Tantalean, Henry, Nigra, Benjamin T., and Griffin, Laura (2014), "A 2,300-year-old architectural and astronomical complex in the Chincha Valley, Peru", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, No. 20, p. 7218
- ^ Prouix, Donald A. (2007), "The Nasca Culture: An Introduction," University of Massachusetts, P. 5, http://people.umass.edu/proulx/online_pubs/Nasca_Overview_Zurich.pdf, accessed 8 August 2016
- Lumbreras, Luis Guillermo(2012), Lords of the Ancient Andes, London: Thames & Hudson, p. 2 (cover)
- ISBN 9780521637596.
- ^ Tavero Vega, Lizardo, "La Centinela", http://www.arqueologiadelperu.com.ar/lacentinela.htm, accessed 12 August 2016
- ^ Wallace, pp. 253–255
- ^ Rostworowski de Diez Canseco, Maria (1999), History of the Inca Realm, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 205–206
- ^ Nigra, Ben, Jones, Terrah, Bongers, Jacob, Stanish, Charles, Tantalean, Henry and Perez, Kelita (2014), "The Chincha Kingdom: The Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Late Intermediate Period South Coast, Peru," Backdirt 2014, p. 43, http://ioa.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/backdirt2014_full_lr_update.pdf, accessed 15 December 2022
- ^ Nigra, et al., p. 39
- ^ Nigra et al, p. 40
- ^ Dewan, Leslie and Hosler, Dorothy (2008), "Ancient Maritime Trade on Balsa Rafts: An Engineering Analysis," Journal of Archaeological Research, Vol. 64, pp. 19–20
- ^ Sandweiss, Daniel H. and Reid, David A. (2015), "Negotiated Subjugation: Maritime Trade and the Incorporation of Chincha into the Inca Empire", The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Vol. 0, Issue 0, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15564894.2015.1105885, accessed 18 August 2016
- ^ Emanuel, Jeff (2012), "Crown Jewel of the Fleet: Design, Construction, and Use of the Seagoing Balsas of the Pre-Columbian Andean Coast," in Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Boats and Ship Archaeology (ISBSA 13), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 8–12 October 2012, http://scholar.harvard.edu/emanuel/mbian-Balsa_ISBSA-13, accessed 2 August 2016
- ^ Nigra et al, pp. 39–40; Sandweiss, Daniel H. (1992), The Archaeology of Chincha Fishermen: Specialization and Status in Inka Peru, Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, pp. 5
- ^ Sandweiss, (1992), pp. 23–24