This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Chan Chan continues to show its greatness, proof of which is the recent discovery of a wooden sculpture of exceptional characteristics, discovered during the excavation works of the third stage of the Investment Project “Recovery of the Huaca Takaynamo of the Chan Chan Chan Archaeological Complex”.
According to the researchers of the Special Project of the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex (Pecach) of the Ministry of Culture, the discovery of this wooden sculpture of 47 centimetres long by 16 centimetres wide, documented in a secondary context, depicts a personage who appears as a bearer of a platform.
“The Chimú wood carvings or sculptures are either fixed or mobile. The former are documented at the entrance of some walled complexes of Chan Chan, based on an uncarved segment that, when buried, fixes the carved portion of the element to the ground. The mobile sculpture lacks such an element and has frequently been documented in some huacas,” said archaeologist Arturo Paredes Núñez, head of the Research, Conservation and Valorisation Unit of Pecach.
The sculpture, in a perfect state of preservation, has a trapezoid-shaped cap with a narrow upper part; it is decorated with seven vertical bands of alternating light and dark colours. On the lower part, the wooden sculpture has a dark horizontal band.
The face is flat, oval in shape and painted in red. The nose, which is straight in profile, protrudes from the plane of the face. The almond-shaped eyes and the circular ears show an unevenness, where a black resin is preserved, which would have been used to fix mother-of-pearl plates, Chan Chan researchers reported.
The left arm, close to the body, bends to the right and the outstretched hand is placed on the front side of the torso. The right arm, also close to the body, bends upwards, so that the hand is at shoulder level. The torso, arms and hands appear to have been painted red; dark circular patches can be seen on the chest.
The figure wears a triangular cut skirt, the edge of which is decorated with small rectangular bands, similar to those on the headdress. The centre is a dark-coloured triangular space. The legs are straight and the feet are slightly splayed; the front portion of them has been partially cut off.
Next to the sculpture, some nectandra seeds were recovered that must have formed a necklace (some of them have thread inserted). Underneath the sculpture, a small black bag with decoration made of brown and white threads was recorded.
The director (e) of the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex Special Project, César Gálvez Mora, pointed out that, “the discovery adds to the significant evidence that ratifies the ceremonial function of a building on the periphery of Chan Chan, whose intervention is in line with the Master Plan for the Conservation and Management of the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex and enriches the knowledge of a property inscribed on the World Heritage List”.
The research and conservation work being carried out by the Ministry of Culture, through the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex Special Project in this huaca, surrounded by the current urban centre of the populous district of La Esperanza, began on 11 April and has a completion period of eight months.
