Pattern and Meaning in Prehistoric Peruvian Architecture: The Architecture of Social Control in the Chimu State
Author:
- Jerry D. MooreJMJerry D. Moore
- 1 June 1992
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Latin American Antiquity
- Vol. 3 (2) , 95-113
Abstract
Archaeologists have studied buildings for decades, but a very narrow range of analytical approaches has been applied to prehistoric architecture. This paper presents a basic theory of architectural meaning, which has as its principal focus the role of access patterns within buildings as a medium of social control. On the north coast of Peru, Andeanists have held an implicit notion about the relation between access patterns and social control, but have lacked the analytical tools to explore this question further. A set of basic tools borrowed from graph theory and locational geography is presented, and discussed, and then applied to a specific set of Prehispanic constructions—the monumental compounds of Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu state (A. D. 900-1470). The methods illuminate differences and similarities in the organization of access within the compounds, and they are used to test a hypothesis about the role of a specific architectural element—the U-shaped room—in controlling access within royal compounds at Chan Chan. The results have implications for understanding the nature of social control in the Chimu state and suggest the potential that new analytical methods may have for the study of prehistoric constructions.Keywords
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