Chankillo

Paul Russell Chankillo Wiki Dr. Walker

Chankillo, a site that lies in the Casma river valley of Peru, is perhaps one of the most debated and important sites in Andean archaeology. The debate centers on just how to classify Chankillo. Some archaeologists claim that is a fortress and can offer a unique insight into the topic of ancient warfare. Others suggest that Chankillo was used as a religious center and not for what we Westerners would call war. Another major feature of Chankillo is without a doubt the thirteen towers located to the southeast of the main construction. These towers are precisely aligned with the path of the sun through the sky. These towers make Chankillo the oldest known so-called “full service” solar observatory in the Americas (livinginperu.com). Chankillo was constructed somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC which places the site in the Early Horizon period (Isbell, Silverman 72). This means that Chankillo predates the European contact by about 1800 years (opa.yale.edu). The main construction at Chankillo is a large temple compound surrounded by two thick walls, located on a hilltop. These facts help many scholars to make the case that Chankillo is indeed either a fort or some kind of holdout. However, others acknowledge that there is something more here; they suggest that Chankillo perhaps held a more ritual purpose. The evidence for a fort lies in both the location and the construction of the two massive walls. The hilltop allows for an excellent lookout position. Also, the walls clearly illustrate the people who built the site were concerned with some kind of security. There are five gates in the outer wall which lead some archaeologists to suggest that these may be similar to European sally points, which allow those defending a structure to mount an effective offensive attack from any one of the gates, surprising the enemy outside. Along the second wall there are four more gates that are staggered at different positions perhaps to confuse attackers in a maze between the walls. Also the remains of a parapet have been discovered along the inner wall, suggesting again that it was used by warriors for defense. However, one key fault in this theory is that the mechanisms used for closing and effectively locking the doors are located on the outside of the gates! Another aspect that points away from the fort idea is that there is no evidence of a water source that is easily accessible by Chankillo’s occupants. Archaeological excavations have also uncovered very little solid evidence for weapons being kept or used at the site. River cobbles have been found that are of a consistent shape, size, and weight that they could have been used for slingstones, a kind of ancient Andean projectile. These stone could not have been brought to the hilltop naturally; the people must have brought them up intentionally (Isbell and Silverman). Recent experiments have proven just how powerful these stones would have been in the right hands (Vega and Craig). Outside the compound, where the bottom of the hill meets the flat terrain, a few doughnut shaped stones were found. These stones have been interpreted as being mace heads. Their location suggests that perhaps the battlefield was located here. Also in this area river cobbles were found, at an appropriate distance from the site walls to suggest that they were thrown from Chankillo down to this area (Isbell and Silverman). Evidence for warfare is also found in the ceramic figurines uncovered at Chankillo. So many fragments were found that it is possible to reconstruct many of them back to what they looked like long ago. These figures are depicted in combat poses with a variety of weapons (including spears, slings, atl atls, and maces) and armor such as shields, chest plates, and headdresses. The inner wall also serves to retain a stone fill platform that is the foundation of the temple compound located at the center. The main building is rectangular shaped and is known as the Temple of the Pillars. As indicated by the name, this building’s pillars are the focal point. They serve a far greater purpose than simply supporting the roof, of the pillars that are preserved; each of them is ornately decorated with depictions of supernatural beings (Isbell & Silverman). The temple itself is divided into an atrium, and four other interconnected secondary rooms. The atrium is a two-story room with staircases on both the North and South sides. These staircases lead up to a U shaped upper platform that sits over the lower level. This platform is supported by the structure’s foundation walls and the afore mentioned pillars. It is believed that the upper level was once covered by some kind of material that unfortunately did not preserve. A corridor from the atrium accesses the four rooms on the lower level. Much of the recent excavations, led by Ivan Ghezzi, have centered in the third room mainly because of its large size and its gallery platform. This platform, like the 2nd story of the atrium, was also covered by some sort of perishable material (perhaps mixed with mud). Room 3 also contained a number of decorated pillars that supported the platform above. Moving to the outside of the Temple of the Pillars, the eastern wall’s remaining preserved motif represents some sort of anthropomorphic supernatural being with some characteristics of a spider. Because of the layout of the hilltop and the careful design of the temple, any sort of ceremony or ritual would be visible to a vast number of people outside the site walls. This interpretation supports the thought that Chankillo was a mainly used as some sort of religious center. Another intriguing aspect about the temple is the very orientation of it. The Temple of the Pillars is designed to line up with the path of the sun during the December solstice. Clearly this is no accident; much thought was put into both the placing and designing of this important temple. Archaeological evidence has shown that it took a significant effort to build such a monumental structure. However, the question remains, why exactly did the ancient peoples of the Casma valley take the time to undertake such a project? (Isbell & Silverman) The second major feature of Chankillo is the solar observatory. This observatory predates the famous Maya solar devices by about 500 years. The Chankillo observatory is made up of thirteen separate towers laid out on the top of a ridge about .55 miles Southeast of the walled structure (Google Earth). Each of these stone towers measures roughly 30 feet long by 18 feet wide. Also each of them has an inset staircase that leads to the top of each tower. Their arrangement along the horizon has been called a tooth-like layout; the picture clearly illustrates this (BBC). The towers are believed to have been viewed from either one of two vantage points located to the East and West. From these points one can see the sun rising (or setting, depending on which point you view from) in relation to the position of the towers, giving you a fairly accurate idea of the date. The time it took for the sun to move over the towers gave the observers a perception of time (BBC). Some skeptics would try and discredit the ancient peoples of Chankillo arguing that all of these alignments are simply a coincidence. Many scientists including archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni disagree. Aveni stated in an interview with the BBC: "It does work, and it works in a way that makes sense given what we know about Andean calendars…the towers also help mark other solar events and count out a 10-day week used by other Andean cultures.” Little is actually known about the people who constructed the towers at Chankillo. Recent speculation has hinted that they may have been worshipers of the Sun, like many other Andean civilizations such as the Inca, however the towers remain the only evidence of that (yale.cpo.edu).



Conclusion The debate centered on Chankillo is one of Andean archaeology’s many mysteries. Was Chankillo a fort used as a holdout or battleground? Perhaps it was used for a different kind of warfare, ritual war, which we westerners are unfamiliar with. One thing that is certain is that Chankillo was extremely important to the people who constructed it. The two thick walls are there for a reason, even though that reason may escape current archaeologists and scholars. The temple of the Pillars is an amazing example of the architectural style and prowess of the people of the Casma Valley. Its precise alignment with the path of the sun and the thirteen towers was no accident. The builders must have had a vast understanding of astronomy to even attempt to construct a calendar on such a large scale. The towers themselves, positioned like great teeth along the horizon, represent the degree to which Chankillo’s builders understood the principles of architecture among many other things. Chankillo is just beginning to reveal many of its wondrous archaeological secrets. Fieldwork being conducted here today by scientists like Ivan Ghezzi of the Catholic University in Peru are allowing an unprecedented view into many aspects of Andean life previously unknown. While Chankillo’s exact use does remain a mystery, its importance to both modern archaeologists and ancient peoples is clear. Chankillo was and probably always will be a source of awe and wonder.

As a footnote, I have included this video that can offer a perspective on Chankillo that still pictures cannot media type="youtube" key="SekiWmH0_b8" height="344" width="425"

Works Cited Isbell, William Harris & Silverman, Helaine: Andean Archaeology III New York, New York: Springer Publishing 2006

Harris, Richard http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7658847 Published March 1st 2007

http://www.livinginperu.com/news/3310 Published March 1st 2007

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?status=301&id=2066 Published March 1st 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6408231.stm Published March 1st 2007

Vega, Margaret Brown & Craig, Nathan Journal of Archaeological Science Volume 36, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 1264-1268