2025-05-20 | Cultural Heritage
Chan Chan Archaeological Zone Cultural Heritage
Inscription: 10th Session of the World Heritage Committee. Paris, November 24, 1986.
Chan Chan was the political, administrative, and religious capital of the Chimú Culture, which reached its peak in the 15th century, shortly before falling under Inca rule. It is located in the Moche or Santa Catalina river valley and is the largest adobe city in pre-Columbian America. Its layout reflects a precise political and social strategy, emphasized by its division into nine 'citadels' or 'palaces' that form independent units. The Outstanding Universal Value of Chan Chan lies in the extensive and planned hierarchical remains of this city, including remnants of the industrial, agricultural, and water management systems that sustained it.
The monumental area of about six square kilometers in the city center, once covering twenty square kilometers, includes nine large rectangular complexes ("citadels" or "palaces") outlined by high and thick adobe walls, including temples, dwellings, and warehouses arranged around open spaces. The adobe walls are decorated with friezes depicting abstract, anthropomorphic, and zoomorphic motifs. The city planning of the largest adobe city in pre-Columbian America is a masterpiece of urban organization. The rigorous zoning, differentiated use of inhabited space, and hierarchical construction illustrate a political ideal (Criterion (i)). Chan Chan represents a unique testimony and is the most representative city of Chimú rule, synthesizing and expressing eleven thousand years of cultural evolution in northern Peru (Criterion (iii)).
Integrity.- Chan Chan retains all elements bearing its Outstanding Universal Value within an area of fourteen square kilometers, which, although smaller than the original city area, contains representative features of architectural units, ceremonial pathways, temples, and agricultural units. The adobe construction of the city, as well as environmental conditions including climatic factors, make the archaeological site susceptible to decay and deterioration.
Authenticity.- The archaeological site still expresses the essence of the monumental urban landscape of the ancient Chimú capital. Also, the hierarchical arrangements reflect the political, social, technological, ideological, and economic complexity achieved by the Chimú society between the 9th and 15th centuries. The original adobe architecture with its religious characteristics and decorations, although subject to deterioration, is undergoing conservation interventions with mud materials and still faithfully represents construction methods and the spirit of its people.
Protection and management requirements.- The Ministry of Culture of Peru, through its decentralized office in La Libertad, is responsible for the conservation and protection of Chan Chan, which is safeguarded by national laws and decrees. However, its location by the sea exposes it to salts and humidity that affect the mud walls, and the intense cyclical rains of the El Niño phenomenon weaken its structures. Additional problems include land tenure and illegal agricultural practices. Consequently, regulatory measures have not yet been effectively enforced to guarantee the conservation and protection of the property, which was included in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1986 due to the precarious condition of the adobe architecture and its vulnerability. Likewise, the ruins are threatened by constant looting of archaeological remains and by a proposed road crossing the site.
Since its inscription, various measures have been taken to remove the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger, including corrective actions and the development of a management plan. Implementation has mainly involved maintenance of drainage systems controlling the water table, stabilization of perimeter walls of palaces and funerary platforms, vegetation control, maintenance of public use areas, architectural documentation for conservation and management, capacity building for local artisans, and awareness measures for students and the local community.
Chan Chan was the political, administrative, and religious capital of the Chimú Culture, which reached its peak in the 15th century, shortly before falling under Inca rule. It is located in the Moche or Santa Catalina river valley and is the largest adobe city in pre-Columbian America. Its layout reflects a precise political and social strategy, emphasized by its division into nine 'citadels' or 'palaces' that form independent units. The Outstanding Universal Value of Chan Chan lies in the extensive and planned hierarchical remains of this city, including remnants of the industrial, agricultural, and water management systems that sustained it.
The monumental area of about six square kilometers in the city center, once covering twenty square kilometers, includes nine large rectangular complexes ("citadels" or "palaces") outlined by high and thick adobe walls, including temples, dwellings, and warehouses arranged around open spaces. The adobe walls are decorated with friezes depicting abstract, anthropomorphic, and zoomorphic motifs. The city planning of the largest adobe city in pre-Columbian America is a masterpiece of urban organization. The rigorous zoning, differentiated use of inhabited space, and hierarchical construction illustrate a political ideal (Criterion (i)). Chan Chan represents a unique testimony and is the most representative city of Chimú rule, synthesizing and expressing eleven thousand years of cultural evolution in northern Peru (Criterion (iii)).
Integrity.- Chan Chan retains all elements bearing its Outstanding Universal Value within an area of fourteen square kilometers, which, although smaller than the original city area, contains representative features of architectural units, ceremonial pathways, temples, and agricultural units. The adobe construction of the city, as well as environmental conditions including climatic factors, make the archaeological site susceptible to decay and deterioration.
Authenticity.- The archaeological site still expresses the essence of the monumental urban landscape of the ancient Chimú capital. Also, the hierarchical arrangements reflect the political, social, technological, ideological, and economic complexity achieved by the Chimú society between the 9th and 15th centuries. The original adobe architecture with its religious characteristics and decorations, although subject to deterioration, is undergoing conservation interventions with mud materials and still faithfully represents construction methods and the spirit of its people.
Protection and management requirements.- The Ministry of Culture of Peru, through its decentralized office in La Libertad, is responsible for the conservation and protection of Chan Chan, which is safeguarded by national laws and decrees. However, its location by the sea exposes it to salts and humidity that affect the mud walls, and the intense cyclical rains of the El Niño phenomenon weaken its structures. Additional problems include land tenure and illegal agricultural practices. Consequently, regulatory measures have not yet been effectively enforced to guarantee the conservation and protection of the property, which was included in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1986 due to the precarious condition of the adobe architecture and its vulnerability. Likewise, the ruins are threatened by constant looting of archaeological remains and by a proposed road crossing the site.
Since its inscription, various measures have been taken to remove the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger, including corrective actions and the development of a management plan. Implementation has mainly involved maintenance of drainage systems controlling the water table, stabilization of perimeter walls of palaces and funerary platforms, vegetation control, maintenance of public use areas, architectural documentation for conservation and management, capacity building for local artisans, and awareness measures for students and the local community.