In this study, we analyze extensive segmented and standardized agricultural fields in the marginally productive terrain of the Pampa de Guereque in the Jequetepeque Valley on the north coast of Peru. Although portions of the associated canal system were constructed continuously from late Formative to Chimú times, the segmented fields date to the late Chimú–Inka period and were only partially finished, apparently never fully used, and ultimately abandoned. We provide description of field plots and irrigation canals and discuss the implications of state-level construction and labor management of the fields, as well as the probable reasons for their abandonment.

En este artículo se describe y analiza los últimos hallazgos realizados durante la investigación del conjunto amurallado Gran Chimú, en la ciudad de Chan Chan, capital del reino de Chimo (900-1470 dC), en la costa norte de Perú. Después de analizar las características arquitectónicas de las entradas y la presencia de hornacinas con estatuillas de madera en Gran Chimú y en otros conjuntos de Chan Chan, planteamos que las hornacinas y estatuas son adiciones arquitectónicas tardías. Proponemos que los personajes representados están asociados con los rituales funerarios y el culto al ancestro representado por la momia del rey. A partir de ello, reforzamos la idea de los conjuntos amurallados como palacios que se trasforman en mausoleos reales a la muerte de los reyes chimúes.

This article examines the politics of ritual space in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru after the conquest of the region by the Chimú Empire (A.D. 1200–1450). Interpretations are based on detailed analysis of ceremonial architecture located in the rural hinterland of urban centres. Despite imperial incorporation, the proliferation of ceremonial sites in the Jequetepeque countryside indicates that ritual production remained the prerogative of local groups. Architectural archaism, syncretism and the emulation of Chimú space in Jequetepeque demonstrate that rural communities adopted diverse ideological strategies to defend indigenous political identities and manipulate imperial authorities. The analysis improves understanding of the effects of Chimú conquest on local populations and suggests that imperial administration relied on indirect rule. Local communities were not passive consumers of state ideology but actively participated in the propagation of both corporate and indigenous religious systems. Ultimately, the article intends to advance archaeological interpretation of the political significance of patterned variability in the construction and experience of ceremonial space.