Sculpture found in pre-Hispanic citadel of Chan Chan in Peru
A team of archaeologists has found a wooden sculpture in a ceremonial centre of the pre-Hispanic citadel of Chan Chan in northern Peru, a researcher reported Tuesday.
"We have found a wooden sculpture in perfect condition belonging to the Chimú culture in the Chan Chan archaeological complex," archaeologist Arturo Paredes, head of the special state project investigating Chan Chan, said.
The antiquity of the sculpture fluctuates in a range between 850 and 1470 years, which corresponds to the early period of the Chimú culture, according to the scientist.
Paredes explained that the discovery occurred last week in the Huaca Takaynamo, a pyramidal architecture located in Chan Chan.
The pre-Hispanic citadel is located on the outskirts of the city of Trujillo, about 500 km north of Lima on the coast.
Chan Chan was built with adobe and mud, being the largest city in America and the world built with that material.
"The sculpture is 50 centimetres high by 16 wide and represents a carrier of a Chimú ruler's litter, and it is one of the previous sculptures that we have found in the area," explained the researcher.
The character wears a cap with a trapezoidal cut at the top, which is decorated with seven vertical bands of alternating light and dark colours.
Next to the sculpture, nectandra seeds (flowering plants) have been recovered, which must have formed a necklace.
