Data base

The relevant data for this papel derive from the ongoing Sicán Archaeological Project, which, since 1978, has explored the historical trajectory and material, organizational, and ideological characteristics of the Sicán culture within its regional context (e.g., Shimada 1980, 1990, 1995). The "Sicán" (also known as Lambayeque) culture, a highly distinct and influential entity centered in the Lambayeque region of the northem North Coast, emerged around AD. 750 following the demise of the northern Mochica (or Moche; Shimada 1990, 1994a). During the middle or "classic" phase dating to AD. 900-1100, its polity, centered at the site of Sicán in the mid-La Leche valley (Figs. 1,2), established political and religious dominance ayer a 400-km stretch of the Peruvian coast, from at least the Chira valley in the north through the Chicama in the south. In fact, the Middle Sicán style as represented by mold-made, black, single-spout bottles bearing the diagnostic icon of the Sicán Deity, spread rapidly and extensively ayer a much larger area, constituting the only coastal "horizon style" known to date. The Late Sicán polity with its new capital at El Purgatorio (or Túcume Viejo) remained viable until ca. AD. 1375-1400 when it was conquered by the expanding Chimú Kingdom (Table 1).

Holistic understanding of Sicán ceramic and metallurgical production through sustained, interdisciplinary investigation has been a basic, long-term aim of the Sicán Archaeological Project; i.e., reconstruction of the technology and organization of these crafts at all stages of production and to define the meaning and roles of their products (e.g., Cleland and Shimada 1994, in press; Merkeletal. 1994; Shimada 1985, 1994b; Shimada et al. 1982; Shimada and Griffin 1994; Shimada and Merkel 1991). Much of the relevant data have been derived from surveys and/or excavations of various Sicán metallurgical (both arsenical correr and gold alloy) and ceramic production sites. Our investigation of other crafts such as weaving and lapidary has lagged behind largely due the paucity of relevant materials and sites. However, ongoing investigations following the recent discoveries of cotton cloth and massive quantities of diverse beads in Middle Sicán elite tombs (e.g., Shimada et al. 1997) should redress the latter.

Excavations of three Middle Sicán elite tombs at or near the monumental adobe-and-fill truncated pyramids of Huaca Loro and Huaca Las Ventanas (Fig. 2) in 1991-2 and 1995 yielded specific examples of cross-craft interplay considered in this paper. These excavations are part of an interdisciplinary study of Middle Sicán funerary practices and grave goods aimed at the clarification of Sicán social organization that began in 1990 (e.g., Shimada 1995). To date, tombs of varied size, shape and contexts have been sampled at the site of Sicán.