Publications
Chan Chan (Perú), la ciudad de tierra: la amenaza al paisaje cultural de un sitio Patrimonio Mundial
A multidisciplinary analysis reveals significant transformation and vulnerability of the cultural landscape at Chan Chan, Peru, a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed as 'in danger.' The study identifies critical urban-environmental threats—mobility challenges, high urban density, and solid waste pollution—in its buffer zone. Using geographic information systems (GIS) and cartographic tools, researchers propose strategic interventions to mitigate these risks: regulating the buffer zone, protecting agricultural areas, rerouting heavy traffic away from Chan Chan, and leveraging native huachaques ecosystems for biodiversity conservation. These measures aim to restore the site's cultural integrity and potentially remove it from UNESCO's endangered list.
Building Semantic Segmentation Using UNet Convolutional Network on SpaceNet Public Data Sets for Monitoring Surrounding Area of Chan Chan (Peru)
A novel approach leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and remote-sensing (RS) techniques demonstrates high accuracy in monitoring damage to archaeological sites, achieving around 70% performance in building footprint segmentation. The study focuses on the Chan Chan Archaeological Zone in Peru, utilizing a UNet convolutional network with an EfficientNet encoder trained on public SpaceNet datasets derived from WV2 and WV3 satellite images. Pre-processing equalization of images improved quality and mitigated overfitting, while high-resolution images from Google Earth Pro were used for segmentation analysis. This methodology aims to assist in drafting monitoring and conservation protocols to prevent future disasters, addressing challenges posed by urban growth, seismic events, and ecosystem deterioration.
De palacios a mausoleos: Nuevas evidencias e interpretaciones sobre los accesos de los conjuntos amurallados de Chan Chan, Perú
New evidence from the Gran Chimú complex in Chan Chan, Peru, challenges traditional views of the site's architecture. Researchers found that hornacinas (niche-like structures) with wooden statues were likely late additions to the palace walls, suggesting their role in funerary rituals and ancestor worship. This discovery supports the transformation of these complexes from royal palaces into mausoleums upon the death of Chimú kings. The study analyzed architectural features and statue placements across multiple walled ensembles, providing a fresh interpretation of Chan Chan's evolution during the Chimú Kingdom (900–1470 CE).
Exploiting HBIM for Historical Mud Architecture: The Huaca Arco Iris in Chan Chan (Peru)
Research demonstrates that Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) is an effective tool for assessing and planning the conservation of vulnerable historical mud architecture, such as the Huaca Arco Iris in Chan Chan, Peru. The study highlights HBIM's potential to predict natural or anthropogenic damages through a trinomial data-information-knowledge approach, validated by analyzing semantic relationships within the archaeological site. This method provides a customizable framework for damage assessment and conservation planning, offering a non-invasive alternative to physical interventions.
Dissemination in archaeology: a GIS-based StoryMap for Chan Chan
A GIS-based StoryMap for Chan Chan, Peru, demonstrates the potential of integrating geographic information systems with storytelling to disseminate both tangible and intangible heritage. This innovative approach leverages interoperable data structures to create an accessible, updatable, and user-friendly web tool that preserves the universal value of one of Latin America's largest mud-brick archaeological sites (14 km²). The system consolidates archival research, field surveys, and planning into a single platform, enabling non-expert users to query complex, heterogeneous data. This methodology serves as a scalable model for heritage management and cultural dissemination, offering practical guidelines for researchers and practitioners aiming to share ancient testimonies globally.
Centro de Interpretación en Chan Chan
A proposed Interpretation Center at the Chan Chan Archaeological Zone aims to preserve and deepen understanding of the Chimor culture, which uniquely emphasized celestial bodies like stars and the moon over solar worship. Unlike other pre-Inca cultures, the Chimor integrated astronomy into their cosmology, social structures, and architecture, yet this aspect remains unexplored in existing archaeological sites or local museums. The center would serve as a complementary educational resource, ensuring the cultural legacy of the Chimor civilization is not overshadowed by competing institutions.
Sacrificios de Niños, Adolescentesy Camélidos Jóvenes Durante el Intermedio Tardío en la Periferia de Chan Chan, Valle de Moche, Costa Norte del Perú
Mass child and young camelid sacrifices during the Late Intermediate Period at Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, on the northern periphery of Chan Chan, reveal significant social, political, and ideological dimensions. Preliminary analyses suggest distinct patterns in these rituals, which may have mirrored broader societal structures within the Chimú civilization. The study integrates physical anthropology and zooarchaeological data to hypothesize that such sacrifices were not merely ceremonial but served as strategic acts to reinforce power dynamics during a pivotal phase of Chan Chan's development, the largest pre-Inca urban center on Peru's northern coast.
Agroforestry and Agricultural Production of the Ancient Maya at Chan
Ancient Maya farmers at Chan Chan, through sophisticated agroforestry practices, maintained and thrived within mature tropical forests for over two millennia. Paleoethnobotanical analysis of 1,500 samples from 700 archaeological contexts revealed that these strategies allowed sustainable agricultural production alongside forest preservation. The study highlights the Maya's advanced understanding of ecosystem management, blending crop cultivation with forest conservation techniques that supported both biodiversity and food security.
Building Chan Chan: A Project Management Perspective
A groundbreaking analysis of the ancient Peruvian site Chan Chan reveals that its monumental architecture, specifically Ciudadela Rivero, required over two million labor hours to construct. This was achieved by a modest workforce of 250 workers spanning six years, challenging existing hypotheses about the scale and organization of labor in complex societies. The study employed construction industry-standard tools like the Critical Path Method (CPM) for scheduling and estimating, providing quantitative insights into ancient project management strategies. These findings offer new perspectives on the social complexity and labor organization of the pre-Columbian civilizations that built Chan Chan.
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