Túcume
From Perupedia
| Túcume Purgatorio | ||
|---|---|---|
| An eroded brick pyramid at Túcume | ||
 Coordinates:6°40′44″S 79°49′30″W / 6.67889°S 79.825°W | ||
| Culture | Lambayeque Chimú Inca | |
| Era | Middle Horizon, Late Horizon | |
| Period | 800 AD – 1532 AD | |
| Country Region |  PeruLambayeque | |
| Area | ||
| Area Elevation | 540 acres (220 ha) | |
| Official website | ||
| n/a | ||
Purgatorio (purgatory) is the name by which local people refer to the dozens of pre-Hispanic pyramids, enclosures and mounds found on the plain around La Raya Mountain, south of the La Leche River. This is the site of Túcume, covering an area of over 540 acres (220 ha) and encompassing 26 major pyramids and mounds.[1]
This site was a major regional center, maybe even the capital of the successive occupations of the area by the Lambayeque/Sican (800-1350 AD), Chimú (1350–1450 AD) and Inca (1450–1532 AD). Local shaman healers (curanderos) invoke power of Tucume and La Raya Mountain in their rituals, and local people fear these sites. Hardly anyone other than healers venture out in this site at night.
The plains of Túcume are part of the Lambayeque Valley, the largest valley of the North Coast of Peru. The Lambayeque Valley is the site of scores of natural and man-made waterways and is also a region of about 250 brick pyramids.
References
- ↑ Shimada, Izumi. "The Late Prehispanic Coastal States." In The Inca World: The Development of Pre-Columbian Peru, edited by L. Laurencich Minelli, pp.49-82. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000
External links
Coordinates: 6°40′44″S 79°49′30″W / 6.679°S 79.825°W
