“Yea, he [Moroni] had been
strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places
of resort…and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about
their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land…and
in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and
thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the
Nephites” (Alma
48:8-9)
With its seven defensive walls, the Paramonga complex on
the top of adjoining hills that jut up out of the surrounding plain look every
bit of what it was—a fortress. The early Spanish when first seeing it called it
a citadel—castle, because of its formidable appearance. Paramonga is an
impressive fortified structure built on a mountain spur overlooking the coastal
desert plains at the mouth of the Fortaleza river. Apparently built by the
Chimú kingdom to defend the southern borders of their territory, this redoubt
featured prominently in an unsuccessful struggle to hold off the advancing
imperial Incas during the very last decades of native Andean civilization,
shortly before the Spanish Conquest.
Left:
The fortress of Fortaleza of Paramonga sits on the top of a spur of the
mountain overlooking the valley all around; Right: Drawing of the hilltop
fortress
Paramonga was an important city constructed at the border of the
former Kingdom of Chimor in Peru whose capital was the metropolis of Chan Chan.
Paramonga is located on the Fortaleza river, close to the town of Pativilca to
the north of Peru. It is said that it was an important religious settlement,
similar to Pachacamac, which lies on the southern outskirts of Lima. Paramonga
is named after the nearby modern town since its original name is unknown, and
is often called a fortress due to its staggered pyramid of four levels of
enormous proportions constructed on a hill, which resembles somewhat a European
medieval castle.
An aerial
view of the fortress showing its complexity and the numerous defensive walls
around it
However,
the question begs that if it was built around 850 A.D., then why was it
necessary? During that time the so-called Chimu of the Chimor Kingdom—a
political grouping of the culture—ruled the northern coast of Peru up until
1470 when they were conquered by the Inca. But in 850 A.D., the Chimu made up
about two-thirds of the people of the Andes, so why was a fortress of the
magnitude shown at Paramonga needed? Who were they so afraid of that they built
this hilltop fortress with seven
surrounding walls for its protection?
While
the interest at this point is not who occupied it during this later A.D.
period, we should keep in mind that this fortress must have been built far
earlier, when war was very evident in the area, and different cultures were not
aligned with one another as in the period mentioned.
Again,
we find ourselves running headlong into pre-determined attitudes of
archaeologists and anthropologist who have their own idea about when these
people existed and when their buildings were constructed.
The impressive view of the fortress
from the level plain surrounding it, showing why the Spanish called it a fortress
citadel upon first seeing it
It
is said the Chimu grew out of the remnants of the Moche culture, which is
claimed to have formed around 100 A.D. While this
issue is the subject of some debate among scholars, many contend that the Moche
were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state. Rather, they
were likely a group of autonomous polities that shared a common elite culture,
as seen in the rich iconography and monumental architecture that survive today.
They are particularly noted for their elaborately painted ceramics, gold work,
monumental constructions (huacas) and
irrigation systems.
According to scholars, Moche history
may be broadly divided into three periods – the emergence of the Moche culture
in Early Moche (AD 100–300), its expansion and florescence during Middle Moche
(AD 300–600), and the urban nucleation and subsequent collapse in Late Moche
(AD 500–750).
This, of course, is merely the
anthropologists’ belief—it is not proven or even supported by anything more
than a diffusion pattern of pre-determined concepts, fragments of pottery, and
an undying investment in creating cultures that were made up of different people,
different polities, and different manifold groups. While it is the basis of
archaeological work, it is extremely misleading and refuses to take into
account that one people were responsible for things even though they take on a
different look from time to time. After all, according to the archaeologist,
any change in architecture demands a change in people who created it—which
precludes the ability of people to develop, change, improve, and increase their
abilities, concepts, and achievements.
Were the Moche and Chimu different
people? Or just one people with expanding and increasing abilities that moved
them from one style to another in their pottery art, architecture, and
interests?
The
oldest written records of the site are the ones from colonial times by
chroniclers, Spanish soldiers, priests and other literate men who accompanied Pizarro
on the conquest of the Tawantinsuyu—the
Inca Empire. One of those was Miguel de Estete, a “chronicler solider,” who
wrote in 1532, “and another day we went to sleep in a great town that is called
Parmunga, which is next to the sea, has a Strong House, with five blind fences,
painted of elaborately on the inside and outside with its walls carved, the way
it is done in Spain, with two tigers (pumas?) at the main entrance.” Another
chronicler, Cieza of Leon, passed Paramonga during his trip from the City of
the Kings (Lima) to Trujillo in 1541. He described it as having “…beautiful
rooms and quarters, with walls painted with many ferocious animals and birds;
everything is surrounded by very strong walls and built well. The citadel is
already almost in ruins.”
Entrance through the various defensive walls
is a steep uphill approach for any enemy, and through narrow approaches, which
made them vulnerable to arrows, stones, slings, etc.
The Chimú built huge,
sophisticated defensive structures from millions of adobe bricks. This La
Fortaleza fortress at Paramonga, was built to protect the Chimú empire, walls five
to seven feet high were built beginning about 500 B.C., not 850 A.D., according
to later radiocarbon dating. The Chimú’s "Great Wall of Peru," discovered during
an aerial survey in 1931, was much more ambitious, and extends as far as 50
miles inland. Several circular and rectangular forts were built along the wall,
which is made of broken rocks and adobe cement, and now averages about 7 feet
in height; its original height averaged 12 to 15 feet high, but in places it is
still 20 to 30 feet high where it crosses gullies.
(See the next post,
“Fortress of Paramonga and the Moche,” for more on this amazing fortress and
the people who built it and those who later occupied it)
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