Tucume Site Museum

The Archaeological Complex of Túcume constitutes one of the most important pre-Hispanic monuments

Tucume Site Museum

The Archaeological Complex of Túcume constitutes one of the most important pre-Hispanic monuments of the North coast of Peru given its magnitude and extension of approximately 220 hectares.

It houses twenty-six monumental architectural buildings associated with other buildings: squares, mounds, courtyards, canal systems, walls, and other constructions that are the reflection of a planned growth system and a complex social structure. Concerning Túcume, picking up the oral tradition it is known that Cium was the second hierarch of the old Lambayeque and successor of Naylamp, this, in turn, had numerous offspring, which were established in Cinto, Colluz, Jayanca, and Túcume.

Tucume site

During the investigations of the Túcume complex, the presence of some tombs with cotton garments, copper artifacts, ceramics was reported, which, based on their characteristics, relates it to the Chimú-Inca occupation. Some authors, as is the case with Richard Shaedel, ventured to characterize Tucume as 'an urban elite center'. Others, like Trimborn, point out that it is a center of regional power, as well as the seat of a dynasty. This author was interested in obtaining radiocarbon dates of the place to try to establish a chronology that allows guiding the process of growth of the architectural complex obtaining the following results: Huaca El Mirador (Huaca 1) 1290 AD, Huaca de las Estacas 1010 AD, Huaca Larga 1260 AD Data that the author relates to the times of the first dynasty of Naylamp.

Without a doubt, the large adobe buildings that make up the Túcume complex constitute one of the most extensive and important monumental complexes in ancient Peru. From the architectural evidence, in the Túcume complex you can distinguish a clear continuity in the type of truncated pyramidal construction for this region of Lambayeque, but not in the valleys of Jequetepeque (Pacatnamú-Farfan), Trujillo (Chan-Chan), Casma (Manchan), where for the Chimú period, the architecture is based on spaces delimited by perimeter walls as a walled enclosure. It is possible that the lambayeque were more conservative, but not the Chimú that varied to other forms of clear orthogonal planning of probable influence of the South (Wari Culture), perhaps they were more susceptible to foreign influences that produced these architectural changes, or these influences were of different intensity and expression in different regions.

While it is true that in the Trujillo region for the Chimú period (Chan-Chan) there are some pyramid platforms, these are not of the magnitude or importance of those of the Moche period or those found in Lambayeque for the period of the same name. It is also necessary to recognize the monumental nature of the site and, therefore, it is logical to attribute a high rank. Coming to conclude that this unique concentration of large public buildings, strategically located at the center of the most fertile area of the region, suggests that this extensive architectural complex was constituted in the political capital or center of regional power Chimú for this section of the North Coast From Peru.

Exhibit

The Túcume Museum was inaugurated in 1993. Its construction is distinguished from other museums in the region for being built mainly with a cane, mud, adobe, carob horcones, and for having recreated spaces in the style of the old chapels of the fifteenth century.

In the museum, archaeological collections from excavations carried out in Túcume between 1989 and 1994 are exhibited. The main hall exhibits an important archaeological collection linked to the Lambayeque, Chimú, and Inca cultures, as well as a collection of ethnographic objects, mainly of ceramic, textiles, and materials associated with a curandero table. All this shows the thread of continuity between the old and current inhabitants of the place linked to gastronomy, textiles, and beliefs.

Also, the museum develops tasks of protection and conservation of the archaeological and cultural heritage of the district of Túcume. One of the most important additional lines of interest is that of peasant oral traditions.

In this strategy, the museum promotes and develops various activities related to the incorporation of the local community in conservation and tourism development tasks. For this, it carries out conservation education activities through training workshops aimed at artisans, transport service providers, training of local guides, restaurants, educational centers, and diverse organizations. It also promotes the formation of micro-businesses and the obtaining of microcredits.