El Algarrobal De Moro: A Lower-level Administrative Center in the Jequetepeque Valley on Peru’s North Coast

Abstract

El Algarrobal de Moro is a lower-level Chimú administrative center located within the larger archaeological complex of San Jose de Moro in the Jequetepeque Valley of Peru’s north coast. El Algarrobal was an intrusive center constructed ca. A.D. 1400 some 100 years after the Chimú conquest of the valley. This research contrasts El Algarrobal with known Chimú lower-level centers in the Moche and Chicama Valleys and although similarities exist, the results show that there are significant functional differences in the Jequetepeque center. El Algarrobal was later occupied by the Inca and their subsequent modification and use highlights the importance of lower-level centers and the political strategy of each empire.