The Chimú culture flourished on the arid northern coast of Peru, centered around their capital city of Chan Chan, between the 10th and 15th centuries CE. They developed an advanced hydraulic society, using intricate irrigation systems to support agriculture in the desert valleys, and established the second-largest empire in the ancient Andes before their fall to the Inca Empire in the late 15th century. In 1572, the Spanish cosmographer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa noted that in the Andes, the original peoples valued the red shell of Spondylus - a spiny bivalve known as "spiny oyster" — more than gold or silver. This necklace, made with thousands of tiny reddish orange Spondylus beads, is strung in vertical rows on a cotton textile support. The semi-circular upper section ested over the shoulders, while the cascading design lower section covered the wearer's chest. The intense color of the Spondylus is highlighted by a border of pale black and orange beads arranged in wavy motifs. From each horizontal section hang rows of beads that reinforce the sense of movement and shine.
Spondylus shell bead necklace
Chimú culture
Peru
900-1470 CE
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