subsistence changed. There was a decline in the local shellfish population
which forced the people to find other food to make up for this destruction of a
major part of their diet. The first three crops remained important, but chili
peppers, common beans, pacae, cansaboca, lucuma, guayaba, and avocado were
added to the diet as supplementary goods. The next stage occurred with the
invention and creation of irrigation agriculture which was a large shift in
this river valley. There were early irrigation systems that allowed some
cultivation, but the people were still heavily reliant on marine life at this
point. Eventually, with increased irrigation and a more efficient system the
people were able to move more inland and away from the coast. Added to the
earlier stated crops peanuts and maize began to be cultivated at this time. At
this time there was a switch of focus on fruits to field crop species,
especially those that were storable such as cotton, gourds, and peanuts. Along
with the addition of the llama into the subsistence strategy, the reliance on
marine goods was greatly decreased. However, it is true that Chan Chan relied
heavily on trading with other cities for their main sources of food (Moseley
and Day 1982: 177-182).
Plant species data that was collected in this region
indicate an increase in seeds and plant-part sizes which hints at the increase
of overall yield that occurred during the switch into irrigation agriculture.
The plant cultigens found in Chan Chan included maize, common beans, squash,
gourd, cotton, peanuts, and aji. Also, there is evidence of cansaboca, lucuma,
avocado, pacae, and guanabana which were all plants eaten in earlier times.
Also important was the finding of wild plant remains which included cane,
algarroba, local grass, and burrs. From the collection of remains the data
indicates that tree fruit was of more abundance than the plants at this time
(Moseley and Day
