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Building Chan Chan: A Project Management Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard L. Smailes
Richard L. Smailes*
Affiliation:
M. E. Rinker, Sr., School of Building Construction, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611–5703 (rsmailes@ufl.edu)
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Abstract

The labor investment in ancient monumental architecture is an important factor in hypotheses concerning a society’s size, organization, and social complexity. Most methods of quantifying labor expenditures are limited to simply designed structures with a minimal number of elements. Due to the lack of practical analytical methods, complex architecture is often described subjectively, offering little quantitative value, resulting in inferences that could be misleading or wrong. Using Ciudadela Rivero at the site of Chan Chan, Peru, as a case study, this research employed construction industry-standard planning, estimating, and scheduling tools to calculate the labor requirements and construction times under various building scenarios. Additionally, the application of Critical Path Method scheduling provides the means to model and compare numerous building scenarios by simulating the effects of various construction and labor organization strategies in their cultural context. The results for Ciudadela Rivero revealed a labor input of over two million labor hours, which could be accomplished by a modest labor force of as few as 250 workers over a six-year period. These data affect numerous archaeological hypotheses concerning scale of construction, organization of labor, and complexity of social organization.

Resumen

Resumen

La estimación de los requerimientos de mano de obra en la construcción de arquitectura monumental antigua es un factor importante en la formulación de hipótesis sobre el tamaño y la complejidad organizacional de las sociedades que produjeron dichas edificaciones. La mayoría de los métodos que cuantifican la mano de obra se han limitado a estructuras sencillas con escaso número de elementos. De tal forma, debido a la falta de métodos para analizar de forma práctica complejas edificaciones antiguas, con frecuencia se recurre a estimaciones subjetivas de escaso valor cuantitativo. El presente estudio utilizó métodos estándares de la industria de construcción para calcular los requerimientos de mano de obra y tiempos de construcción de distintos escenarios constructivos para la Ciudadela Rivero en Chan-Chan (Perú). Además, se aplicó el Análisis de Ruta Crítica para recrear y comparar los efectos de distintos escenarios organizacionales y constructivos en su contexto cultural. Los resultados estiman la necesidad de más de dos millones de horas-hombre para la construcción de Ciudadela Rivero. Esto permite inferir el uso de 250 trabajadores en un período de seis años. Esta información afecta muchas hipótesis arqueológicas sobre la escala de la construcción, la organización laboral y la complejidad estructural de la sociedad.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 37 - 63
Copyright
Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology

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