Ceramic technology, ethnic identification and multiethnic contacts: The archaeological example of the Cuyes river valley (Southeastern Ecuadorian highlands). (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lara, Catherine; Iliopoulos, Ioannis
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 33(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Ceramic technology -- Chaîne opératoire -- Petrography -- Ecuador -- Amazon -- Cañaris -- Aénts Chicham; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102557
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Highlights: Contacts between the Andes and the Amazon are crucial in pre-Columbian South-America. The technological approach is promising in order to better understand this phenomenon. Its application to pottery samples from Ecuador is a case in point. Abstract: Located in the south-eastern corner of Ecuador, the Cuyes River valley is a conduit between the Andes and the Amazon. In the late 1970s, monumental structures (presumably pre-Columbian) discovered in this area raised the question of who the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of this valley were: Andean or Amazonian peoples? The research summarized here describes how this question was approached through a technological and petrographic analysis of the ceramics excavated in the Cuyes valley. Results point to the presence both of a Cañari (Andean) and an Aénts Chicham (Amazonian) tradition. Along with archaeological and ethno-historic data the geographic distribution of these traditions supports the hypothesis of a strong interaction between the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Cuyes river valley.