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

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.