Abstract
This chapter discusses the results of two multidisciplinary projects in the northern Ecuadorian sierra: Rancho Bajo in Quito (Pichincha) and Las Orquídeas in Ibarra (Imbabura). Excavations at Rancho Bajo have discovered the beginnings of sedentism in the Quito area, documenting the remains of an aceramic population (ca. 1600–1400 cal BC) that likely utilized domesticated plants before the better known Cotocollao occupation (ca. 1500–500 cal BC) that was once viewed as the first sedentary population in the region. Las Orquídeas, on the other hand, contains evidence of a Late Formative occupation (800–400 cal BC) contemporaneous with the later Formative phase of Cotocollao. Inhabitants of Las Orquídeas were more engaged in craft production and interregional interaction than their counterparts in Quito, fabricating crafts with both non-local and local raw materials for personal use as well as exchange in interregional networks. The variety of evidence from Rancho Bajo and Las Orquídeas underscores the unbalanced development of various characteristics (sedentism, craft production, interregional interaction) associated with the Ecuadorian Formative. At the same time, these investigations help refine the chronology of the northern highlands and improve our understanding of the ever-shifting relationship between humans and the environment.
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Notes
- 1.
Radiocarbon dates whose 2σ probability distribution includes multiple ranges are presented in the manner outlined by Rick et al. (2009: 90–91). The most probable range is indicated in its entirety, while only the extremes of the other ranges are taken into account in the presentation. All dates were calibrated with the calibration IntCal13 (Reimer et al., 2013).
- 2.
Ugalde directed the first two field seasons. The third field season was co-directed by Carlos Montalvo, Dyrdahl, and Ugalde, all three of whom were professors at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) at the time. Students from the archaeology program at PUCE participated in all three field seasons as well as in the laboratory analyses.
- 3.
The petrographic study of volcanic ash samples was completed by Patricia Mothes and Viviana Valverde of the Instituto Geofísico of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional. The relevant analyses were conducted during the second field season.
- 4.
In the first season, María Isabel Guevara undertook the osteological analyses. Paula Torres completed these analyses in the second season.
- 5.
Carlos Montalvo completed the topographic study during the third field season.
- 6.
Angelo Constantine completed the analysis of the lithic material from the first season. Manuel Coloma analyzed the lithics from the second field season, and Eric Dyrdahl was responsible for the study of this material during the third season.
- 7.
Eric Dyrdahl completed these analyses. The study utilized a Bruker Tracer III-V+ SD XRF spectrometer equipped with a rhodium target X-ray tube and a silicon drift detector. The silicon drift detector has a resolution of ca. 145 eV FWHM for 5.9 keV X-rays (at 200,000 counts per second) in an area of 10 mm2. Each obsidian artifact was measured at 40 kV, 40μA, with a 12 mil Al, 1 mil Ti, 6 mil Cu filter placed in the X-ray path for a 200-second live-time count. Ten elements were measured: Mn, Fe, Zn, Ga, Th, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Nb. Peak intensities for the Kα peaks of each element were calculated as ratios to the Compton peak of rhodium, and converted to parts-per-million using a calibration based on a set of 40 obsidian standards with known values provided by Bruker. The one exception was Th, for which the Lα peak was used.
- 8.
The paleoparasitology study was undertaken by Nancy Orellana Halkyer with support from the Hospital Militar de La Paz, the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas and the Museo Arqueoógico de la Universidad de San Andrés in La Paz. Sediment samples from the pelvic areas of three individuals were analyzed.
- 9.
Ibis Mery analyzed a sample of the faunal remains from Las Orquídeas, including the pendant in question.
- 10.
- 11.
The analysis of all materials related to metalworking is being conducted in collaboration with Jairo Escobar and Julio Hernandez of the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. The results of this investigation will presented in further detail in another publication.
- 12.
Asaro et al. (1994) separate the Mullumica source into four distinct subsources by dividing the distribution of elements such as Fe, Rb, Sr, and Zr into four segments. To produce data comparable to the presentation of more recent publications (Ogburn et al., 2009; Dyrdahl & Speakman, 2013), the two subsources with lower quantities of Fe in Asaro and colleagues´ study were classified as low Fe Mullumica and the two other subsources were considered to be high Fe Callejones-Mullumica.
- 13.
The date range for Late Las Vegas is a rough estimate was obtained by recalibrating the earliest and latest date attributed to Late Las Vegas by Stothert et al. (2003: 26).
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Ugalde, M.F., Dyrdahl, E. (2021). Sedentism, Production, and Early Interregional Interaction in the Northern Sierra of Ecuador. In: Bonomo, M., Archila, S. (eds) South American Contributions to World Archaeology. One World Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73998-0_13
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