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The early settlement of Continental Ecuador: New evidence from preceramic sites in the Tropical Rain Forest
Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint
The early settlement of Continental Ecuador: New evidence from preceramic sites in the Tropical Rain Forest Angelo Constantine Cdla. La Cumbre, Edificio LEGUS III, Apartamento 2, Guayaquil, Ecuador
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Available online 22 October 2013
Recent research carried out as part of contract archaeological projects has identified preceramic sites in the Neotropics from the beginning of the Holocene. The new data allow expansion and rethinking of previous models. Unlike the known sites of Sierra and the Coast, the Tropical Rain Forest sites provide secure numerical and relative dating at multicomponent sites with secure feature contexts capped by ceramic occupations. Material culture observed in these new preceramic sites, combined with that already known, clarifies the picture of this period and shows the coexistence of two different technologies, an expedient unifacial flake industry and a bifacial industry, that could be related to the presence of two different human groups of hunteregatherers during the Preceramic in Ecuador. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction In the last thirty years, the issue of first settlement in what is now Ecuador has been examined at four archaeological sites that provided evidence on the presence of human groups in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The cultural material recovered from archaeological excavations of these four hunteregatherer sites is characterized by two lithic industries. The first shows greater technological development and bifacial points, as found at El Inga, Chobshi, and Cubilán. The second lithic industry can be identified with technologically simple stone work such as at Las Vegas. Three new sites, Guaguacanoayacu, Gran Cacao, and Montequinto, provide evidence of settlement in the Tropical Rain Forest, with two of the sites situated in the western, interior coastal lowland and the other in the Amazon (Fig. 1). This distribution demonstrates that the early inhabitants of Ecuador settled in different ecosystems than the previously studied sites in the equatorial Andes and on the coast. Unlike single component sites studied by Bell (1965), Salazar (1979), Lynch and Pollock (1981), Temme (1982, 2009) and Stothert (1988), the new sites presented here contain multiple occupations, with ceramics present in domestic contexts in the upper strata. The later ceramic components were found separated from the preceramic occupations in secure contexts that demonstrate a hiatus in the chrono-stratigraphic history. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.010
In this paper, recent information obtained from mainland Ecuador on early hunteregatherers is discussed. This information includes chronology, raw materials, and the technological differences between the sites of the Sierra and the Tropical Rain Forest. 2. Background The presence of leaf-shaped points in the region of Ilaló led to surveys and excavations in the 1970s with the intent to investigate the early prehistory of Ecuador. Of the four sites investigated, Inga, Chobshi, Cubilán and Las Vegas, Chobshi and El Inga lacked coherent stratigraphy. El Inga, an open air site, is located on modern-day agricultural lands and lacks in situ prehistoric cultural deposits (Salazar, 1979:21). The cultural deposits at Chobshi also exhibit disturbances. Neither Reinoso (1970) nor Lynch and Pollock (1981) were able to provide stratigraphic contexts for the cultural deposits, nor were radiocarbon dates associated with the excavated lithic assemblage. The early occupation in the upper basin of the Jubones and Zamora rivers is the best documented in the southern highlands. Temme (1982, 2009) recorded twenty-six open-air preceramic sites and excavated two of them in the Cubilán area. Radiocarbon dating shows a difference of 1300 years between the two excavated sites (Table 1), suggesting a long period of occupation in the low mountainous region. The presence of similar cultural features in the area indicates that distinct groups of hunteregatherers were probably established in this area.
A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
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Table 1 Summary of Ecuadorian preceramic sites. Site
Region
Excavator
Sample
Date (BP)
OGSE-80a Las Vegas
Coast
Stothert (1988) and Stothert and Piperno (2000)
El Inga Chobshi
Northern Sierra Southern Sierra
Bell (1965) Lynch and Pollock (1981)
Cubilán
Southern Sierra
Temme (1982, 2009)
OIVB1-07 Guaguacanoayacu
Amazon-Río Napo Basin
Sánchez (1998)
N2F4-31 Montequinto
Northwest of Pichincha e Esmeraldas Basin Guayas Basin
Domínguez et al. (2003)
TX-3316 TX-3772 TX-4461 TX-4706 TX-3770 R-1070/2 TX-1133 TX-1132 Cu 27-KI-1642 Cu 27-KI-1640 Cu 26-KI-1859 Cu 26-KI-1860 Beta 115898 Beta 115899 Beta 172886
9.550 9.800 10.100 10.300 10.840 9.030 10.010 8.480 10.500 10.330 9.100 9.160 8.810 9.850 10.190
Sánchez (2007)
Beta 229137
N3F1-15 Gran Cacao a
Material 120 100 130 240 410 144 430 200 130 170 120 100 60 60 90
8.360 40
Shell Shell Shell Charcoal Charcoal Soil Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal
Gnecco and Aceituno, 2004 (pg. 153).
The Las Vegas complex consists of 31 sites along the ancient drainages of the coast. Stothert (1988) excavated one of these sites, revealing the presence of cultural materials to a depth of 110 cm. On the basis of the radiocarbon dates from the site, Stothert subdivided this material into three phases belonging to the Las Vegas complex. Although two of the four sites initially investigated showed disturbances, the presence of typologically early projectile points at El Inga and Chobshi suggests that the colonization of Ecuador began in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene (Table 1).
groups in mainland Ecuador were exploiting various ecosystems such as mountain forests, low mountain, the Tropical Rain Forest, and the coastal strip (Fig. 1). The exploitation of various ecological niches by hunteregatherers probably resulted from subsistence needs and environmental requisites or was carried out by different populations of hunteregatherers who inhabited South America (Bate, 1999). Importantly, the sites located in the Tropical Rain Forest contain different lithic technologies than those in the equatorial Andes.
3. Evidence from the Tropical Rain Forest: the sites and their contexts
3.1. Guaguacanoayacu (OIVB1-07)
Research in Tropical Rain Forest has unearthed evidence of early settlement. These investigations indicate that hunteregatherer
The archaeological deposits at Guaguacanoayacu investigated by Sánchez (1998) are located on a flat-top hill in the Canoayacu basin, a sub-basin of the Napo River (Fig. 1) at 365 m.asl (N9887400/ E230150). The excavations revealed two occupations. A Late occupation identified in deposit 2 contains a hearth, sherds, and stone tools. Artifacts were found throughout the excavation area and in several contexts. The results of ceramic analysis showed three predominant forms, consisting of bowls, dishes, and pots. The lithic artifacts include both flaked and ground stone pieces. The Early occupation, dated at 9850 60 BP (Table 1) and present in deposit 3, consists of a living floor demarcated by three post molds and a lithic workshop to the northeast of the post molds. The lithic material consists of expedient flakes, marginally retouched unifacial flakes and a pile of white quartz pebbles. This lithic workshop is confined to an area of 4 m2. Southwest of a line of post molds, stone tools and pebbles were fewer compared to the northeast sector. The lithic assemblage on the Preceramic floor consists of 575 artifacts (Table 2). The raw material includes semi-ovoid pebbles of milky quartz, some specimens showing signs of thermal alteration (Constantine, 1998). The manufacturing technique was both percussion and pressure flaking with the latter being used in marginal retouch. Functional categories correspond to specific activities (cutting, scraping, drilling, and multiple use). Given the context, the number of categories identified, and the use wear patterns, it is conjectured that specific tasks were involved that included the use of scrapers for food processing. One example is butchering where knives served a specific function. 3.2. Montequinto (N2F4-31)
Fig. 1. Location of discussed preceramic sites in the different regions of Ecuador.
Montequinto is located in the Canton of Pedro Vicente Maldonado, 72 km northwest of Quito (Domínguez et al., 2003). The site is
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A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
Table 2 Pieces recovered in the preceramic context of sites in the Tropical Rain Forest. Sample
Sites Guaguacanoayacu
Hammerstones Nodules Cores Preforms Retouched Core artifacts Flake Flakes Debitage Waste Total
1 457 17 2 30 54 14 575
Montequinto
6 1 1 1 2 61 32 104
Gran Cacao 6 42 58 3 7 3 368 370 58 915
situated (E708308/N0011627) on the flat top of a natural hill at 476 m.asl. The hill has moderate slopes (Fig. 1). Excavations revealed four periods of occupation, three containing ceramics and located in deposits 2, 4, and 5. Under these deposits was a sterile deposit that overlies the upper deposits of a Preceramic floor found in deposit 7. The Late occupation, located in deposit 2, contains the remains of a residential structure with defined spaces, associated with rectangular storage pits. The Middle occupation consists of a compact floor, post molds associated with the remains of pots and bowls and small lens-shaped hearths. The Formative occupation, located in deposit 5, contains traces of a habitation structure associated with lithics and ceramics as well as a rectangular hearth with reddish walls. The ceramics show an affinity to the Chorrera culture that developed around 3000 BP (Domínguez et al., 2003). A sterile clay deposit divides the ceramic and Preceramic occupations. The Preceramic occupation was identified in deposit 7 and consists of post molds, a lenticular fireplace, and stone tools dated to 10,190 90 AP. The lithic sample from Montequinto includes 104 pieces, mostly of local raw material (Table 2). A lithic workshop was located in a specific area and cobbles were found arranged as if to serve as support, suggesting use of the site as a camp-workshop (Domínguez et al., 2003). Edge modification of pebbles was carried out after thermal treatment in order to produce bipolar percussion flakes from noncryptocrystalline rocks. Pressure flaking was carried out for edge retouch and rejuvenation. Unlike the preparation of formal tools, expeditious tools were also produced. Use-wear analysis shows signs of wear suggesting activities such as cutting, scraping, and drilling. 3.3. Gran Cacao (N3F1-15) The site of Gran Cacao is located at the right bank of the floodplain of the Baba River (E674343/N9925551), in the Cantón of Buena Fe, province of Los Ríos (Fig. 1). Excavations revealed five occupations, the top four containing ceramics that are underlain by a sterile layer and then a Preceramic deposit at the bottom. From top to bottom the excavations revealed the following sequence: the latest occupation was found in deposit 2 with scattered features contains ceramic vessels left in situ (Sánchez, 2007). The next occupation contains a ceramic and lithic assemblage in deposit 4. Deposit 6 also contains a ceramic and lithic assemblage of varying frequencies and below this was located an occupation defined in deposit 6 by concentrations of pottery and lithic artifacts of varying concentrations in addition to features such as post molds. In deposit 8 or Floor 1 are found various features, ceramics, and lithic tools, especially obsidian.
Preceramic remains were encountered in deposit 9 at a depth of 160e180 cm. The material was located in a silty clay matrix and subdivided into two components: a dark brown deposit 9a (D9a) with dispersed and continuous lithic material, and a discontinuous darker brown deposit 9b (D9b) visible in the profile and plan view (Sánchez, 2007). This layer, “Floor zero”, dates to 8360 40 BP and represents the first occupation of the floodplain of the Baba Basin. The cultural evidence is characterized by the presence of round pebbles showing evidence of burning. These pebbles are distributed on the periphery and in the center of the layer. Post molds found in association as well as lithic artifacts with formalized edge retouch, and primary decortication flakes produced from cryptocrystalline and non-cryptocrystalline rocks are clear evidence of human activity. The lithic assemblage recovered from the Preceramic context comprises a sample of 915 pieces (Table 2) including hammerstones, nodules, cores, preforms, artifacts with marginal retouch, flakes, debitage, and waste. The analyzed nodules are oblong and show evidence of thermal alteration. The excavated features include stacked cobbles on a surface containing evidence of burned earth associated with fragments of charcoal, a recurrent pattern in the Preceramic level (Sánchez, 2007). The cores exhibit different forms due to flaking carried out on natural percussion platforms. The marginal retouch on the edges of the core and flakes produced artifacts for cutting, stabbing, and scraping. Secondary decortication flakes were produced through percussion and pressure techniques. The raw material used in the preparation of flakes is mostly andesite, obsidian, basalt, sandstone, chert, quartz, and pumice. Most of these flakes exhibit no evidence of platform preparation, showing primary cortex and thermal alteration. Flakes were found with evidence of primary and secondary edge use. The archaeological context of Gran Cacao recorded in deposit 9 shows a preceramic occupation with clear cultural associations dated around 8360 40 BP. The presence of piles of cobbles in several areas of “Floor Zero” in association with post molds and lithic instruments of clear human manufacture attests to a Preceramic occupation in the early Holocene. 4. Raw materials and technological differences The analysis of the early evidence shows that Tropical Rain Forest craftsmen used local and non-local raw material for the manufacture of lithic artifacts (Table 3). The abiotic resources in the Tropical Rain Forest sites were obtained directly from the river banks or from other sedimentary deposits. They represent a variety of shapes and sizes. These resources were widely distributed over the geographical space in which these groups moved. Table 3 Raw material sources for the preceramic sites. Site
OGSE-80 Las Vegas El Inga Chobshi Cubilán OIVB1-07 Guaguacanoayacu N2F4-31 Montequinto N3F1-15 Gran Cacao
Region
Raw material (100%) Local
Non-local
Coast Northern Sierra Southern Sierra Southern Sierra Amazon e Río Napo Basin
100 100 100 100 96
4
Northwest of Pichincha e Río Esmeraldas Basin Guayas Basin
100 96
4
A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
The high availability of raw material in these sites suggests that the production of artifacts is both undifferentiated and informalexpedient (Méndez et al., 2004). The use of local raw and nonlocal materials is a cultural decision subject to the constraints of the availability and characteristics of lithic resources (Andrefsky, 1994; Civalero and Franco, 2003). The results indicate that nearly 100% of the raw material used in both the Tropical Rain Forest and the Andean sites was local (Table 3), suggesting a detailed knowledge of the territory. Local raw materials used by groups of hunteregatherers who inhabited the different geographical areas may be indicative of the lack of preference for higher quality rocks in favor of local availability. An analysis of lithic technology demonstrates difference in lithic tool manufacture in the early occupation in Ecuador; with differences between the sites of the Tropical Rain Forest and those in the high Andes showing the following characteristics. El Inga, Cubilán, Chobshi sites exhibit a lithic industry that has a greater degree of elaboration and formal definition including the production of bifacial points (Fig. 2). The sites of Las Vegas, Guaguacanoayacu, Montequinto, and Gran Cacao in the Tropical Rain Forest and the Tropical Dry Forest exhibit no well-defined types or complex tools (Fig. 3). The technology of hunteregatherers of the Tropical Rain and Tropical Dry forests is composed mostly of expedient flakes and few formal artifacts made from local raw materials. This technology is similar to that of sites reported in other areas such as Red Rock (Cavelier and Mora, 1995) to the east of the Colombian Andes, as well as the site located in the confluence of the Orinoco and Meta (Barse, 2003) which contains a Preceramic industry composed of quartz flakes produced by bipolar percussion, similar to the flake manufacturing techniques recorded by Sánchez (1998, 2007) and Domínguez et al. (2003). Data from seven preceramic sites indicate differences in style and technology in prehistoric Ecuador as expressed through formal and technical characteristics. This difference is also observable in other parts of South America. After looking at the available evidence, Bate (1992) suggested that at least three different groups of people spread into South America. One of these groups was the “Andean hunters and gatherers”, who spread throughout the Andean region from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Their lithic technology was characterized by the use of leaf-shaped bifacial points. In Ecuador, this group is represented by Cubilán (Bate, 1992).
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The next group is characterized by “fishtail” points and belonged to the group of “Southern hunteregatherers”, identified in Ecuador at the Inga site. The third population, whose techniques of lithic manufacture differ markedly from the first two, were the “hunteregatherers of Tropical America”. Their lithic industry is characterized by a low level of formal tool manufacture and includes expedient flakes with sharp edges or with marginal retouch (Fujita et al., 2004). Previously in Ecuador, this industry has been represented by the Las Vegas complex. The new data obtained at Guaguacanoayacu, Montequinto, and Grand Cacao expands the sample of sites belonging to early hunteregatherers of Tropical America. The lithic technology developed by the hunteregatherers of Tropical America was not standardized and can be considered an expedient lithic technology. 5. Discussion and conclusions The archaeological record provides evidence that two lithic traditions appeared during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene in Ecuador from sea level to the high Andes. The lithic evidence reflects diversity in the bifacial industry of “Andean hunteregatherers” and the unifacial industry of the “hunteregatherers in the American Tropics”. The local raw material of the Tropical Rain Forest sites was used in core reduction subsequent to thermal alteration and pounding on natural surfaces without the production of a platform of percussion. Bipolar techniques were used to obtain informal, expedient flakes. The technology was aimed at producing tools with functional efficiency. This technology represents an effective economic strategy, a practice that cannot be regarded as “less developed” in terms of efficiency or “more primitive” in evolutionary terms. Due to the lack of paleobotanical data for any of the sites we cannot provide specific details on the environmental context in which this technology developed. Unifacial industries developed as local responses to increasing sedentary lifestyles as witnessed in data from sites such as Las Vegas and Gran Cacao. These people exploited a broad spectrum economy associated with the intensification of the use of plant species for food (Stothert and Piperno, 2000; Sánchez, 2007). Use wear analysis has provided evidence of activities such as butchering and woodworking in the Tropical Rain Forest sites. Results from the best studied sites such as Gran Cacao and Las Vegas, both containing expedient lithic technologies, provide the first evidence of early agriculture and are associated with a lithic tradition that lacks bifacial techniques.
Fig. 2. Bifacial projectile points. 1. Cubilán, 2. Chobshi, 3. Inga. Material of Museo Arqueológico y de Arte Contemporáneo, CCLSB. Ministerio de Cultura. Guayaquil, Ecuador. Scale: 1 cm.
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A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
Fig. 3. Lithic artifacts: 1. Guaguacanoayacu (Collection Guaguacanoayacu, drawings of B. Camino), 2. Montequinto (Collection Montequinto, photography by A. Constantine), 3. Gran Cacao (Collection Gran Cacao, photography by A. Sánchez).
Acknowledgements The author wants to express gratitude to the construction company Norberto Odebrecht, the consultants Efficácitas Cía. Ltd., Komex and Entrix Inc., and the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation for allowing the use of the documentation of the Environmental Impact Study. At the same time, this work could not have been done without the cooperation of the directors of the archaeological projects Amelia Sánchez Mosquera and Victoria Dominguez Sandoval. References Andrefsky, W., 1994. Raw-material availability and the organization of technology. American Antiquity 59, 21e34.
Barse, W., 2003. Holocene Climate and Human Occupation in the Orinoco. In: Mercader, Julio (Ed.), Under the Canopy: the Archaeology of Tropical Rain Forests. Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, pp. 249e270. Bate, L., 1992. Las sociedades cazadoras recolectoras pre-tribales o el Paleolítico Superior visto desde Sudamérica. Boletín de Antropología Americana 25, 152e155. Bate, L., 1999. Comunidades andinas pre-tribales: los orígenes de la diversidad. In: Lumbreras, L.G. (Ed.), Historia de América Andina, Las sociedades Aborígenes, vol. 1. Univ. Simón Bolívar y Libresa, Quito, pp. 77e108. Bell, R., 1965. Investigaciones Arqueológicas en el Sitio el Inga, Ecuador. Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito, Ecuador. Cavelier, I., Mora, S. (Eds.), 1995. Ámbitos y Ocupaciones Tempranas en América Tropical. Fundación Erigaie e ICAN, Bogotá, Colombia. Civalero, M., Franco, N., 2003. Early human occupations in Western Santa Cruz Province, Southernmost South America. Quaternary International 109e 110, 77e86. Constantine, A., 1998. Análisis de la colección lítica del sitio Guaguacanoayacu (0IVB1e007) (Unpublished report). Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117 Domínguez, V., Constantine, A., Sánchez, F., 2003. Nuestro pasado a Través del derecho de Vía del Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados Desde la Estación Balao en Punto Gordo (Provincia de Esmeraldas) Hasta San Tadeo en el Inicio del Altiplano (Provincia de Pichincha) (Unpublished report). Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, Quito-Ecuador. Fujita, H., Téllez, M., Bate, L., 2004. Probable evidencia de ocupación pleistocénica: Covacha del Babisuri, Isla de Espíritu Santo, Baja California. In: Presentation in the II International Symposium “El Hombre Temprano en América”. September, 6-10. Mexico. Gnecco, C., Aceituno, J., 2004. Poblamiento temprano y espacios antropogénicos en el norte de Suramércia. Complutum 15, 151e164. Lynch, T., Pollock, S., 1981. La arqueología de la Cueva Negra de Chobshi. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 1, 92e119. Méndez, César A., Blanco, José F., Quemada, C., 2004. Aprovechamiento de materias primas líticas en el Alto Chacabuco. Chungará (Arica) 36, 37e47 (online). Reinoso, G., 1970. Horizonte precerámico de Chobshi. Revista de Antropología 2, 232e251. Cuenca. Salazar, E., 1979. El hombre temprano en la región del Ilalo, sierra del Ecuador. Departamento de difusión cultural de la Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador.
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Sánchez, A., 1998. Informe de las excavaciones en los sitios Guaguacanoayacu (0IVB1e07) y Timbela (0IVB1-11), provincia de Napo, Ecuador (Unpublished report). Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, Quito, Ecuador. Sánchez, A., 2007. Estudio de Impacto Ambiental: Componente Arqueológico. Proyecto Multipropósito Baba Provincia de Los Ríos. Unpublished report by Effic acitas Consultora Cía. Ltda. to Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural. Guayaquil, Ecuador. Stothert, K., 1988. La Prehistoria Temprana de la Península de Santa Elena, Ecuador; Cultura Las Vegas. In: Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana, Serie monográfica, vol. 10. Museo del Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil. Stothert, K., Piperno, D., 2000. La Cultura las Vegas de los Amantes de Sumpa y el contexto del origen del cultivo de las plantas domesticadas. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 9, 51e71. Temme, M., 1982. Excavaciones en el sitio precerámico de Cubilan, Ecuador. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 2, 135e164. Temme, M., 2009. Cubilán. Dos estaciones precerámicas en el curso superior del Río Oña-San Felipe de Oña (Provincias: Loja y Azuay-Ecuador). Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint
The early settlement of Continental Ecuador: New evidence from preceramic sites in the Tropical Rain Forest Angelo Constantine Cdla. La Cumbre, Edificio LEGUS III, Apartamento 2, Guayaquil, Ecuador
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Available online 22 October 2013
Recent research carried out as part of contract archaeological projects has identified preceramic sites in the Neotropics from the beginning of the Holocene. The new data allow expansion and rethinking of previous models. Unlike the known sites of Sierra and the Coast, the Tropical Rain Forest sites provide secure numerical and relative dating at multicomponent sites with secure feature contexts capped by ceramic occupations. Material culture observed in these new preceramic sites, combined with that already known, clarifies the picture of this period and shows the coexistence of two different technologies, an expedient unifacial flake industry and a bifacial industry, that could be related to the presence of two different human groups of hunteregatherers during the Preceramic in Ecuador. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction In the last thirty years, the issue of first settlement in what is now Ecuador has been examined at four archaeological sites that provided evidence on the presence of human groups in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The cultural material recovered from archaeological excavations of these four hunteregatherer sites is characterized by two lithic industries. The first shows greater technological development and bifacial points, as found at El Inga, Chobshi, and Cubilán. The second lithic industry can be identified with technologically simple stone work such as at Las Vegas. Three new sites, Guaguacanoayacu, Gran Cacao, and Montequinto, provide evidence of settlement in the Tropical Rain Forest, with two of the sites situated in the western, interior coastal lowland and the other in the Amazon (Fig. 1). This distribution demonstrates that the early inhabitants of Ecuador settled in different ecosystems than the previously studied sites in the equatorial Andes and on the coast. Unlike single component sites studied by Bell (1965), Salazar (1979), Lynch and Pollock (1981), Temme (1982, 2009) and Stothert (1988), the new sites presented here contain multiple occupations, with ceramics present in domestic contexts in the upper strata. The later ceramic components were found separated from the preceramic occupations in secure contexts that demonstrate a hiatus in the chrono-stratigraphic history. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.010
In this paper, recent information obtained from mainland Ecuador on early hunteregatherers is discussed. This information includes chronology, raw materials, and the technological differences between the sites of the Sierra and the Tropical Rain Forest. 2. Background The presence of leaf-shaped points in the region of Ilaló led to surveys and excavations in the 1970s with the intent to investigate the early prehistory of Ecuador. Of the four sites investigated, Inga, Chobshi, Cubilán and Las Vegas, Chobshi and El Inga lacked coherent stratigraphy. El Inga, an open air site, is located on modern-day agricultural lands and lacks in situ prehistoric cultural deposits (Salazar, 1979:21). The cultural deposits at Chobshi also exhibit disturbances. Neither Reinoso (1970) nor Lynch and Pollock (1981) were able to provide stratigraphic contexts for the cultural deposits, nor were radiocarbon dates associated with the excavated lithic assemblage. The early occupation in the upper basin of the Jubones and Zamora rivers is the best documented in the southern highlands. Temme (1982, 2009) recorded twenty-six open-air preceramic sites and excavated two of them in the Cubilán area. Radiocarbon dating shows a difference of 1300 years between the two excavated sites (Table 1), suggesting a long period of occupation in the low mountainous region. The presence of similar cultural features in the area indicates that distinct groups of hunteregatherers were probably established in this area.
A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117
113
Table 1 Summary of Ecuadorian preceramic sites. Site
Region
Excavator
Sample
Date (BP)
OGSE-80a Las Vegas
Coast
Stothert (1988) and Stothert and Piperno (2000)
El Inga Chobshi
Northern Sierra Southern Sierra
Bell (1965) Lynch and Pollock (1981)
Cubilán
Southern Sierra
Temme (1982, 2009)
OIVB1-07 Guaguacanoayacu
Amazon-Río Napo Basin
Sánchez (1998)
N2F4-31 Montequinto
Northwest of Pichincha e Esmeraldas Basin Guayas Basin
Domínguez et al. (2003)
TX-3316 TX-3772 TX-4461 TX-4706 TX-3770 R-1070/2 TX-1133 TX-1132 Cu 27-KI-1642 Cu 27-KI-1640 Cu 26-KI-1859 Cu 26-KI-1860 Beta 115898 Beta 115899 Beta 172886
9.550 9.800 10.100 10.300 10.840 9.030 10.010 8.480 10.500 10.330 9.100 9.160 8.810 9.850 10.190
Sánchez (2007)
Beta 229137
N3F1-15 Gran Cacao a
Material 120 100 130 240 410 144 430 200 130 170 120 100 60 60 90
8.360 40
Shell Shell Shell Charcoal Charcoal Soil Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal
Gnecco and Aceituno, 2004 (pg. 153).
The Las Vegas complex consists of 31 sites along the ancient drainages of the coast. Stothert (1988) excavated one of these sites, revealing the presence of cultural materials to a depth of 110 cm. On the basis of the radiocarbon dates from the site, Stothert subdivided this material into three phases belonging to the Las Vegas complex. Although two of the four sites initially investigated showed disturbances, the presence of typologically early projectile points at El Inga and Chobshi suggests that the colonization of Ecuador began in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene (Table 1).
groups in mainland Ecuador were exploiting various ecosystems such as mountain forests, low mountain, the Tropical Rain Forest, and the coastal strip (Fig. 1). The exploitation of various ecological niches by hunteregatherers probably resulted from subsistence needs and environmental requisites or was carried out by different populations of hunteregatherers who inhabited South America (Bate, 1999). Importantly, the sites located in the Tropical Rain Forest contain different lithic technologies than those in the equatorial Andes.
3. Evidence from the Tropical Rain Forest: the sites and their contexts
3.1. Guaguacanoayacu (OIVB1-07)
Research in Tropical Rain Forest has unearthed evidence of early settlement. These investigations indicate that hunteregatherer
The archaeological deposits at Guaguacanoayacu investigated by Sánchez (1998) are located on a flat-top hill in the Canoayacu basin, a sub-basin of the Napo River (Fig. 1) at 365 m.asl (N9887400/ E230150). The excavations revealed two occupations. A Late occupation identified in deposit 2 contains a hearth, sherds, and stone tools. Artifacts were found throughout the excavation area and in several contexts. The results of ceramic analysis showed three predominant forms, consisting of bowls, dishes, and pots. The lithic artifacts include both flaked and ground stone pieces. The Early occupation, dated at 9850 60 BP (Table 1) and present in deposit 3, consists of a living floor demarcated by three post molds and a lithic workshop to the northeast of the post molds. The lithic material consists of expedient flakes, marginally retouched unifacial flakes and a pile of white quartz pebbles. This lithic workshop is confined to an area of 4 m2. Southwest of a line of post molds, stone tools and pebbles were fewer compared to the northeast sector. The lithic assemblage on the Preceramic floor consists of 575 artifacts (Table 2). The raw material includes semi-ovoid pebbles of milky quartz, some specimens showing signs of thermal alteration (Constantine, 1998). The manufacturing technique was both percussion and pressure flaking with the latter being used in marginal retouch. Functional categories correspond to specific activities (cutting, scraping, drilling, and multiple use). Given the context, the number of categories identified, and the use wear patterns, it is conjectured that specific tasks were involved that included the use of scrapers for food processing. One example is butchering where knives served a specific function. 3.2. Montequinto (N2F4-31)
Fig. 1. Location of discussed preceramic sites in the different regions of Ecuador.
Montequinto is located in the Canton of Pedro Vicente Maldonado, 72 km northwest of Quito (Domínguez et al., 2003). The site is
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Table 2 Pieces recovered in the preceramic context of sites in the Tropical Rain Forest. Sample
Sites Guaguacanoayacu
Hammerstones Nodules Cores Preforms Retouched Core artifacts Flake Flakes Debitage Waste Total
1 457 17 2 30 54 14 575
Montequinto
6 1 1 1 2 61 32 104
Gran Cacao 6 42 58 3 7 3 368 370 58 915
situated (E708308/N0011627) on the flat top of a natural hill at 476 m.asl. The hill has moderate slopes (Fig. 1). Excavations revealed four periods of occupation, three containing ceramics and located in deposits 2, 4, and 5. Under these deposits was a sterile deposit that overlies the upper deposits of a Preceramic floor found in deposit 7. The Late occupation, located in deposit 2, contains the remains of a residential structure with defined spaces, associated with rectangular storage pits. The Middle occupation consists of a compact floor, post molds associated with the remains of pots and bowls and small lens-shaped hearths. The Formative occupation, located in deposit 5, contains traces of a habitation structure associated with lithics and ceramics as well as a rectangular hearth with reddish walls. The ceramics show an affinity to the Chorrera culture that developed around 3000 BP (Domínguez et al., 2003). A sterile clay deposit divides the ceramic and Preceramic occupations. The Preceramic occupation was identified in deposit 7 and consists of post molds, a lenticular fireplace, and stone tools dated to 10,190 90 AP. The lithic sample from Montequinto includes 104 pieces, mostly of local raw material (Table 2). A lithic workshop was located in a specific area and cobbles were found arranged as if to serve as support, suggesting use of the site as a camp-workshop (Domínguez et al., 2003). Edge modification of pebbles was carried out after thermal treatment in order to produce bipolar percussion flakes from noncryptocrystalline rocks. Pressure flaking was carried out for edge retouch and rejuvenation. Unlike the preparation of formal tools, expeditious tools were also produced. Use-wear analysis shows signs of wear suggesting activities such as cutting, scraping, and drilling. 3.3. Gran Cacao (N3F1-15) The site of Gran Cacao is located at the right bank of the floodplain of the Baba River (E674343/N9925551), in the Cantón of Buena Fe, province of Los Ríos (Fig. 1). Excavations revealed five occupations, the top four containing ceramics that are underlain by a sterile layer and then a Preceramic deposit at the bottom. From top to bottom the excavations revealed the following sequence: the latest occupation was found in deposit 2 with scattered features contains ceramic vessels left in situ (Sánchez, 2007). The next occupation contains a ceramic and lithic assemblage in deposit 4. Deposit 6 also contains a ceramic and lithic assemblage of varying frequencies and below this was located an occupation defined in deposit 6 by concentrations of pottery and lithic artifacts of varying concentrations in addition to features such as post molds. In deposit 8 or Floor 1 are found various features, ceramics, and lithic tools, especially obsidian.
Preceramic remains were encountered in deposit 9 at a depth of 160e180 cm. The material was located in a silty clay matrix and subdivided into two components: a dark brown deposit 9a (D9a) with dispersed and continuous lithic material, and a discontinuous darker brown deposit 9b (D9b) visible in the profile and plan view (Sánchez, 2007). This layer, “Floor zero”, dates to 8360 40 BP and represents the first occupation of the floodplain of the Baba Basin. The cultural evidence is characterized by the presence of round pebbles showing evidence of burning. These pebbles are distributed on the periphery and in the center of the layer. Post molds found in association as well as lithic artifacts with formalized edge retouch, and primary decortication flakes produced from cryptocrystalline and non-cryptocrystalline rocks are clear evidence of human activity. The lithic assemblage recovered from the Preceramic context comprises a sample of 915 pieces (Table 2) including hammerstones, nodules, cores, preforms, artifacts with marginal retouch, flakes, debitage, and waste. The analyzed nodules are oblong and show evidence of thermal alteration. The excavated features include stacked cobbles on a surface containing evidence of burned earth associated with fragments of charcoal, a recurrent pattern in the Preceramic level (Sánchez, 2007). The cores exhibit different forms due to flaking carried out on natural percussion platforms. The marginal retouch on the edges of the core and flakes produced artifacts for cutting, stabbing, and scraping. Secondary decortication flakes were produced through percussion and pressure techniques. The raw material used in the preparation of flakes is mostly andesite, obsidian, basalt, sandstone, chert, quartz, and pumice. Most of these flakes exhibit no evidence of platform preparation, showing primary cortex and thermal alteration. Flakes were found with evidence of primary and secondary edge use. The archaeological context of Gran Cacao recorded in deposit 9 shows a preceramic occupation with clear cultural associations dated around 8360 40 BP. The presence of piles of cobbles in several areas of “Floor Zero” in association with post molds and lithic instruments of clear human manufacture attests to a Preceramic occupation in the early Holocene. 4. Raw materials and technological differences The analysis of the early evidence shows that Tropical Rain Forest craftsmen used local and non-local raw material for the manufacture of lithic artifacts (Table 3). The abiotic resources in the Tropical Rain Forest sites were obtained directly from the river banks or from other sedimentary deposits. They represent a variety of shapes and sizes. These resources were widely distributed over the geographical space in which these groups moved. Table 3 Raw material sources for the preceramic sites. Site
OGSE-80 Las Vegas El Inga Chobshi Cubilán OIVB1-07 Guaguacanoayacu N2F4-31 Montequinto N3F1-15 Gran Cacao
Region
Raw material (100%) Local
Non-local
Coast Northern Sierra Southern Sierra Southern Sierra Amazon e Río Napo Basin
100 100 100 100 96
4
Northwest of Pichincha e Río Esmeraldas Basin Guayas Basin
100 96
4
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The high availability of raw material in these sites suggests that the production of artifacts is both undifferentiated and informalexpedient (Méndez et al., 2004). The use of local raw and nonlocal materials is a cultural decision subject to the constraints of the availability and characteristics of lithic resources (Andrefsky, 1994; Civalero and Franco, 2003). The results indicate that nearly 100% of the raw material used in both the Tropical Rain Forest and the Andean sites was local (Table 3), suggesting a detailed knowledge of the territory. Local raw materials used by groups of hunteregatherers who inhabited the different geographical areas may be indicative of the lack of preference for higher quality rocks in favor of local availability. An analysis of lithic technology demonstrates difference in lithic tool manufacture in the early occupation in Ecuador; with differences between the sites of the Tropical Rain Forest and those in the high Andes showing the following characteristics. El Inga, Cubilán, Chobshi sites exhibit a lithic industry that has a greater degree of elaboration and formal definition including the production of bifacial points (Fig. 2). The sites of Las Vegas, Guaguacanoayacu, Montequinto, and Gran Cacao in the Tropical Rain Forest and the Tropical Dry Forest exhibit no well-defined types or complex tools (Fig. 3). The technology of hunteregatherers of the Tropical Rain and Tropical Dry forests is composed mostly of expedient flakes and few formal artifacts made from local raw materials. This technology is similar to that of sites reported in other areas such as Red Rock (Cavelier and Mora, 1995) to the east of the Colombian Andes, as well as the site located in the confluence of the Orinoco and Meta (Barse, 2003) which contains a Preceramic industry composed of quartz flakes produced by bipolar percussion, similar to the flake manufacturing techniques recorded by Sánchez (1998, 2007) and Domínguez et al. (2003). Data from seven preceramic sites indicate differences in style and technology in prehistoric Ecuador as expressed through formal and technical characteristics. This difference is also observable in other parts of South America. After looking at the available evidence, Bate (1992) suggested that at least three different groups of people spread into South America. One of these groups was the “Andean hunters and gatherers”, who spread throughout the Andean region from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Their lithic technology was characterized by the use of leaf-shaped bifacial points. In Ecuador, this group is represented by Cubilán (Bate, 1992).
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The next group is characterized by “fishtail” points and belonged to the group of “Southern hunteregatherers”, identified in Ecuador at the Inga site. The third population, whose techniques of lithic manufacture differ markedly from the first two, were the “hunteregatherers of Tropical America”. Their lithic industry is characterized by a low level of formal tool manufacture and includes expedient flakes with sharp edges or with marginal retouch (Fujita et al., 2004). Previously in Ecuador, this industry has been represented by the Las Vegas complex. The new data obtained at Guaguacanoayacu, Montequinto, and Grand Cacao expands the sample of sites belonging to early hunteregatherers of Tropical America. The lithic technology developed by the hunteregatherers of Tropical America was not standardized and can be considered an expedient lithic technology. 5. Discussion and conclusions The archaeological record provides evidence that two lithic traditions appeared during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene in Ecuador from sea level to the high Andes. The lithic evidence reflects diversity in the bifacial industry of “Andean hunteregatherers” and the unifacial industry of the “hunteregatherers in the American Tropics”. The local raw material of the Tropical Rain Forest sites was used in core reduction subsequent to thermal alteration and pounding on natural surfaces without the production of a platform of percussion. Bipolar techniques were used to obtain informal, expedient flakes. The technology was aimed at producing tools with functional efficiency. This technology represents an effective economic strategy, a practice that cannot be regarded as “less developed” in terms of efficiency or “more primitive” in evolutionary terms. Due to the lack of paleobotanical data for any of the sites we cannot provide specific details on the environmental context in which this technology developed. Unifacial industries developed as local responses to increasing sedentary lifestyles as witnessed in data from sites such as Las Vegas and Gran Cacao. These people exploited a broad spectrum economy associated with the intensification of the use of plant species for food (Stothert and Piperno, 2000; Sánchez, 2007). Use wear analysis has provided evidence of activities such as butchering and woodworking in the Tropical Rain Forest sites. Results from the best studied sites such as Gran Cacao and Las Vegas, both containing expedient lithic technologies, provide the first evidence of early agriculture and are associated with a lithic tradition that lacks bifacial techniques.
Fig. 2. Bifacial projectile points. 1. Cubilán, 2. Chobshi, 3. Inga. Material of Museo Arqueológico y de Arte Contemporáneo, CCLSB. Ministerio de Cultura. Guayaquil, Ecuador. Scale: 1 cm.
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Fig. 3. Lithic artifacts: 1. Guaguacanoayacu (Collection Guaguacanoayacu, drawings of B. Camino), 2. Montequinto (Collection Montequinto, photography by A. Constantine), 3. Gran Cacao (Collection Gran Cacao, photography by A. Sánchez).
Acknowledgements The author wants to express gratitude to the construction company Norberto Odebrecht, the consultants Efficácitas Cía. Ltd., Komex and Entrix Inc., and the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation for allowing the use of the documentation of the Environmental Impact Study. At the same time, this work could not have been done without the cooperation of the directors of the archaeological projects Amelia Sánchez Mosquera and Victoria Dominguez Sandoval. References Andrefsky, W., 1994. Raw-material availability and the organization of technology. American Antiquity 59, 21e34.
Barse, W., 2003. Holocene Climate and Human Occupation in the Orinoco. In: Mercader, Julio (Ed.), Under the Canopy: the Archaeology of Tropical Rain Forests. Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, pp. 249e270. Bate, L., 1992. Las sociedades cazadoras recolectoras pre-tribales o el Paleolítico Superior visto desde Sudamérica. Boletín de Antropología Americana 25, 152e155. Bate, L., 1999. Comunidades andinas pre-tribales: los orígenes de la diversidad. In: Lumbreras, L.G. (Ed.), Historia de América Andina, Las sociedades Aborígenes, vol. 1. Univ. Simón Bolívar y Libresa, Quito, pp. 77e108. Bell, R., 1965. Investigaciones Arqueológicas en el Sitio el Inga, Ecuador. Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito, Ecuador. Cavelier, I., Mora, S. (Eds.), 1995. Ámbitos y Ocupaciones Tempranas en América Tropical. Fundación Erigaie e ICAN, Bogotá, Colombia. Civalero, M., Franco, N., 2003. Early human occupations in Western Santa Cruz Province, Southernmost South America. Quaternary International 109e 110, 77e86. Constantine, A., 1998. Análisis de la colección lítica del sitio Guaguacanoayacu (0IVB1e007) (Unpublished report). Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
A. Constantine / Quaternary International 317 (2013) 112e117 Domínguez, V., Constantine, A., Sánchez, F., 2003. Nuestro pasado a Través del derecho de Vía del Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados Desde la Estación Balao en Punto Gordo (Provincia de Esmeraldas) Hasta San Tadeo en el Inicio del Altiplano (Provincia de Pichincha) (Unpublished report). Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, Quito-Ecuador. Fujita, H., Téllez, M., Bate, L., 2004. Probable evidencia de ocupación pleistocénica: Covacha del Babisuri, Isla de Espíritu Santo, Baja California. In: Presentation in the II International Symposium “El Hombre Temprano en América”. September, 6-10. Mexico. Gnecco, C., Aceituno, J., 2004. Poblamiento temprano y espacios antropogénicos en el norte de Suramércia. Complutum 15, 151e164. Lynch, T., Pollock, S., 1981. La arqueología de la Cueva Negra de Chobshi. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 1, 92e119. Méndez, César A., Blanco, José F., Quemada, C., 2004. Aprovechamiento de materias primas líticas en el Alto Chacabuco. Chungará (Arica) 36, 37e47 (online). Reinoso, G., 1970. Horizonte precerámico de Chobshi. Revista de Antropología 2, 232e251. Cuenca. Salazar, E., 1979. El hombre temprano en la región del Ilalo, sierra del Ecuador. Departamento de difusión cultural de la Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador.
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Sánchez, A., 1998. Informe de las excavaciones en los sitios Guaguacanoayacu (0IVB1e07) y Timbela (0IVB1-11), provincia de Napo, Ecuador (Unpublished report). Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, Quito, Ecuador. Sánchez, A., 2007. Estudio de Impacto Ambiental: Componente Arqueológico. Proyecto Multipropósito Baba Provincia de Los Ríos. Unpublished report by Effic acitas Consultora Cía. Ltda. to Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural. Guayaquil, Ecuador. Stothert, K., 1988. La Prehistoria Temprana de la Península de Santa Elena, Ecuador; Cultura Las Vegas. In: Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana, Serie monográfica, vol. 10. Museo del Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil. Stothert, K., Piperno, D., 2000. La Cultura las Vegas de los Amantes de Sumpa y el contexto del origen del cultivo de las plantas domesticadas. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 9, 51e71. Temme, M., 1982. Excavaciones en el sitio precerámico de Cubilan, Ecuador. Miscelánea Antropológica Ecuatoriana 2, 135e164. Temme, M., 2009. Cubilán. Dos estaciones precerámicas en el curso superior del Río Oña-San Felipe de Oña (Provincias: Loja y Azuay-Ecuador). Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja.