Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ecuador is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world and Minard “Pete” Hall and Patricia “Patty” Mothes are giants of Ecuadorian volcanism. Their work has been tremendously influential in understanding volcanic dynamics and human-volcano interactions throughout time in Ecuador. Pete began publishing on volcanism in the 1970s and was one of the most influential figures in early Ecuadorian volcanism, producing research that was foundational for the field. Patty brought a human perspective to their research, connecting it to communities both past and present. She is exceptionally collaborative and has authored and coauthored almost 300 articles and chapters. Together, Pete and Patty helped lead the volcanism program at the Instituto Geofísico de la Escuela Politécnica Nacional monitoring Ecuadorian volcanoes, communicating potential hazards to the public, and training new generations of Ecuadorian volcanologists. This session brings together their students, colleagues, and friends to discuss the influence their research has had on the field of archaeology and how they have shaped our understanding of the relationships between human societies and dynamic volcanism in Ecuador and around the world. Topics cover a broad range of subjects from volcanic impacts on agroecosystems, influence on warfare and depopulation, and beliefs and ritual practices.

Other Keywords
Geoarchaeology • Landscape Archaeology • Resilience and Sustainability • South America: Andes

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-14 of 14)

  • Documents (14)
Documents
  • Engines of transformation; purveyors of wealth. Volcanoes as apus in the Indigenous Andean psyche. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elizabeth Currie.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the Andes, many large mountains are volcanoes, although Indigenous Andean peoples don't necessarily distinguish 'mere mountains' from those that are seismologically active. The name given to the largest and most significant in a region and accorded the highest veneration is...

  • <html>Duh Jukang, <i>Wak’a</i>, and Other Physical Manifestations of the Volcanic Divine: Indigenous Perceptions of Volcanism in the Barbacoan World</html> (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ryan Hechler.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. <html> Throughout Spanish colonialism to the modern, written accounts often mentioned Indigenous ontologies of volcanoes and their influence on the lived realities of communities throughout the northern Andes, especially within Barbacoan regions. The Tsáchila referred to volcanoes...

  • The Inka and Volcanos in Ecuador: A quarter century of collaboration with Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David Brown.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper discusses the critical influence that Pete Hall and Patty Mothes have had on my research into the historical presence of the Inka in Ecuador. An integral part of those studies over the last 25 years, from a decade of work at San Agustin de Callo at the foot of Cotopaxi...

  • Interpreting Volcanic Impacts on Raised Field Agroecosystems in the Ecuadorian Highlands: Physical, Geochemical, and Paleoecological Indicators (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Will Pratt.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The most extensive raised fields systems documented in the Ecuadorian highlands are found in the Inter-Andean Valley north of Cayambe and east of Lago San Pablo. Unfortunately, many of these fields have recently been destroyed by urban development, modern farming, and the expanding...

  • Manteño, Central coastal Ecuador, Cloud Forest, Monumental complexes, Micromorphology, Geoarchaeology (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Janny Velasco Alban.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Manteño society established a complex chiefdom network that dominated the trade and resource exploitation in Central Coastal Ecuador during the Late Pre-Columbian period (500-1500 A.D.) in the Post-Quilotoa drought. Their connection along the Pacific shows a trade connection with...

  • Patricia Mothes’ Research Trajectories: Ethnogeography of Ancient Landscapes, Volcanoes, and Adaptive Dynamics (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gregory Knapp.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Patricia Mothes and Peter Hall’s research careers span decades. I first collaborated with Patty when she undertook a pioneering study of an ancient canal in the northern Ecuadorian highlands for her thesis at the University of Texas. Since then her work has spanned multiple...

  • Resilience and Social Complexity in the Septentrional Andes: A Historical Ecological Comparative Study of the Jama Coaque and Pasto Cultures under Volcanic Influence. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Juan Argoti Gómez.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study presents a comparative analysis of the pre-Hispanic Jama Coaque and Pasto cultures, two societies that flourished in present day northern Coastal Ecuador and northern Andean Ecuador - southern Colombia, respectively. Situated in volcanic zones, both cultures developed...

  • Sizes of Eruptions Count in the Ecuadorian Archaeological Record (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Patricia Mothes.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stratigraphic cuts at archaeological sites in the Northern Highlands or along the Coast, often display volcanic ash deposits, 10-30 cm thick, produced by large VEI 5-6 explosive eruptions in the Ecuadorian Sierra. Eruptions by Pululahua (2300 yBP), G. Pichincha (1000 yBP), Cotopaxi...

  • SOCIEDADES PREINCAICAS TARDÍAS A UN LADO Y OTRO DE LA CORDILLERA DEL CÓNDOR (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Fabián Villalba.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. El período tardío del suroriente ecuatoriano, enmarcado a un lado y otro de la cordillera del Cóndor (cuencas del Zamora y Altos del Chinchipe) no ha estado claramente establecido, sin embargo, los últimos estudios permiten ir tejiendo la historia preincaica. Se ha venido...

  • Teluric deity and intermittent volcanic debris river in the upper Amazon, Ecuador: The ancient valley of the upper Upano (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alden Yépez.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Many authors who have studied the upper Upano region of the Ecuadorian Amazon have suggested that a significant shift occurred between AD 300 and 600, followed by a hiatus of 200 years until AD 800, which is attributed to a supposed catastrophic eruption of the Sangay volcano. This...

  • Temporal Ruptures and Continuities in the Coaque River Valley, Manabí, Ecuador (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Florencio Delgado Espinoza.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The history of northern Ecuador is marked by the enduring resilience of its inhabitants, who have continuously adapted to a dynamic and often challenging environment. Along the northern coast, communities have repeatedly faced significant hardships, including frequent flooding...

  • Volcanic Ash and Archaeological Sites in Northern Highland Ecuador (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only J. Athens.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Volcanic ash falls of varying depths, origins, and geographic coverages have occurred throughout the Holocene in the northern highlands of Ecuador. This paper will review the Holocene history of ash falls as documented from several lake core records in the region, and also...

  • Volcanic ash disperssion study along the Coastal Region in Ecuador, an study over the last 7000 years (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Silvia Vallejo.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the Ecuadorian Andes, around 90 volcanic centers are identified, of them, six volcanoes had important activity during the Holocene–Pleistocene (Cuicocha, Pululahua, Guagua Pichincha, Atacazo-Nihahuilca, Cotopaxi and Quilotoa) causing regional affectation which is visible along...

  • Volcanic tephras and the pre-Columbian occupations at the Laguna de la Ciudad region of Northern Esmeraldas, (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Francisco Valdez.

    This is an abstract from the "Celebrating the Contributions of Volcanologists Minard Hall and Patricia Mothes to Ecuadorian Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The coast of the province of Esmeraldas is dominated by a mangrove/humid tropical forest ecosystem, which is apparently not conducive to large population concentrations. However, the northern area was once the focus of a complex social formation now called La Tolita. Human...