A Dynamic Social Landscape: Recent Investigations at the Hacienda Guachalá, Northern Highlands of Ecuador

Summary

The area of Cayambe in the northern highlands of Ecuador is marked by the physical remains of successive waves of Inca and Spanish imperial expansion and their enduring consequences. Across the landscape high altitude fortifications evidence the drawn-out struggles between expanding Inca and local forces during the 15th century. Similarly, elite haciendas that transformed the rural countryside in the interests of imperial and state power continue to dominate the social and political landscape. In this paper, we review recent work carried out by the Proyecto Arqueológico Pambamarca (PAP) in the area of the Hacienda Guachalá, where archaeological investigations have contributed new perspectives on the continuous cultural history of the region. Archival, geophysical, and material evidence have generated both new questions and a greater understanding of the ways in which communities navigated the profound changes that characterize this important region of the northern Andes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Northern South America II: Mobility, Landscapes, and Socialscapes   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17263