Spondylus, Mounds and Pyramids: An Approach to Social Changes in the Northern Andes of Ecuador during the Late Period

Summary

During the Pre-Columbian period, the northern Andes hosted an intense cultural interaction that led to the emergence of chiefdoms with diverse forms of political administration, power strategies, and economic integration. For the northern Andes of Ecuador, the archaeological research typically assumes a gradual development of the Cara people during the Late Period between 600 and 1525 AD. New archaeological evidence of social and natural events suggests a transitional stage between 900 and 1200 AD that triggered the transformation of late political systems. Evidence of a significant decrease after 800 AD in the acquisition of exotic and sumptuary objects elaborated in gold, copper, and marine shells (such as the sacred spondylus) may have been related with an increase in the construction of mounds and pyramids in the region that took place until the presence of the Inkas. In this paper, I discuss the evidence from different mound and non-mound sites in a regional context in order to document the development of social complexity in 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): 17055