Pottery Rituals and Ritual Pottery: Ceramic Production, Use, and Disposal among the Guancavilca of Coastal Ecuador (AD 800–1532)

Summary

The Colonche Valley of coastal Ecuador represents an east-west corridor as well as the apex of north-south interconnected valleys. Hilltop sites of the Manteno-Guancavilca (AD 800-1532) have been reported across the high flat ridgetops of these valleys since the early 20th century. Recent comparative analysis of surface vessels at newly discovered sites in the eastern Colonche Valley demonstrates the coalescence of examples of all types found at sites throughout the valleys. Mineralogical and elemental analyses in conjunction with raw material sourcing and formal and contextual analyses of the ceramic component provide a window into ritual practices, societal transformation, and intraregional interaction. Preliminary results suggest that the formal and paste variants represent sub-regional or community distinctions and that the sites in the eastern Colonche Valley may have represented a social and ritual confluence. The ceramic analysis and results are contributing to interpretations of the way in which social and ritual practices were central as part of and contributing to societal reformulations across a broad landscape of southern coastal Ecuador, culminating in what is known as the Guancavilca cultural phase. The vessels represent the unique communities but there presence together represents the ethnogenesis of a broader community identity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20614