Ritual and Death: A Paleopathological Analysis of Skeletal Remains from Salango, Ecuador during the Guangala Period (100 BCE-800 CE)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

There are many questions that have yet to be answered about the prehistoric people of Ecuador, especially along the southern coast. In particular, more studies are needed in order to understand how people lived and interacted with each other and the landscape at the important ritual site of Salango. Salango was occupied from 4000 BCE through Spanish contact (~1500 CE) and was an important ritual center for people throughout this time period. However, to date, there are few bioarchaeological studies investigating how the people buried there lived their lives. This study uses bioarchaeological data from human skeletal remains excavated from Salango in order to make interpretations about the lives of people buried at the site during the Guangala culture period (100 BCE-800 CE). Analyses indicate that the study group underwent significant biological stress, based on skeletal markers of malnutrition and chronic infection. Because of the ubiquity of these stress markers and the associated mortuary setting, we suggest that the people living in this region during the Guangala period experienced a marked change in health and possibly altered the nature of ritual activity at the site in response.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25370