Zooarchaeological Analysis of a Guangala Pit at Rio Chico, Ecuador (N4C3-170)

Summary

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

The Rio Chico site on the central coast of Ecuador was occupied almost continuously for 5000 years (ca. 3500 BCE to 1532 CE) in a region of coastal South America that is heavily influenced by climatic events such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Archaeological records and historical documents written by the Spanish provide evidence that by the Manteño phase (500 to 1532 CE) the coast of Ecuador was inhabited by a maritime culture of long-distance trade merchants who were highly skilled at boat building and ocean navigation. However, the preceding Guangala phase (100 BCE to 800 CE) is less understood. This poster presents the results of a zooarchaeological analysis of a sample of faunal remains from a large Guangala phase pit feature (Feature 733) excavated by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) field school in 2003. All remains were identified to the class level and a subset of this sample was identified to the family level. These identifications serve as the basis of this analysis. This analysis contributes to an understanding of the subsistence strategies and environmental conditions on the coast of Ecuador during the Guangala phase from which the highly skilled Manteño culture developed.

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): 24517