Duendes, Fantasmas y Encantamientos: How Dos Mangas Connects to Archaeological Heritage through Folktales

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Finding Community in the Past and Present through the 2022 PARCC Field School at Buen Suceso, Ecuador" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The lands of the Comuna Dos Mangas are replete with archaeological material, including the Buen Suceso Archaeological site. Over the Comuna’s history, generations of its residents have encountered thousands of artifacts from the Valdivia, Machalilla, Chorrera, Guangala, and Manteño peoples. Despite not identifying as direct descendants of any of the aforementioned Indigenous peoples, the comuneros have developed a connection with these cultures beyond the scope of biological ancestry. While much has been written on the community stewardship of archaeological sites and the phenomenon of contemporary art from Ecuadorian artists featuring references to ancient cultures, this paper focuses on connections built through folklore. Members of the Comuna Dos Mangas have built a corpus of stories of encounters with archaeological materials and apparitions of Indigenous peoples. In conducting oral history work with community members, many revealed that they had relatives who were “enchanted” by the forest and arrived home carrying artifacts, had heard sounds they associated with Indigenous peoples, and many other instances of supernatural experiences. This paper discusses these stories in the context of a broader exploration of how non-descendant populations in Ecuador build distinct cultural relationships with ancient Indigenous peoples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Finding Community in the Past and Present through the 2022 PARCC Field School at Buen Suceso, Ecuador   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36771.0