History of Ecuador - Pre-Columbian Ecuador

Pre-Columbian Ecuador

During the pre-Inca period, people lived in clans, which formed great tribes, some allied with each other to form powerful confederations, as the Confederation of Quito. But none of these confederations could resist the formidable momentum of the Tawantinsuyu. The invasion of the Inca in the 15th century was very painful and bloody. However, once occupied by the Quito hosts of Huayna Capac (1593–1595), the Incas developed an extensive administration and began the colonization of the region. The pre-Columbian era can be divided up into four eras: the Preceramic Period, the Formative Period, the Period of Regional Development, and the Period of Integration and the Arrival of the Incas.

The Pre Ceramic period begins with the end of the last ice age and continues through 4200BC. The Las Vegas culture and The Inga Cultures dominated this period. The Las Vegas Culture lived on the Santa Elena Peninsula on coast of Ecuador between 9,000-6,000 bc. The earliest people were hunter-gathers and fisherman. Approximately 6,000 bc the culture were among the first to begin farming. The Inga lived in the Sierra near present-day Quito between 9000 and 8000 BC along an ancient trade route.

During the Formative Period, people of the region moved from the hunter-gather a simple farming into a more developed society, with permanent developments, an increase in agriculture and the use of ceramics. New cultures included the Machalilla culture, Valdivia, Chorrera in the coast; Cotocollao, The Chimba in the sierra; and Pastaza, Chiguaza in the oriental region. The Valdivia culture is the first culture where significant remains have been discovered. Their civilization dates back as early as 3500 B.C. Living in the area near The Valdivias, they were the first Americans to use pottery. They navigated the seas and established a trade network with tribes in the Andes and the Amazon. Succeeding the Valdivia, the Machallia culture were a farming culture who thrived along the coast of Ecuador between the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. These appear to be the earliest people to cultivate maize in this part of South America. Existing in the late formative period the Chorrera culture lived in the Andes and Coastal Regions of Ecuador between 1000 and 300 BC.