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On the waterfront: Quaternary environments and the formative occupation of Southwestern Ecuador
Author(s) -
Damp Jonathan E.,
Jackson Donald,
Vargas Patricia,
Zambrano Pilar
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.3340050205
Subject(s) - prehistory , quaternary , pleistocene , period (music) , holocene , peninsula , shore , archaeology , geology , pottery , tectonics , geography , physical geography , paleontology , oceanography , physics , acoustics
The occurrence of tectonic uplift in coastal South American prehistory is discussed and evidence of emerged shoreline features is presented for the area of the Santa Elena Peninsula in Ecuador. It is hypothesized that this activity, once thought to be exclusively Pleistocene in timing, continued on into the Holocene. Given this perspective and field data, the role of the Early Formative Period Valdivia phase (3500‐1500 B.C.) site of Real Alto is examined, as is the economic structure of Real Alto society. the pattern of site distribution and data from geological units indicate a long period of tectonic activity that restructured the Ecuadorian coastline and affected northern Andean prehistory. the implications for the origins of Valdivia and New World pottery are reconsidered in light of new information on the Quaternary environments of Ecuador.