Valdivia culture
Las Vegas culture | |
Followed by | Machalilla culture, Cotocollao culture |
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The Valdivia culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It emerged from the earlier
Culture
Remains of the Valdivia culture were discovered in 1956 on the western coast of Ecuador by the Ecuadorian
The original excavations were in a small village of Valdivia located well north of Santa Elena peninsula. Valdivia is located about 10km south of the beach resort of Montañita.[5]
The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza. They were believed to have a relatively egalitarian culture of
plants. The latter was processed, spun and woven to make clothing.Valdivian pottery, dated to 2700 BCE, initially was rough and practical, but it became splendid, delicate and large over time. They generally used red and gray colors, and the polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In their ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture shows a progression from the most simple to much more complicated works.
The trademark Valdivia piece is the "
A display of Valdivian artifacts is located at
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Influences on Valdivia culture
Ceramic phase A of the Valdivia was long thought to be the oldest pottery produced by a coastal culture in South America, dated to 3000-2700 BCE. In the 1960s, a team of researchers proposed there were significant similarities between the archeological remains and pottery styles of Valdivia and those of the ancient
Their concept was challenged at the time by other archaeologists, who argued that there were strong logistical challenges to the idea that Japanese could have survived what would have been nearly a year and a half voyage in dugout canoes. The cultures were separated by a distance of 15,000 km (8,000 nautical miles).[6] Researchers argued that Valdivia ceramics (and culture) had developed independently, and those apparent similarities were a result simply of constraints on technique, and an "accidental convergence" of symbols and style.[6]
In the 1970s, what is believed widely to be conclusive evidence refuting the diffusion theory was found at the Valdivia type-site, as older pottery and artifacts were found below these excavations. Researchers found what is called San Pedro pottery, pre-dating Phase A and the Valdivia style.[6][9] It was more primitive. Some researchers believe pottery may have been introduced by people from northern Colombia, where comparably early pottery was found at the Puerto Hormiga archaeological site. In addition, they think that the maize at Valdivia was likely introduced by people living closer to Meosamerica, where it was domesticated.[6] Other pottery remains of the San Pedro style were found at sites about 5.6 miles (9 km) up the river valley.[9]
Additional research at both several coastal sites, including San Pablo, Real Alto, and Salango, and Loma Alta, Colimes, and San Lorenzo del Mate inland have resulted in a major rethinking of Valdivian culture. It has been reclassified as representing a "tropical forest culture" with a riverine settlement focus. There has been major re-evaluation of nearly every aspect of its culture.[9]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0822390114.
- ISBN 978-1-933782-65-2.
- ISBN 9780195076189.
- ISBN 9780199735785.
- ^ Map showing major towns and archeological sites on the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador, including Valdivia Village, and Real Alto. from Markus P. Tellkamp 2019, A story told from a small-mesh screen: the importance of songbirds and ground doves to the Guangala people at the El Azúcar archeological site in coastal Ecuador.
- ^ a b c d e Stuart J. Fiedel, Prehistory of the Americas, Cambridge University Press, 1992, pp. 187-189
- S2CID 33126483.
- .
- ^ ISBN 9780199735785. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
External links
- (in Spanish) Ecuadorian Archaeology
- Valdivia stone carving