CONCLUSION

The late pre-Hispanic polities of coastal Ecuador applied an impressive array of technologies to realize the productive potential of diverse coastal habitats. These include the raised field systems of the riverine lowlands, the albarradas (earthen structures to capture water) and terrace systems used to conserve and manage the drier areas of the Santa Elena Peninsula and southern Manabi, and the mastery of deep-sea balsa raft maritime expertise that enhanced the exploitation of rich marine resources and spurred the export of desirable commodities in exchange for a range of exotic materials imported from afar. The resourcefulness of coastal cultures was severely tested by long-term environmental stresses and periodic natural catastrophes but the fact that they survived and prospered is testimony to their adaptive capacities and resilience.

While the expansive state formations that characterize the Central Andes are not found north of the Gulf of Guayaquil, nonetheless the Manteno hegemony offers demonstrable evidence of elaborately structured social hierarchy (Figure 26.6) and regional political integration. This ensured effective articulation between coastal ports and trading towns along the length of the Pacific coast and secured their role as key nodes in the balsa-raft trade, which was instrumental in facilitating novel forms of contact and exchange over huge distances—north as far as Acapulco and well south along the Peruvian coast.

Acknowledgments We are particularly grateful to Karen Stothert for generously sharing both published and unpublished material and for timely and pertinent comments on an earlier draft. Jim Zeidler kindly responded to requests for help with information and references. Stephen Crummy, Steve Holland and Mike Row all helped with the graphics illustrating this chapter; their skill is much appreciated.