INTRODUCTION

In her synthesis of Ecuadorian prehistory published some four decades ago, Betty Meggers (1966) posited a broad evolutionary progression of pre-Hispanic cultures culminating in an “Integration Period” purportedly lasting for up to a thousand years (ca. AD 500 - late fifteenth century Inca invasion). No doubt recognizing that this general rubric was being applied somewhat optimistically, Meggers declared that, “the extent to which the archaeological phases of the Integration Period represent integrated political units is impossible to determine at present. Spanish listings of tribes and linguistic groups do not correlate well with archaeological phase areas, but several sources mention confederations of towns under a single leader both on the coast and in the highlands. This, together with marked differences in status revealed by the burial pattern, suggest that some if not all of the archaeological phase areas may have been integrated politically on a temporary basis at least” (1966: 122).

A number of colleagues have underlined the futility of trying to impose a uniform, stage-wise model of cultural progress on the Ecuadorian data (see, e. g., Marcos 1986: STBS; DeBoer 1996: 170; Zeidler and Isaacson 2003: 70; Chapter 25 in this volume). Cultural evolution is an uneven process at best and rather than any predictable uniformity, the interethnic rivalries and alliances that emerged in pursuit of access to and control over resources have led to marked variability in regional social organization and interaction. While the term “chiefdom” may still be apposite in certain contexts, some late pre-Hispanic coastal polities clearly achieved a different order of social and political complexity. Moreover, new field data now also reveal that the coastal sequence from late Formative on through to Spanish contact has been punctuated by disruptive and often unpredictable natural events. These range from the tephra air-falls that have periodically blanketed large areas of the

Handbook of South American Archaeology, edited by Helaine Silverman and William H. Isbell.

Springer, New York, 2008

Western lowlands following massive volcanic eruptions in the northern Andean cordillera and whose impact and consequences are only now being evaluated (Zeidler and Isaacson 2003), to prolonged droughts, major El Nino floods and tsunamis. These must have varied greatly in scale and duration but their identification and dating in the archaeological record has barely begun, and for the most part their impact and long-term cultural consequences have yet to be fully evaluated.

Archaeological fieldwork undertaken in recent decades can be compared to shining a flashlight into the corners of a dark room. Site surveys, mapping, test excavations and occasionally more extensive programs of area excavation have been applied in different combinations in various settings. Our knowledge of site sizes and their internal organization as well as site densities, hierarchies and inter-site relationships is therefore still very uneven.

This overview examines what kind of “integration” was achieved in different contexts and also evaluates some of the insights provided by the early ethnohistoric records, in comparison with the archaeological record. We deal first with the Santiago-Cayapas Basin and northern Manabi, then look at the Guayas Basin, Gulf of Guayaquil, Puna Island and the Santa Elena Peninsula, concluding with southern Manabi (Figure 26.1). This geographical zoning in no sense implies bounded constraints on regional interaction but simply provides a useful framework for assessing current knowledge.