THE OLDEST CULTURE IN ECUADOR AND ITS MOST FAMOUS LOVERS
Las Vegas is considered the first culture of Ecuador, although some think that a culture of knowledge or technology had not yet developed, there were already social groups and ways of survival, there are remains on stone points, shells, corn grains, and others that give us to understand that they formed a culture that lasted until 4,600 BC, where they evolved to give way to the Valdivia culture; therefore Las Vegas becomes our oldest culture, the cradle of the others that existed in Ecuador and America.
Its name comes from a small river that crosses the archaeological sites; presumably given by the Spanish when they invaded these lands. The bones found half-embraced were called "The Lovers of Sumpa", with an age of approximately 12,000 years and give rise to the name of the museum where they are found along with the rest of the evidence of this culture, forming the largest ancient cemetery in America.
The Lovers of Sumpa have given rise to countless legends, from the reason for their position to the origin of their name; among the various versions of their name, it is said that the bones could have been fortuitous lovers, also that they could have been two princes from different tribes, another version says that they are two random young people who were sacrificed to the gods, or as we will see in our next story on Wednesday, that they were two lovers separated because they were from different social classes.
There are also several theories about the origin of the word Sumpa: some say it was the name of a princess, others say it is an ancestral word meaning tip, others associate it with the sun or with tombs. The truth is that Spanish chroniclers used this word in their stories only around the year 1800, referring to the territory of the tip as it was previously known, so it is presumed to be a transfusion of phonemes from Chumpa, which in the Moche dialect means tip, which the Spanish pronounced as shumpa and which in our current language we know as Sumpa; that is, this word that meant tip.
Did you like this article? By purchasing the book you help to continue the investigation of our shared roots. Contact Felix Lavayen (author of the book) at 095 222 222 – asestour@hotmail.com
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