The first groups that settled along the Ecuadorian coast date back to 11,000 BC; archaeological evidence of their corn crops confirms this. Traces of pottery, cooking and ceremonial utensils, agricultural tools, hunting and fishing instruments, and some human remains give us an image of their way of life and their relationship with the environment.
The discovery of nearly 200 bones from the Las Vegas Culture (11,000-5,000 BC) in Santa Elena classifies it as the first pre-Columbian cemetery known to exist in America, and the Las Vegas culture is among the oldest.
Later, other groups would settle in the region. The Valdivia culture (4,000 – 2,000 BC) was one of the first American societies to popularize the use of ceramics and perfect its production techniques; the Venus of Valdivia is the most representative piece of its legacy.
Cultures such as the Machalilla (1,800 – 1,500 BC) and the Chorrera (1,500 – 500 BC), show their remarkable social organization, and the incorporation of new details to ceramic work, such as the bottle-whistle.
Spectacular pieces of metal, semi-precious stones, and Spondylus shell correspond to the cultures that followed, up to the Manteño-Huancavilca (Manteño-Guancavilca), the last pre-Columbian culture on the coast of Ecuador, who from their coastal villages contemplated the strange Spanish ships that for the first time sailed the waters of the South Pacific.
By visiting the Archaeological Sites and Museum circuit, you will enjoy a journey through time of 10,000 years, where you will be able to appreciate spectacular collections of ceramic, gold and spondylus shell works and real evidence that the men of the ancient cultures of the Ecuadorian coast were the most skilled sailors in the South Pacific in their day.
Source: Travel Planner. Coast. Ministry of Tourism Ecuador
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