Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T19:42:26.663Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Preceramic Las Vegas Culture of Coastal Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Karen E. Stothert
Karen E. Stothert*
Affiliation:
Division of Behavioral and Cultural Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78285 and Museo Antropologico, Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article begins with a description of excavations in the Las Vegas type site on the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador. A pre-Las Vegas phase (11,000 to 10,000 B.P.) is defined provisionally, and the Early Las Vegas (10,000 to 8000 B.P.) and Late Las Vegas (8000 to 6600 B.P.) phases are described from artifacts, burials, settlement data, faunal remains, pollen, and phytoliths. The Las Vegas people were unspecialized hunters, fishermen, and gatherers living in a littoral zone who added plant cultivation to their subsistence system before 8,000 years ago. Evidence for bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and primitive maize (Zea mays L.) was found in the Las Vegas type site. The differences between the modern, semiarid environment and the environment of the preceramic period are accounted for without hypothesizing climatic change. Las Vegas is interpreted as a local manifestation of an early tropical forest cultural tradition out of which developed the ceramic-stage cultures of the Ecuadorian coast.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , July 1985 , pp. 613 - 637
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Bell, Robert E. 1965 Archaeological Investigations at the Site of El Inga, Ecuador. Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito.Google Scholar
Byrd, Kathleen Mary 1976 Changing Animal Utilization Patterns and Their Implications : Southwest Ecuador (6500 B. C. -A. D. Google Scholar
Byrd, Kathleen Mary 1400). Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Campbell, Kenneth E. 1973 The Pleistocene Avifauna of the Talara Tar-Seeps, Northwestern Peru. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Castro de la Mata, Ramiro, and Bonavia, Duccio 1980 Lumbosacral Malformations and Spina Bifida in a Peruvian Preceramic Child. Current Anthropology 21(4) : 515–516.Google Scholar
Chapman, V. J. 1975 Mangrove Biogeography. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Biology and Management of Mangroves, edited by Walsh, G.. Snedaker, S., and Teas, H., pp. 3–11. Resource Management Systems Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Chase, Thomas 1981 Informe Preliminar sobre Restos Faunicos del Sitio OGSE-80. Chapter 7 in La Prehistoria Temprana de la Peninsula de Santa Elena, Ecuador : Cultura Las Vegas by Karen, E. Stothert. Museo Antropologico, Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil, in press.Google Scholar
Cooke, Richard 1977 El Carpintero y el Hachero : Dos Artesanos del Panama Prehistorico. Revista Panameha deAntropologia 2(2) : 48–77.Google Scholar
Damp, Jonathan Edward 1979 Better Homes and Gardens : The Life and Death of the Early Valdivia Community. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, Alberta.Google Scholar
Damp, J. E., and Clarkson, P. B. 1980 The Loma Alta Archaeological Project, 1980. Preliminary Report. Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, Alberta.Google Scholar
Edmund, A. Gordon 1965 A Late Pleistocene Fauna from the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador. Life Sciences Contribution 73. Royal Ontario Museum, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.Google Scholar
Ferdon, Edwin N. 1981 Holocene Mangrove Formations on the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador : Pluvial Indicators or Ecological Response to Physiographic Changes. American Antiquity 46 : 619–625.Google Scholar
Harris, David R. 1972 The Origins of Agriculture in the Tropics. American Scientist 60 : 180–193.Google Scholar
Hurt, Wesley R. 1977 The Edge-Trimmed Tool Tradition of Northwest South America. In For the Director : Research Essays in Honor of James B. Griffin, edited by E. Cleland, Charles, pp. 268–294. Anthropological Papers 61. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Hurt, Wesley R., Hammen, Thomas van der, and Urrego, Gonzalo Correal 1976 The El Abra Rockshelters, Sabana de Bogota, Colombia, South America. Occasional Papers and Monographs 2. Indiana University Museum, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Klepinger, Linda L. 1979 Paleodemography of the Valdivia III Phase at Real Alto, Ecuador. American Antiquity 44 : 305–308.Google Scholar
Lanning, Edward P. 1967 Archaeological Investigations on the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador. Report to the National Science Foundation on Research Carried out under Grant GS-402, 1964–1965.Google Scholar
Lathrap, Donald W. 1970 The Upper Amazon. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Lathrap, Donald W. 1973 The Antiquity and Importance of Long-Distance Trade Relationships in the Moist Tropics of Pre-Columbian South America. World Archaeology 5 : 170–186.Google Scholar
Lathrap, Donald W. 1975 Ancient Ecuador : Culture, Clay and Creativity 3000-300 B. C. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.Google Scholar
Lathrap, Donald W. 1977 Our Father the Cayman, Our Mother the Gourd : Spinden Revisited, or a Unitary Model for the Emergence of Agriculture in the New World. In Origins of Agriculture, edited by A. Reed, Charles, pp. 713–751. World Anthropology Series, vol. 73. Mouton, The Hague.Google Scholar
Lathrap, Donald W., Marcos, Jorge G., and Zeidler, James A. 1977 Real Alto : An Ancient Ceremonial Center. Archaeology 30(1) : 2–13.Google Scholar
Lemon, R. R. H., and Churcher, C. S. 1961 Pleistocene Geology and Paleontology of the Talara Region, Northwest Peru. American Journal of Science 259 : 410–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowie, Robert H. 1948 The Tropical Forest : An Introduction. In Handbook of South American Indians 3 : 1–56. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Lynch, Thonas F., and Pollock, Susan 1980 Chobshi Cave and Its Place in Andean and Ecuadorean Archaeology. In Anthropological Papers in Memory of Earl H. Swanson, Jr., edited by B. Harten, Lucille, Warren, Claude N., and Tuohy, Donald H., pp. 19–40. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello.Google Scholar
McDougle, Eugene J. 1967 Water Use and Settlement in the Changing Environments of the Southern Ecuadorian Coast. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York.Google Scholar
McGimsey, Charles R. 1958 Further Data and a Date from Cerro Mangote, Panama. American Antiquity 23 : 434–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGimsey, Charles R., Collins, Michael B., and McKern, Thomas W. 1966 Cerro Mangote and Its Population. Paper presented at the XXXVII Congreso International de Americanistas, Mar del Plata, Argentina.Google Scholar
Marcos, Jorge G., Lathrap, Donald W., and Zeidler, James A. 1976 Ancient Ecuador Revisited. Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin 47(6) : 3–8.Google Scholar
Marcos, Jorge G., and Norton, Presley 1981 Interpretation sobre la Arqueologia de la Isla de La Plata. Miscelanea Antropologica Ecuatoriana 1(1) : 136–154. Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil.Google Scholar
Meggers, Betty J., Evans, Clifford M., and Estrada, Emilio 1965 Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador : The Valdivia and Machalilla Phases. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology 1, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Niederberger, Christine 1979 Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico. Science 203(4379) : 131–142.Google Scholar
Nimuendaju, Curt 1948 The Cawahib, Parintintin, and Their Neighbors. In Handbook of South American Indians 3 : 283–298. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Paulsen, Allison C. 1971 Environment and Empire : Climatic Factors in Prehistoric Andean Culture Change. World Archaeology 8(2) : 121–132.Google Scholar
Pearsall, Deborah Marie 1978 Phytolith Analysis of Archaeological Soils : Evidence for Maize Cultivation in Formative Ecuador. Science 199 : 177–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearsall, Deborah Marie 1979 The Application of Ethnobotanical Techniques to the Problem of Subsistence in the Formative. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Pickersgill, B., and Heiser, C. B. Jr., 1978 Origins and Distribution of Plants Domesticated in the New World Tropics. In Advances in Andean Archaeology, edited by Browman, D. R., pp. 133–165. Mouton, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piperno, Dolores R. 1981 Primer Informe sobre los Fitolitos y la Evidencia del Cultivo Temprano de Maiz. Chapter 10 in La Prehistorica Temprana de la Peninsula de Santa Elena, Ecuador : Cultura Las Vegas by Karen, E. Stothert. Museo Antropologico, Banco Central del Ecaudor, Guayaquil, in press.Google Scholar
Piperno, Dolores R. 1984 A Comparison and Differentiation of Phytoliths from Maize and Wild Grasses : Use of Morphological Criteria. American Antiquity 49 : 361–383.Google Scholar
Ranere, Anthony J. 1972 Early Human Adaptations to New World Tropical Forests : The View from Panama. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department Anthropology, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Ranere, Anthony J. 1976 The Preceramic of Panama : The View from the Interior. Proceedings of the First Puerto Rican Symposium on Archaeology, edited by Linda, Stickler Robinson, pp. 103–134. Fundacion Arqueologica, Antropologica e Historica de Puerto Rico, San Juan.Google Scholar
Ranere, Anthony J. 1977 Human Movement into Tropical America at the End of the Pleistocene. Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Houston.Google Scholar
Ranere, Anthony J. 1980 Preceramic Shelters in the Talamancan Range. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by F. Linares, Olga and Ranere, Anthony J., pp. 16–43. Peabody Museum Monographs 5, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo 1965 Colombia. Frederick A. Praeger, New York.Google Scholar
Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo 1971 Early Pottery from Colombia. Archaeology 24 : 338–345.Google Scholar
Richardson, James B. 1973 The Preceramic Sequence and the Pleistocene and Post-Pleistocene Climates of Northwest Peru. In Variations in Anthropology, edited by Lathrap, D. and Douglas, J., pp. 73–89. Illinois Archaeological Survey, Urbana.Google Scholar
Richardson, James B. 1978 Early Man on the Peruvian North Coast, Early Maritime Exploitation and the Pleistocene and Holocene Environment. In Early Man in America from a Circum-Pacifk Perspective, edited by L. Bryan, Alan, pp. 274–289. Occasional Papers No. 1, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Canada.Google Scholar
Richardson, James B., and Brown, C. Barrington 1967 El Estero Site, T-Shaped Ground Stone Axes and Stone Bowls. Paper presented in the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Ann Arbor, Mich.Google Scholar
Salazar, Ernesto 1979 El Hombre Temprano en la Region del Halo, Sierra del Ecuador. Publicaciones del Departamento de Difusion Cultural, La Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca.Google Scholar
Sarma, Akkaraju V. N. 1974 Holocene Paleoecology of South Coastal Ecuador. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 118 : 93–134. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Sauer, Carl O. 1952 Agricultural Origins and Dispersals. American Geographical Society, New York.Google Scholar
Sheppard, George 1933 The Rainy Season of 1932 in Southwestern Ecuador. The Geographical Review 23 : 210–216. The American Geographical Society, New York.Google Scholar
Sheppard, George 1937 The Geology of South-Western Ecuador. Thomas Murby, London.Google Scholar
Spath, Carl D. 1980 The El Encanto Focus : A Post-Pleistocene Maritime Adaptation to Expanding Littoral Resources. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana.Google Scholar
Stothert, Karen E. 1974 The Lithic Technology of the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador : A Method for the Analysis of Technologically Simple Stonework. Ph. D. dissertation, Yale University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Stothert, Karen E. 1976 The Early Prehistory of the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador : Continuities between the Preceramic and Ceramic Cultures. Adas del XLI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas 2 : 88–98, Mexico.Google Scholar
Stothert, Karen E. 1980 The Early Vegas Adaptation of Southwest, Coastal Ecuador. Paper presented at the 45th Annual Meeting, Society for American Archaeology, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Stothert, Karen E. 1981 La Prehistoria Temprana de la Peninsula de Santa Elena, Ecuador : Cultura Las Vegas. With contributions by Thomas, Chase, Dolores, Piperno, Douglas, H. Ubelaker, and Elizabeth, S. Wing. Museo Antropiologico, Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil, in press.Google Scholar
Stothert, Karen E. 1983 A Review of the Early Preceramic Complexes of the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador. American Antiquity 49 : 122–127.Google Scholar
Temme, Mathilde 1982 Excavaciones en el Sitio Preceramico de Cubilan, Ecuador. Miscelanea Antropologica Ecuatoriana 2 : 135–164. Boletin de los Museos del Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil.Google Scholar
Ubelaker, Douglas H. 1980 Human Skeletal Remains from Site OGSE-80, a Preceramic Site on the Sta. Elena Peninsula, Coastal Ecuador. Journal of the Washington Academy of Science 70(1) : 3–24, Washington.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon R. 1971 An Introduction to American Archaeology, vol. II. South America. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Wing, Elizabeth S. 1981 El Zorro (Dusicyon sechurae) en el Sitio OGSE-80. Chapter 8 in La Prehistoria Temprana de la Peninsula de Santa Elena, Ecuador : Cultura Las Vegas by Karen, E. Stothert. Museo Antropologico, Banco Central del Ecuador, Guayaquil, in press.Google Scholar
Zevallos Menendez, Carlos 1971 La Agricultura en el Formativo Temprano del Ecuador (Cultura Valdivia). Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Nucleo del Guayas, Guayaquil.Google Scholar