Sedentism, Production, and Early Interregional Interaction in the Northern Sierra of Ecuador

This chapter discusses the results of two multidisciplinary projects in the northern Ecuadorian sierra: Rancho Bajo in Quito (Pichincha) and Las Orquídeas in Ibarra (Imbabura). Excavations at Rancho Bajo have discovered the beginnings of sedentism in the Quito area, documenting the remains of an aceramic population (ca. 1600–1400 cal BC) that likely utilized domesticated plants before the better known Cotocollao occupation (ca. 1500–500 cal BC) that was once viewed as the first sedentary population in the region. Las Orquídeas, on the other hand, contains evidence of a Late Formative occupation (800–400 cal BC) contemporaneous with the later Formative phase of Cotocollao. Inhabitants of Las Orquídeas were more engaged in craft production and interregional interaction than their counterparts in Quito, fabricating crafts with both non-local and local raw materials for personal use as well as exchange in interregional networks. The variety of evidence from Rancho Bajo and Las Orquídeas underscores the unbalanced development of various characteristics (sedentism, craft production, interregional interaction) associated with the Ecuadorian Formative. At the same time, these investigations help refine the chronology of the northern highlands and improve our understanding of the ever-shifting relationship between humans and the environment.