Chorrera culture

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The Chorrera culture was a pre-Columbian archaeological culture on the lower reaches of the Río Guayas in Ecuador . It existed in the period from 1300 to 300 BC. Chr. And formed the Younger Formative period in the history of Ecuador .

Type locality and geographical distribution

Statuette of the Chorrera culture with skull deformation, Musée des Jacobins in Auch

The Chorrera culture was named after its eponymous type locality La Chorrera , which is located on the Río Babahoyo in the province of Guayas (Guayas Basin). It exerted an important influence on a large part of Ecuador, even as far as the Amazon region.

Regional variants

Regional variants of the culture were found along the entire Ecuadorian Pacific coast and even the southern Colombian coastal region was still included (from north to south):

Way of life

The existence of the Chorrera people was mainly based on agriculture . Were grown Achira ( Canna ), arrowroot ( Maranta arundinacea ), corn ( Zea mays ), common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ), as well as gourds and pumpkins ( Cucurbitaceae ). The fruits of wild trees were consumed to improve protein, sour grass plants ( Cyperaceae ) and palm fruits ( Palmae ) were also used. In the sea shellfish such as B. prickly oysters collected.

The settlements had a free space as the center around which the houses built on artificial embankments were grouped. The central square served as a market, meeting place and religious ceremonies.

Trade relations

The Chorrera culture maintained the trade relations that had been established during the previous cultures. Thus, from the highlands basin of Quito originating Obsidian against shells of oysters and other (Spondylus) mussel species traded. Even gold has been traded in culture in the last few centuries. Contacts existed with Chavín de Huántar in northern Peru and with the Calima culture of Colombia.

Ceramics and works of art

Vessel with a lying, anthropomorphic animal shape

Compared to the ceramic products of the previous cultures, the craftsmen and artists of the Chorrera culture made great strides thanks to their very natural and uniform style. Even simple dishes were richly decorated and provided with figurative depictions of animals and plants, often with a handle or handle function. In general, the development of the vessels goes from a purely functional function to a ritual or ceremonial function, as is also expressed in the many statuettes and oddly shaped pipes.

Cultural decline

In 476 BC The Pululahua erupted north of Quito, and its ash rain spread over the western lowlands of Ecuador. The Chorrera culture was badly affected by this catastrophic event, but settlements in the extreme north and south could continue for several centuries. From these remnants developed from 300 to 200 BC. The more complex built cultures of the period of regional development .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Nancy White: Early Horizon, First Civilization. ( June 30, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ) South American Archeology Curse, University of South Florida, 2005.
  2. ↑ a b c J. A. Zeidler: The Ecuadorian Formative . In: Helaine Silverman, William H. Isbell (Eds.): Handbook of South American Archeology . Springer, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-387-75228-0 , pp. 459 ff .

literature

  • Peter Baumann: Valdivia - The discovery of America's oldest culture . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1978, ISBN 3-455-08921-6 .

Web links