Multi-Ethnic Settlement and Interregional Exchange in Pimampiro, Ecuador

Abstract

This paper reports on recent archaeological investigations at the sites of Shanshipampa and La Mesa in the Pimampiro district of northern Ecuador, a zone rich in archaeological resources about which relatively little is known. Within the context of Andean archaeology, this region is particularly significant insofar as it is described in early historic accounts as an important center of interregional trade. The role of trade in the shaping of ethnic identity and the evolution of complex societies has received relatively little attention in Andean scholarship. The present study expands our understanding of the modes, content, and significance of interregional interaction in the Andes by directing attention to the evidence for long-distance trade, trans-zonal connections, and multi-ethnic settlement in the northern highlands.