The Mayo-Chinchipe culture existed from c. 5500 – 1700 BCE in the highlands of what is now

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Location

It extended from the sources of Valladolid river, in the Podocarpus National Park in Ecuador, to where Chinchipe flows into the Marañon (in the area of Bagua, Peru), and received its name from the river names.Mayo-Chinchipe culture (Spanish)
- Proyecto Zamora - Chinchipe

Culture

The best known Mayo-Chinchipe site is

Santa Ana (La Florida) Santa Ana (La Florida) is an important archaeological site in the highlands of Ecuador, going back as early as 3,500 BC. It is located in the Palanda Canton, just to the north of its regional capital of :es:Palanda, in the Zamora-Chinchipe Provinc ...

, where a temple and ceremonial hearth have been found. Also at , related ceremonial centers were found. In the same general area, in Palanda, Ecuador (just across the border with Peru), a tomb was found with stone and ceramic artifacts, as well as cacao and Spondylus shells. Another related site is San Isidro, in Peru, close to Jaen ( Jaen District), and in the same general area as Montegrande. The culture is believed to have included

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

and other specialist work roles. It used stone and pottery technologies, and consumed

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

and possibly corn beer.

Trading

The culture is believed to have traded plants with coastal cultures such as the

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau ...

References

{{Reflist, 1 Archaeological cultures of South America