Several recent studies have sought to identify exchange mechanisms through which north Andean peoples dealt with the “vertical” problem. Some specialists, such as Plaza (1976:12), hypothesize something similar to a central Andean “closed” or self-sufficient system of multiple-niche control (see also Athens and Osborne 1974). Others, most notably Oberem, envision a more mixed system including both “archipelago” mechanisms on a small scale and exchange with outside groups via a variety of mechanisms, some of them still quite obscure. Still others, including Hartmann (1971) have given heavy emphasis to “market” and “commercial” elements. Having looked at the termini of the Quito region's economic network and the major “exports” flowing between them, we turn now to the institutional mechanisms which channeled them, and to the identification of those which belonged to a specifically political sphere of exchange (see Figure 13).

The “tiangueces”: centralized exchange

The evidence for a “central place” for barter of commodities among aborigines independent of Spanish influences is strong, indeed almost irrefutable, in the case of Quito. Since this evidence has been compiled and examined in detail by Roswith Hartmann (1971), no more will be attempted here than a brief review and a suggestion for integrating it with other known local institutions.