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Food and Society at Real Alto, an Early Formative Community in Southwest Coastal Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2020

Deborah M. Pearsall Open the ORCID record for Deborah M. Pearsall [Opens in a new window] ,
Neil A. Duncan ,
Karol Chandler-Ezell ,
Douglas H. Ubelaker  and
James A. Zeidler
Deborah M. Pearsall*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO65211, USA
Neil A. Duncan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL32816, USA
Karol Chandler-Ezell
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX75962, USA
Douglas H. Ubelaker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC20560, USA
James A. Zeidler
Affiliation:
Center for Environmental Management Military Lands, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO80523, USA
*
(pearsalld@missouri.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

We investigated foodways at Real Alto, an early Formative (4400–1800 BC) Valdivia site in coastal Ecuador, using starch and phytoliths recovered from 50 stone tools from three residential and two ceremonial structures, as well as 46 human dental calculus samples, to explore how food reflects the social relationships and economy of the community. Maize was important in daily meals and ceremonial foods by the Middle Valdivia (2800–2400 BC), but it was only one component of an agricultural system that included yuca, arrowroot, llerén, canna, yam, jackbean, squash, gourd, chili, and cotton. Ceremonial and everyday foods at Real Alto did not differ: actions surrounding food were both domestic and ceremonial, depending on context. Households had equal access to annual crops and to root-tubers with longer growing seasons. Gelatinized starch was commonly recovered on tools, indicating the processing of cooked foods. Dental calculus residues confirmed common consumption of cooked foods, fruits, and root-tubers. Cultivating crops with different water and growing season requirements necessitated diverse practices, potentially including selection of short-season varieties, hand watering, and growing crops over multiple rainy seasons. The latter two practices required increased labor inputs: access to labor was likely a key element supporting the nascent social hierarchy that emerged by the Middle Valdivia.

En este trabajo analizamos las prácticas alimenticias en Real Alto, un sitio de la cultura Valdivia del Formativo temprano (4400 a 1800 aC) en la costa de Ecuador, y cómo éstas reflejan las relaciones sociales y la economía de la comunidad. Para esto realizamos análisis de almidón y fitolitos recuperados de 50 herramientas de piedra de tres estructuras residenciales y dos ceremoniales y de 46 muestras de cálculo dental. El maíz constituyó un elemento importante en las comidas cotidianas y ceremoniales del periodo Medio de la cultura Valdivia (2800–2400 aC), pero era solo un componente de un sistema agrícola que incluía yuca, arrurruz, llerén, canna, ñame, frejol, zapallo, calabaza, chile y algodón. Los alimentos ceremoniales y cotidianos en Real Alto no diferían entre sí; las acciones que rodeaban a los mismos eran tanto domésticas cómo ceremoniales, según el contexto. Los hogares tenían acceso tanto a cultivos anuales cómo a tubérculos de crecimiento estacional. En las herramientas de piedra se recuperó comúnmente el almidón gelatinizado, lo que indica el procesamiento de alimentos cocidos. Los residuos de cálculos dentales confirman el consumo común de alimentos cocidos, frutas y tubérculos. La siembra de cultígenos con diferentes requisitos de agua y estación de cultivo requería prácticas diversas, que podían incluir la selección de variedades de temporada corta, el riego manual y el cultivo en múltiples temporadas de lluvias. Las dos últimas requerían un aumento de los insumos laborales: el acceso al trabajo era probablemente un elemento clave que apoyaba una jerarquía social naciente que surgió en el periodo Medio de Valdivia.

Keywords

EcuadorReal AltoValdivia cultureEarly Formativestarchphytolithsresidue analysissocial hierarchyEcuadorReal Altocultura ValdiviaFormativo tempranoalmidónfitolitosanálisis de residuosjerarquía social
Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 122 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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