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Marine Shell Bead Production and the Role of Domestic Craft Activities in the Economy of the Guangala Phase, Southwest Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Maria A. Masucci
Maria A. Masucci*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey 07940
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Abstract

Spondylus and Strombus shells are believed to have been sacred items in Latin American societies, often traded over long distances. Studies of the manufacturing sites of these and other prized marine shells have been mainly undertaken to investigate the long distance trade networks and symbol systems of the ancient societies. In contrast, this report examines evidence from small, inland sites of the Regional Developmental Period-Guangala Phase in southwest Ecuador to understand the role of shell working as a craft activity within the local socioeconomic system. It is shown that this activity, which involves interaction between littoral and inland dwellers, played an important role in subsistence adaptations to the semi-arid southwest coast of Ecuador. These findings will also be of interest to scholars of the subsequent period seeking to understand the organization of the late prehistoric Ecuadorian trading chiefdoms.

Se cree que las conchas Spondylus y Strombus eran artículos sagrados para las sociedades antiguas de America Latina y que fueron intercambiado a lo largo de una amplia area geográfica. Los arqueólogos han estudiado los talleres de conchas preciosas principalmente para investigar los intercambios entre asentamientos distantes y para conocer los sistemas simbólicos de las sociedades antiguas. Este informe presenta una investigación de los datos de los asentimientos pequeños del Período de Desarrollo Regional - Fase Guangala - ubicados 25 km de la costa en el suroeste de Ecuador con el fin de entender el papel del trabajo de la concha como un actividad artesanal y su rol dentro del sistema socioeconómico de estas sociedades. Esta discusión muestra que esta actividad puede ser puesta dentro del contexto del intercambio entre la gente de la costa y la gente tierra adentro y que fue importante en las adaptaciones en la zona árida del sur de Ecuador. Estos descubrimientos son importantes también para los que investigan el período de Integración y la organización de los mercaderes marítimos.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1995 , pp. 70 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1995

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