Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador: The Valdivia and Machalilla Phases

Abstract

The publication of this report is a monument to the importance of international cooperation in scientific endeavor. The archeological sites and complexes were discovered by Ecuadorians, detailed analysis of the developmental sequences was furnished by North Americans, invaluable information for comparative study was provided by Japanese, and a Chilean prepared the report on skeletal remains. To those of us who are listed as authors, working with all of these people has been a memorable experience not only because the scientific results have been so exciting, but because the context in which they have been derived has been so rewarding.<br/>The largest contribution has been made by the many Ecuadorians who have assisted with fieldwork and preparation of the bulk of material for analysis over the years. Some should be singled out for special mention. Dr. Carlos Zevallos Menéndez, then President of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, arranged for permission under the Ecuadorian antiquity laws to conduct the archeological field research. Félix Martínez and later Julio Viteri served as foremen during much of the excavation at G-31. During two seasons of work by Meggers and Evans at G-31 and G-54, Francisco Salcedo generously made available a comfortable house near the site as field headquarters. Washing and preliminary sorting of material from G-84 and G-31, Cut J was done by Walter Molina, part-time aide in the Museo "Víctor Emilio Estrada."<br/>Staff members of the former Division of Archeology, Museum of Natural History, U.S. National Museum who have over the years assisted in the laborious job of washing, numbering and classifying Valdivia and Machalilla Phase materials, are Mr. George Metcalf, Mr. Robert C. Jenkins, and Mrs. Willie Mae Pelham. We are indebted to personnel of other divisions for identification of stone, bone and shell remains, including Dr. Harald A. Rehder, Division of Mollusks; Dr. Henry Setzer, Division of Mammals; Dr. E. P. Henderson, Division of Meteorites; Dr. Leonard P. Schultz and Dr. William R. Taylor, Division of Fishes. Mr. Henry Wright assisted one summer with sorting of rocks from G-31: Valdivia into possible and impossible artifacts.<br/>Carbon-14 determinations, which confirm the early chronological placement of the Valdivia complex, were made over several years at three different laboratories: the United States Geological Survey Low Frequency Radiation Laboratory, the University of Michigan Laboratory, and the Smithsonian Institution Carbon-Dating Laboratory. We would like to thank Dr. Meyer Rubin of the United States Geological Survey for his willingness to accept shell samples for dating at a time when this material was considered unsuitable in many quarters, and Dr. Austin Long of the Department of Radiation and Organisms, Smithsonian Institution Carbon-Dating Laboratory for consultation and advice in the evaluation of the entire series of dates, which led to several of the interpretations in the section on dating.<br/>Our inferences about the origin of Valdivia Phase pottery would have been poorly supported had it not been for the opportunity to visit Japan during March and April, 1963 to examine collections and talk with experts on the Early and Middle Jomon Period. Initial communication with Japanese archeologists was facilitated by advice and introductions from Dr. Chester Chard, University of Wisconsin; Dr. Richard K. Beardsley, University of Michigan, and Dr. Edward Norbeck, William Marsh Rice University. Informed in advance of our general problem, members of the staff of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology, University of Tokyo, headed by Prof. Seiichi Izumi, laid out a tentative schedule of visits that permitted us to make best use of our limited time. Our ability to accomplish so much was largely because of this generous unsolicited aid by Prof. Izumi and his colleagues, Prof. Shozo Masuda and Prof. Toshihiko Sono. Through their advice, we were accompanied on trips outside the Tokyo area by one of their senior graduate students, Mr. Hiroaki Okada, who