THE INCAS IN ECUADOR
The territorial expansion to Chinchasuyo (actual Ecuador)
took place around the middle of the fifteenth century
and lasted until the first decade of the sixteenth century
. The son of Pachacutic Inca, Tupac Yupanqui, known also
as "the renewer of the Universe," was the one
who started the conquest and certainly he was the real
builder of the Inca's empire. His example was followed
by his son, Huayna Capac, until he put under his rule
the "whole Universe" known by then , which was
more than 6,000 kilometers long from north to south. This
empire consisted mainly of the tribes and cities of the
Andes region, with lesser interest in the lowlands of
the coast and the limitless land in the Amazon.
This empire included a rich diversity of towns, cultures,
languages, cults, and theologies and an extraordinary
variety of ecological resources. These, together with
a strong administrative, economic, and theocratic (multiple
deity) system imposed by the Incas, helped to consolidate
the largest civilization which ever existed in the history
of the Andes.
The Incas, actually based in Peru, easily conquered the
Cañaris and Puruhaes, reaching a common agreement
and convincing the leaders to submit peacefully. This
strategy worked at least for the southern part of Ecuador,
but for the towns in the north the Incas had to lead severe
military campaigns because of the strong and furious resistance
they faced. A testimony of these bloody battles is one
which took place in Yaguarcocha ("lake of blood").
Its water was said to have turned completely red with
the blood of thousands of Caranquis killed by Huayna Capac's
army.
The invaders learned from the conquered towns' rich traditions
of different metallurgy and agricultural techniques, handcrafting
of many useful products, the extraction and use of spondylus
shell, salt, and coca. The northern lands were very generous
with rich tropical jungle, immense rainforest in the coast,
as well as wide valleys and fertile basins in the highlands.
This geography contrasted with the puna's (Peru's) landscape
which is small fertile spaces interspersed with massive
desert areas on the coast (which dominate mainly the central
and southern Andes) characteristic of Peru.
Before the Inca empire there were numerous communities
that were on the Amazon jungle, Andes and coast. The majority
of them were conquest by the Incas. The history of these
communities go some thousands years B.C.
A series of cultures dating back to 4400 B.C. were centered
in several provinces along Ecuador’s coastline,
denoting the presence of man and his lifestyle. Archeological
vestiges, such as pottery shards and remnants of cooking
and ceremonial utensils, hunting and fishing gear, and
farming tools, together with some human remains, illustrate
the individual characteristics of those cultures.
La Tolita
La Tolita museum in Esmeraldas province shows that the
culture was known for its artistry in gold and platinum,
which, together with its ceramic works, were used for
religious purposes. Located at the outlet of the Santiago
River, la Tolita was the most important ceremonial center
on the coast. Homes were erected on landfills and, on
the islands, on mounds known as tolas, distributed into
groups. The inhabitants of this culture were farmers and
a favorable environment contributed to plentiful harvests
that kept the large coastal population well fed.
Agua Blanca
This is Ecuador’s most important archeological site,
for it was here that the ancient town of Salangome once
stood. The town’s foremost citizen, the Lord of
Salango, had a fleet of rafts at his service that sailed
the Pacific coast of the Americas from Ecuador to Peru
and Mexico. Today the site contains the remains of old
Manteña constructions in Manabí province.
Sumpa
Near Santa Elena, in Guayas province, the remains of two
people are to be found. Known by local dwellers as the
Sumpa lovers, they rest at the site of Las Vegas culture,
in a village where the inhabitants buried their dead in
their own homes to keep the communication links with their
loved ones unbroken. The museum is divided into three
sectors. In the first, skeletons are on display in five
cases, while the second consists of a peasant dwelling,
and the third is a hall where the processes used by archeologists
are explained and the customs of the Las Vegas dweller
are illustrated.
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