Prehistory of the Jama River, Ecuador

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Drs. Deborah Pearsall and James Zeidler will collaborate for two seasons of fieldwork at the site of San Isidro which is located in the Jama drainage in northern Ecuador. They will continue to excavate at the site and also extend their survey of the surrounding region. San Isidro contains a large, centrally located earthen mound which suggests that it functioned as a regional ceremonial and administrative center. The site's size and monumental architecture imply the existence of surplus production capable of supporting a dense population, and materials recovered to date suggest that San Isidro was a major point of external contact and commodity flow both along the coast of Ecuador and between the coast and the highlands. The research team will excavate large blocks within the site to reconstruct settlement history and determine how it changed over time. Continued survey and test excavation at other sites will allow extension of this pattern to a regional level. Particular emphasis will be placed on subsistence technology, and an attempt will be made to reconstruct the agricultural system. The goal of the research is to study the process of demographic growth as well as change in subsistence and the accompanying development of cultural complexity which took place in this tropical area of northern Ecuador. Although such complex societies arose in the tropics, many times, in different parts of the world, the underlying processes are not well understood. This research will allow the testing of different models. While Ecuador is known to be rich in prehistoric remains, little archaeological research has been conducted there. This project will help to remedy that situation.