El área cultural caranqui, localizada en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador, comprende un conjunto homogéneo en términos de cultura material caracterizado principalmente por la presencia de complejos monumentales conformados por montículos artificiales, que en la terminología local se denominan tolas, y que tienen la forma de pirámides truncadas, ocasionalmente acompañadas de enormes rampas de acceso. La cultura material mueble asociada a estos monumentos, en particular la cerámica, es también bastante homogénea y cuenta con dos formas tipo, un ánfora grande y una olla asimétrica trípode. Este conjunto cultural data de la época preincaica tardía, y está fechado aproximadamente entre 1250 y 1525 d.C. Se ha tratado de explicar la organización política de estas sociedades desde modelos jerárquicos como el de la Teoría del Lugar Central, buscando una capital que hubiera ejercido poder y control sobre los otros sitios. Las fuentes etnohistóricas no sustentan una hipótesis en ese sentido, y hablan más bien a favor de señoríos relacionados pero autónomos. En este artículo proponemos una visión distinta de la organización política caranqui, desde el modelo de heterarquía, postulando que los sitios con montículos no fueron centros de poder político sino religioso. Sustentamos esta idea a través de un estudio diacrónico que combina las fuentes arqueológicas y las etnohistóricas.

Las figurillas antropomorfas de data prehispánica producidas a lo largo de milenios en la costa ecuatoriana constituyen un enorme contendor de información social. Pocos han sido hasta el momento, sin embargo, los estudios iconográficos rigurosos sobre las mismas, y prácticamente ninguno ha centrado su enfoque en las concepciones de género que encierran. El presente artículo resume las reflexiones y los avances de un proyecto que pretende abordar este tópico, dando especial valor a una aproximación multivocal, que enriquezca al análisis iconográfico con los aportes de diferentes personas ajenas a la academia y a los métodos científicos de análisis.

This article looks to critique the heteronormative discourses with which both authors grew up in Ecuador in the 1970s and 80s. We do this through a thorough archaeological and historical analysis of Ecuador’s past, but always looking to destabilize the heterenormative discourse which has served as a hegemonic stronghold that has not only strangled the day-to-day livelihood of several generations of Ecuadorians but in a similar way served as an ideological vice on national historical production and culture. It is our hope that through the ethnohistorical, ethnographic and archaeological material discussed in the article we are able to express a more realistic picture of the sexual and gender diversity present in this part of the Americas during prehispanic (and even contemporary) times.

Objective/context: In the light of Engels’ proposal on the origin and consolidation of patriarchy, this article proposes a re-reading of some iconographic elements of the period of Regional Development of the coast of Ecuador. The anthropomorphic figurines of the Tolita/Tumaco, Bahia, and Jama Coaque cultures, famous for their aesthetic value, present evidence of asymmetrical gender relations that have so far not been observed or thematized in literature. Methodology: The article is based on the iconographic analysis that the author has been conducting for over a decade. The iconography is contrasted with Engels’ theory from a feminist approach. It includes a reflection on different historical and contemporary episodes that reveal a patriarchal and machista system prevailing in Ecuador, about which the author also presents an introspective vision from her own experience as an academic. Conclusions: The early iconography of the Ecuadorian coast shows a substantial change between the Formative and Regional Development periods. The increase in social stratification and the accumulation of wealth probably led to the establishment of a patriarchal ideology, justified through iconography as a means of mass transmission of messages. Originality: This article provides in-depth coverage, for the first time, of the discussion on inequality in gender relations in pre-Hispanic Ecuador and material evidence of an ideological discourse tending to naturalize such inequality, through an ideal of subordination of female characters to male ones.

This paper reports on the recent discovery and investigation of early archaeological contexts in the northwest section of Quito, in the urban sector named Rancho Bajo. The principal context is a cemetery associated with a paleosurface that dates to an early moment for the region. Additionally, an activity area dedicated to working obsidian also was found in association with the paleosurface. The stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates indicate that these contexts pertain to a moment of transition (3600–3400 cal BP) between the Preceramic and Early Formative periods. Based on cultural material affiliated with Cotocollao, the latter period was considered to include the oldest sedentary settlement in Quito with ceramic vessels present from the beginning of the occupation. The discoveries at Rancho Bajo document an aceramic sedentary occupation in a stratigraphic context below Cotocollao materials, indicating that the aceramic inhabitants of the site are the earliest known Quiteños to date. In this paper, I discuss chronological and terminological issues that demonstrate the necessity of adding a new period to the chronology of Quito.