Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T08:42:32.228Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James A. Zeidler ,
Caitlin E. Buck  and
Clifford D. Litton
James A. Zeidler
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 South Mathews Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801
Caitlin E. Buck
Affiliation:
School of History and Archaeology, University of Wales, P.O. Box 909, Cardiff CF1 3XU, Wales, United Kingdom
Clifford D. Litton
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England, United Kingdom
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relating the successive archaeological phases is established, based on prior knowledge of the stratigraphy and ceramic seriation from key archaeological sites throughout the valley. A Bayesian statistical approach is then employed to calibrate 37 radiocarbon determinations for the purpose of estimating calendar dates for the limits of these phases. Apart from its contribution to the prehistory of a poorly studied area, the analysis illustrates the value of a probabilistic Bayesian approach to radiocarbon calibration, especially when the determinations relate to archaeologically predefined phases. It also demonstrates the dangers of uncritically applying generalized periodization schemes to specific sequences of historical development and highlights the need for reassessing Ecuadorian chronology through more precise interregional correlations.

Las síntesis arqueológicas de la prehistoria del occidente ecuatoriano han sido entorpecidas por la falta de cronologías absolutas confiables y secuencias culturales detalladas para muchas áreas claves, una de las cuales es el sector meridional de la Provincia de Manabí, conocido principalmente como el territorio de la tradición cultural Jama-Coaque. Este estudio presenta una secuencia cultural de siete fases para la cuenca del Río Jama de Manabí norte, la cual abarca unos 3,600 años calendáricos. Se establece un modelo estadístico, derivado de conocimiento previo de la estratigrafía y la seriación cerámica de sitios arqueológicos claves por todo el valle, el cual relaciona las fases arqueológicas sucesivas. Posteriormente, se emplea un enfoque estadístico Bayesiano para la calibración de 37 fechamientos radiocarbónicos con el fin de estimar las fechas calendáricas correspondientes a los límites de cada fase. Aparte de su contribución a la prehistoria de un área poco conocida, el análisis ilustra el valor de un enfoque probabilístico Bayesiano para la calibración radiocarbónica, especialmente cuando los fechamientos disponibles provienen de fases predefinidas arqueológicamente. También demuestra el peligro en aplicar, con falta de sentido crítico, los esquemas de periodificación generalizados a secuencias específicas de desarrollo histórico, y destaca la necesidad de evaluar nuevamente la cronología ecuatoriana mediante correlaciones interregionales más precisas.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 1998 , pp. 160 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Alcina Franch, J. 1979 La arqueología de Esmeraldas (Ecuador): introducción general. Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Madrid.Google Scholar
Alcina Franch, J., and de la Peña, R. 1979 Patrones de asentamientos indígenas en Esmeraldas, durante los siglos XVI y XVII. Actes du XLII Congres International des Americanistes IX-A, pp. 283–301. ParisGoogle Scholar
Aleto, T. 1988 The Guayaquil Phase Ceramic Complex: The Late Formative Period in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana.Google Scholar
Baillie, M. G. 1991 Marking in Marker Dates: Towards an Archaeology with Historical Precision. World Archaeology 23:233–243.Google Scholar
Bischof, H. 1975 El Machalilla temprano y algunos sitios cercanos a Valdivia. Bonner Amerikanistche Studien 3:41–62. Bonn.Google Scholar
Botiva Contreras, A., Cadavid, G., Herrera, L., Groot de Mahecha, A. M., and Mora, S. 1989 Colombia prehispánica: regiones arqueológicas. Colcultura and the Instituto Colombiano de Antropología, Bogotá.Google Scholar
Bowman, S. 1990 Radiocarbon Dating. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Braun, D. P. 1985 Absolute Seriation: A Time-Series Approach. In For Concordance in Archaeological Analysis: Bridging Theory, Technique, and Data Structure, edited by C. Carr, pp. 509–539. Westport Press, Kansas City.Google Scholar
Buck, C. E., Cavanagh, W. G., and Litton, C. D. 1996 Bayesian Approach to Interpreting Archaeological Data. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, England.Google Scholar
Buck, C. E., Kenworthy, J. B., Litton, C. D., and Smith, A. F. M. 1991 Combining Archaeological and Radiocarbon Information: A Bayesian Approach to Calibration. Antiquity 65:808–821.Google Scholar
Buck, C. E., and Litton, C. D. 1995 The Radiocarbon Chronology: Further Consideration of the Danebury Data Set. In Danebury: An Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire, vol. 6, edited by B. Cunliffe, pp. 130—136. Report No. 102. Council for British Archaeology, London.Google Scholar
Buck, C. E., Litton, C. D., and Shennan, S. J. 1994 A Case Study in Combining Radiocarbon and Archaeological Information: The Early Bronze Age Settlement of St. Veit-Klinglberg, Land Salzburg, Austria. Germania 2:421–441.Google Scholar
Buck, C. E., Litton, C. D., and Smith, A. F. M. 1992 Calibration of Radiocarbon Results Pertaining to Related Archaeological Events. Journal of Archaeological Science 19:497–512.Google Scholar
Burton, I., Kates, R. W., and White, G. F. 1978 The Environment as Hazard. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Buys, J. 1988 Quito, en el remoto pasado. In Quito antes de Benalcazar, edited by I. Cruz, pp. 15–26. Serie Monográfica No. 1, Año 1. Centro Cultural Artes, Quito.Google Scholar
Cabello Balboa, M. 1945 [1583] Verdadera descripción y relación de al provincia y tierra de Esmeraldas. Obras de Miguel Cabello Balboa, vol. 1, edited by J. Jijon y Caamano, pp. 1–76. Editorial Ecuatoriana, Quito.Google Scholar
Carranza, M. de 1897 [1569] Relación de las provincias de las Esmeraldas que fue a pacificar el Capitán Andrés Contero. In Relaciones geográficas de Indias-Perú, vol. 3, edited by M. Jiménez de la Espada, pp. 87–91. Ediciones Atlas, Madrid.Google Scholar
Christen, J. A. 1994a Bayesian Interpretation of 14C Results. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Mathematics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England.Google Scholar
Christen, J. A. 1994b Summarizing a Set of Radiocarbon Determinations: A Robust Approach. Applied Statistics 43:489–503.Google Scholar
Christen, J. A., and Litton, C. D. 1995 A Bayesian Approach to Wiggle Matching. Journal of Archaeological Science 22:719–725.Google Scholar
DeBoer, W. R. 1996 Traces behind the Esmeraldas Shore: Prehistory of the Santiago-Cayapas Region, Ecuador. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Dehling, H., and van der Plicht, J. 1993 Statistical Problems in Calibrating Radiocarbon Dates. Radiocarbon 35:239–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Echeverría, J. 1981 Breves anotaciones sobre la cronología de las unidades culturales de la Sierra Norte del Ecuador. Sarance 9:11–22. Otavalo, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Estrada, E. 1957 Prehistoria de Manabí. Museo Victor Emilio Estrada, Publicación 4. Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Estrada, E. 1958 Las culturas Pre-Clásicas, Formativas, Arcaicas del Ecuador. Museo Victor Emilio Estrada, Publicación 5. Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Estrada, E. 1962 Arqueología de Manabí central. Museo Victor Emilio Estrada, Publicación 7. Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Evans, C, and Meggers, B. J. 1961 Cronología relativa y absoluta en la costa del Ecuador. Cuadernos de Historia y Arqueología X(27):147–152. Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Feldman, R. A., and Moseley, M. E. 1983 The Northern Andes. In Ancient South Americans, edited by J. D. Jennings, pp. 139–177. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Gasche, H., and Tunca, O. 1983 Guide to Archaeostratigraphic Classification and Terminology: Definitions and Principles. Journal of Field Archaeology 10:325–335.Google Scholar
Guinea, M. 1989 Valoración de las evidencias de intercambio en la desembocadura del Río Esmeraldas: el problema cronológico. In Relaciones interculturales en el área ecuatorial del Pacífico durante la época Precolombina, edited by J. F. Bouchard and M. Guinea, pp. 127–146. BAR International Series 503. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Harris, E. C. 1979 Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Hart, W. J., and Steen-McIntyre, V. 1983 Tierra Blanca Joven Tephra from the AD 260 Eruption of Ilopango Caldera. In Archeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by P. Sheets, pp. 14–34. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Hill, B. D. 1972–1974 A New Chronology of the Valdivia Ceramic Complex from the Coastal Zone of Guayas Province, Ecuador. Ñawpa Pacha 10–12:1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosler, D., Lechtman, H., and Holm, O. 1990 Axe-Monies and Their Relatives. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology No. 30. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Isaacson, J. S. 1987 Volcanic Activity and Human Occupation of the Northern Andes: The Application of Tephro-stratigraphic Techniques to the Problem of Human Settlement in the Western Montaña during the Ecuadorian Formative. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Isaacson, J. S. 1994 Volcanic Sediments in Archaeological Contexts from Western Ecuador. In Regional Archaeology in Northern Manabi, Ecuador, Volume 1: Environment, Cultural Chronology and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Jama River Valley, edited by J. Zeidler and D. Pearsall, pp. 131–140. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology No. 8. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Iversen, G. R. 1984 Bayesian Statistical Inference. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California.Google Scholar
Jadan, M. 1986 La cerámica del complejo Piquigua (Fase 8) de la cultura Valdivia en San Isidro, norte de Manabí: un análisis modal. Unpublished Licenciatura thesis, Centro de Estudios Arqueológicos y Antropológicos, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Lathrap, D. W., Collier, D., and Chandra, H. 1975 Ancient Ecuador: Culture, Clay, and Creativity, 3000–300 BC. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.Google Scholar
Lippi, R. 1983 La Ponga and the Machalilla Phase of Coastal Ecuador. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Litton, C. D., and Leese, M. N. 1991 Some Statistical Problems Arising in Radiocarbon Calibration. In Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology 1990, edited by K. Lockyear and S. Rahtz, pp. 101–109. BAR International Series 565. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
López Aguilar, F. 1990 Elementos para una construcción teórica en arqueología. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. México, D.F.Google Scholar
Lumbreras, L. G. 1984 Consideraciones cronológicas y recomendaciones para el estudio arqueológico de Cochasqui (Ecuador) y su cultura. Informe al Proyecto RLA/83/002 (Proyecto Regional del Patrimonio Cultural, PNUD/UNESCO), Lima.Google Scholar
Marcos, J. G. 1989 Informe arqueológico. In Proyecto San Lorenzo del Mate, edited by J. G. Marcos, pp. 1–19. Fundación Pedro Vicente Maldonado, Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Meggers, B. J. 1966 Ecuador. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Meggers, B. J., Evans, C., and Estrada, E. 1965 Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador: The Valdivia and Machalilla Phases. Contributions to Anthropology No. 1. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Muse, M. 1991 Products and Politics of a Milagro Entrepôt: Peñón del Río, Guayas Basin, Ecuador. Research in Economic Anthropology 13:269–323.Google Scholar
Naylor, J. C, and Smith, A. F. M. 1988 An Archaeological Inference Problem. Journal of the American Statistical Association 83:588–595.Google Scholar
Norton, P. 1992 Las culturas cerámicas prehispánicas del sur de Manabí. In 5000 años de ocupación: Parque Nacional Machalilla, edited by P. Norton and M. V. García, pp. 9–40. Centro Cultural Artes and Ediciones Abya-Yala, Quito.Google Scholar
Norton, P., Lunnis, R., and Nayling, N. 1983 Excavaciones en Salango, provincia de Manabí, Ecuador. Miscelánea Antropolágica Ecuatoriana 3:9-80. Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Paulsen, A. C. 1970 A Chronology of Guangala and Libertad Ceramics of the Santa Elena Peninsula in Southern Coastal Ecuador. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York.Google Scholar
Paulsen, A. C. 1976 Environment and Empire: Climatic Factors in Prehistoric Andean Culture Change. World Archaeology 8:121–132.Google Scholar
Paulsen, A. C., and McDougle, E. J. 1981 A Chronology of Machalilla and Engoroy Ceramics of the South Coast of Ecuador. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Columbia, Missouri.Google Scholar
Pearson, G. W., Pilcher, J. R., Baillie, M. G. L., Corbett, D. M., and Qua, F. 1986 High-Precision 14C Measurements of Irish Oaks to Show the Natural 14C Variations from AD 1840–5210 BC Radiocarbon 28:911–34.Google Scholar
Pearson, G. W., and Stuiver, M. 1986 High-Precision Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale, 500–2500 BC. Radiocarbon 28:839–862.Google Scholar
Plog, F. 1979 Alternative Models of Prehistoric Change. In Transformations: Mathematical Approaches to Culture Change, edited by C. Renfrew and K. L. Cooke, pp. 221–236. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Plog, S., and Hantman, J. L. 1986 Multiple Regression Analysis as a Dating Method in the American Southwest. In Spatial Organization and Exchange, edited by S. Plog, pp. 87–113. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Plog, S., and Hantman, J. L. 1990 Chronology Construction and the Study of Prehistoric Culture Change. Journal of Field Archaeology 17:439–56.Google Scholar
Porras, P. I. 1980 Arqueología del Ecuador. Ediciones Gallo Capitán, Otavalo, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Porras, P. I. 1983 Arqueología del sitio La Ponga. In Arqueología Palenque (Los Ríos), La Ponga (Guayas), by P. I. Porras, pp. 141–240. Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas, Pontífica Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito.Google Scholar
Ramsey, C. B. 1995 Radiocarbon Calibration and Analysis of Stratigraphy: The OxCal Program. Radiocarbon 37:425–130.Google Scholar
Read, D. W. 1979 The Effective Use of Radiocarbon Dates in the Seriation of Archaeological Sites. In Radiocarbon Dating: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference, 1976, edited by R. Berger and H. E. Seuss, pp. 89–94. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Smith, M. E. 1992 Braudel’s Temporal Rhythms and Chronology Theory in Archaeology. In Archaeology, Annates, and Ethnohistory, edited by A. B. Knapp, pp. 23–34. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Staller, J. E. 1992–93 El sitio Valdivia Tardío de La Emerenciana en la costa sur del Ecuador y su significación del desarrollo de complejidad en la costa oeste de Sudamérica. Cuadernos de Historia y Arqueología 46–47: 14–37.Google Scholar
Stemper, D. M. 1989 The Persistence of Prehispanic Chiefdom Formations, Río Daule, Coastal Ecuador. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Pearson, G. W. 1986 High-Precision Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale, AD 1950–500 BC. Radiocarbon 28:805–838.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Long, A., and Kra, R. S. (editors) 1993 Calibration Issue. Radiocarbon 35:1–244.Google Scholar
Tolstoy, P., and DeBoer, W. R. 1989 An Archaeological Sequence for the Santiago-Cayapas River Basin, Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Journal of Field Archaeology 16:295–308.Google Scholar
Valdez, F. 1987 Proyecto arqueológico “La Tolita” (1983–1986). Museo Arqueológico del Banco Central del Ecuador, Quito.Google Scholar
Willey, G. R. 1971 South America. An Introduction to American Archaeology, vol. 2. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Zedeño, M. N. 1985 Análisis de cerámica Chorrera del sitio Peñón del Río. Licenciatura thesis, Centro de Estudios Arqueológicos y Antropológicos, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Guayaquil, Ecuador.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A. 1982 Pothunting and Vandalism of Archaeological Sites: An Ecuadorian Example. In Rescue Archaeology: Papers Presented at the First New World Conference on Rescue Archaeology, edited by R. L. Wilson and G. Loyola, pp. 49–58. Preservation Press, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A. 1988 Feline Imagery, Stone Mortars and Formative Period Interaction Spheres in the Northern Andean Area. Journal of Latin American Lore 14:243–283.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A. 1992 The Piquigua Phase: A Terminal Valdivia Occupation in Northern Manabi (Ecuador). Paper presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A. 1994a Archaeological Testing in the Middle Jama Valley. In Regional Archaeology in Northern Manabí, Ecuador, Volume I: Environmental, Cultural Chronology and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Jama Valley, edited by J. Zeidler and D. Pearsall, pp. 71–98. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology No. 8. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A. 1994b Archaeological Testing in the Lower Jama Valley. In Regional Archaeology in Northern Manabí, Ecuador, Volume 1: Environmental, Cultural Chronology and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Jama Valley, edited by J. Zeidler and D. Pearsall, pp. 99–109. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology No. 8. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A., and Isaacson, J. S. 1997 Settlement Process and Historical Contingency in Formative Period Ecuador. In Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Archaeology of Formative Ecuador, edited by J. S. Raymond and R. Burger. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C, in press.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A., and Pearsall, D. M. 1994 The Jama Valley Archaeological/Paleoethno-botanical Project: An Introduction. In Regional Archaeology in Northern Manabí, Ecuador, Volume 1: Environmental, Cultural Chronology and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Jama Valley, edited by J. Zeidler and D. Pearsall, pp. 1–12. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology No. 8. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Zeidler, J. A., and Sutliff, M. J. 1994 Definition of Ceramic Complexes and Cultural Occupation in the Jama Valley. In Regional Archaeology in Northern Manabí, Ecuador, Volume 1: Environmental, Cultural Chronology and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Jama Valley, edited by J. Zeidler and D. Pearsall, pp. 111–130. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology No. 8. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar