COASTAL ABSENCES IN ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGHLAND-CENTRIC INDIGENEITY

As a tangible linkage to the past, archaeological material culture plays a vital role in
constructing contemporary identities. In Ecuador, archaeology focused on the state societies of
the Andean highlands has long informed a hill-centric national narrative about the indigenous
past, leaving coastal peoples on the margins. Conversely, more recent efforts at investigating
overlooked coastal sites have paralleled the process of coastal communities publically reclaiming
their indigenous status. This thesis investigates the historical trends in the field of Andean
archaeology which have contributed to a popular conception of highland indigeneity in Ecuador
that excludes coastal peoples. However, coastal peoples’ recent expressions of indigeneity have
reciprocally drawn from and shaped the work of contemporary archaeologists working in coastal
sites, articulating a vision of indigenous ethnicity rooted in a living relationship to the
archaeological record which subverts predominant highland centric narratives.