Cloud forests

This thesis aims to answer questions about preconquest natives, defined by archaeologists as the Manteño culture (800-1533C.E.), in the cloud forests of Rio Blanco, Ecuador. Descriptions of the excavation units are made focusing on the architectural aspect of their dwelling. The cultural remains of the inhabitants also helped to conclude that this was a domestic house. Using an ethnoarchaeological theory base, modern home building analogies are employed to address questions about the archaeological process.

This thesis provides an analysis of Manteño site abandonment in the cloud forest of Manabí, Ecuador. First, the types, frequency, and distribution of artifacts at site C4-044 were recorded, mapped, and compared to levels of phosphate in the soil to determine activity areas. The obtained evidence allowed me to make general approximations of the site’s pre-abandonment behavior. Then, the archaeological data together with environmental and bioarchaeological information from the region were assessed to propose the mode of departure from site C4-044. Through ethnography and ethnoarchaeology, a recent historical account of abandonment in the cloud forest was obtained as well, providing additional insight regarding adaptive strategies and behavioral choices to changing contextual circumstances. The culmination of this evidence shows a gradual mode of abandonment from site C4-044 in the cloud forest that was planned and executed accordingly.