book chapter
La prehistoria temprana de la Península de Santa Elena, Ecuador: cultura Las Vegas
Museos del Banco Central del Ecuador • Guayaquil, Ecuador • Published In 1988 • Pages: 1-104, 133-169, 187-202, 215-274
By: Stothert, Karen E..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study, in Spanish, is the result of three years of archaeological investigations of the Las Vegas culture located on Santa Elena peninsula in southeastern Ecuador. Of the 32 known sites in the area, the Las Vegas site, designated as OGSE80, is one of the best studied ones in Ecuador representing the oldest human adaptation to the littoral known for northwest South America and Mesoamerica. Excavations at the site uncovered some 200 human skeletons representing the late phase of the Las Vegas culture (i.e., 8,250 B.P.-6,600 B.P.). These remains represent the largest sample so far in the New World from which data on population size, health, and funeral customs can be obtained. At the end of this document the author describes and reconstructs the way of life of these people based on her inferences about their adaptation to the paleo-environment of that day. Other chapters in this work provide information on flora, fauna, minerals, artifacts, and the laboratory analysis of the artifactual components from the site. Data on archaeological structures is scant, with only a very few domestic dwellings being described, although these represent some of the earliest habitation sites in Ecuador. Stothert characterizes the economy of the Las Vegas people as being based on hunting, fishing, and gathering with some limited horticulture, especially in terms of maize agriculture.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Maps
- Archaeological excavation methods
- Location
- Topography and geology
- Fauna
- Flora
- Bone, horn, and shell technology
- Ceramic technology
- Lithic industries
- General tools
- Burial practices and funerals
- Mourning
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- Cultural stratigraphy
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Early Northwest South American Littoral
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2001
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northwestern South America
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- book chapter
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- ca. 1980s (three years)
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 10,800 BP-6,600 BP (8,850 B.C.-4,650 B.C.)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Las Vegas site (OGSE-80), Santa Elena peninsula, Guayas Province, Ecuador
- NotesAdditional notes
- Karen E. Stothert
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-271)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of South America--Antiquities