Valdivia culture

Valdivia culture

The Valdivia culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It emerged from the earlier Las Vegas culture and thrived on the Santa Elena peninsula near the modern-day town of Valdivia, Ecuador between 3500 BC and 1800 BC.

The Valdivia culture was discovered in 1956 by the Ecuadorian archeologist Emilio Estrada. Based on comparison of archeological remains and pottery styles (specifically, the similarity between the Valdivian pottery and the ancient Jōmon culture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan) Estrada, along with the American archaeologist Betty Meggers suggested that a relationship between the people of Ecuador and the people of Japan existed in ancient times. Part of the theory was that the Japanese had conducted trans-Pacific trade. This theory was controversial, for no evidence of contact between the two populations had previously been suggested, and it remains unsupported within the archaeological community.

The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza and were sedentary people that lived off farming and fishing, though occasionally they went hunting for deer. From the remains that have been found, it has been determined that Valdivians cultivated maize, kidney beans, squash, cassava, hot peppers and cotton plants, the latter of which was used to make clothing.

Valdivian pottery initially was rough and practical, but it became splendid, delicate and large over time. They generally used red and gray colors; and the polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In their ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture shows a progression from the most simple to much more complicated works.

The trademark Valdivia piece is the "Venus" of Valdivia: feminine ceramic figures which were likely used in a variety of unknown rituals of fertility. The "Venus" of Valdivia likely represented actual people, as each figurine is individual and unique, as can be seen by the hairstyles. They were made joining two rolls of clay, leaving the lower portion separated as legs and making the body and head from the top portion. The arms were usually very short, in most cases were bent towards the chest, holding the breasts or under the chin.

There is a display of Valdivian artifacts in Guayaquil, Ecuador at UEES

External links

* [http://www.edufuturo.com/educacion.php?c=2388& Valdivian culture]
* [http://www.edufuturo.com/educacion.php?c=1722 Valdivian art]
* [http://www.arqueo-ecuatoriana.ec Ecuadorian Archaeology]
* [http://www.precolumbianjade.com/ecuador.htm Valdivian Polished Stone Artifacts]
* [http://www.precolumbiangold.com Ecuadorian Prehispanic Gold Artifacts]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • VALDIVIA (CULTURE) — VALDIVIA CULTURE La culture Valdivia s’est développée sur la côte centrale d’Équateur. En 1956, E. Estrada découvrit sur le site éponyme une poterie semblant très ancienne. Peu après, B. Meggers et C. Evans proposèrent avec Estrada la thèse d’une …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Valdivia — may refer to:;Geography *Chile ** Valdivia, Chile, a city and municipality in the Province of Valdivia ** Valdivia River, a river which begins in the city of Valdivia ** Valdivia Province, the Province of Valdivia ** Valdivian Coastal Range part… …   Wikipedia

  • Valdivia, Chile — Infobox City official name = Valdivia other name = native name = nickname = The City of Rivers motto = Muy Noble y Muy Leal (Very Noble and Very Loyal) imagesize =270px image caption =Typical postcard view of Valdivia from Pedro de Valdivia… …   Wikipedia

  • Culture classique de Veracruz — et sites importants de l’ère classique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture Du Chili — Pablo Neruda La culture chilienne commence à l époque préhispanique avec l arrivée des premiers être humains venant au Chili continental il y a 13 000 ans. Successivement des peuples colonisent le territoire et les Araucans puis les incas forment …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture du chili — Pablo Neruda La culture chilienne commence à l époque préhispanique avec l arrivée des premiers être humains venant au Chili continental il y a 13 000 ans. Successivement des peuples colonisent le territoire et les Araucans puis les incas forment …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture de Hopewell — Culture Hopewell Pour les articles homonymes, voir Hopewell. Le Mound City Group en Chillicothe, Ohio, USA La culture Hopewe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture des tombes à puits — Un tableau Nayarit représentant un arbre avec de nombreuses branches portant des oiseaux. On suppose que les oiseaux représentent les âmes qui ne sont pas encore descendues aux enfers[1], tandis que l arbre central peut représenter l arbre du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture de Tlatilco — Deux figurines de Tlatilco, datées de la phase Manantial, 1000 à 800 avant notre ère. La culture de Tlatilco est une culture qui a été florissante dans la vallée de Mexico entre les années 1250 et 800 avant notre ère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Culture Mochica — Moche (culture) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Moche (homonymie). Étendue du territoire Moche en orange sur la carte du Pérou ; les quatre points bleus représentent, du nord au sud, les sites de …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”