Water management in ancient Ecuador

Abstract:

Early societies in Ancient Ecuador developed in tune with the Holocene mega diversity that characterized the area since 7800 BC. After a long Paleo-Indian (Upper Palaeolithic) mode of living (c. 11 000-8500 BC.) followed by the Archaic or Neolithic Pre-ceramic (8500-4000 BC.), the raise of the Formative Period [Neolithic] took place with the introduction of ceramic manufacture (3900 BC.) and the modification of the environment into a productive landscape. Important elements in the modification of the ecosystem to secure more stable production were constructions destined to manage rainfall, especially flooding (raised fields) and the runoff (Albarradas), in areas where: 1. The floodplain remains under water a good part of the year and, 2. Rainfall is low most of the year with uncertain seasons of intensive rains. Other system to harvest drinking water was to condense fogs from the cloud forest in the coastal cordilleras of the Santa Elena Peninsula and Southern Manabí. In this paper such systems are described and discussed.

Año de publicación:

2006

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