New data from Machalilla: contributions to knowledge on Late Formative economies of the Ecuadorian coast

Abstract

Roughly 60 years after Emilio Estrada´s excavations in Machalilla on the Ecuadorian coast, a team of Ecuadorian and German
archaeologists began new investigations at this site. Two excavations, one at the same site excavated in the 1950´s (Ma-Cem) and
another identified during prospection (Ma-Lan), have brought to light new materials that help refine and expand our knowledge
about Middle and Late Formative occupations in this region. This contribution presents the principal results of the investigation
at Ma-Lan, where more than 100,000 ceramic fragments attributable to the Engoroy Phase were recovered. In the middle of the
excavated context, blocks of iron oxide were documented that appear to be related to the elaboration of pigments in situ for iridescent paint characteristic of this phase. Also, a large quantity of malacological remains were identified that provide important data related to both subsistence and the fabrication of artifacts. Spondylus and mother-of-pearl valves were the preferred raw material for the production of adornments and tools. Additionally, a bronze needle was encountered that might be one of the earliest metal artifacts of its kind discovered in Ecuador.