The Pre-Columbian cultures of Ecuador are
among the oldest in South America and among
the first to master the art of pottery. Although
we know little about the peoples themselves or
their traditions, historians have been able to
piece together a picture of life in Ancient
Ecuador thanks in part to the art and artifacts left
behind. The culture of Valdivia created some of
the oldest known works of art in the Americas.
Situated along the coastal strip of Ecuador, the
Valdivians established a thriving society that
flourished for around two thousand years (from
approximately 3500 to 1500 B.C.). Today they
are famed for their small fertility figures,
believed to be the earliest representational works
of art in the Americas, first carved from stone,
later formed from terracotta.
Hundreds of years later after the Valdivians
disappear from the archaeological record
appears another culture to which the name
Chorrera has been attached (lasting from circa
1100-300 B.C.). Little is known about this
culture; however, it is significant for its
widespread geographical reach. As such, their
artistic style greatly influenced those diverse
cultures that began to emerge in the final
centuries of the Chorrera period, a time
historians have labeled the Period of Regional
Development.
Among the most prominent cultures that
flourished in the wake of the Chorrera are the
cultures of Bahia, Jama Coaque, and La Tolita.
Around 400 B.C. the culture of La Tolita
emerged, centered on the island of La Tolita,
from which its name derived, lasting until
roughly 400 A.D. The island was a great
ceremonial center to which flocked worshippers
from varying regions of Pre-Columbian Ecuador
to pray to their gods and bury their deceased. As
a result, a sophisticated artistic tradition
developed in order to provide pilgrims with
sculptural offerings, luxurious festive attire and
funerary apparels.
With his large conical headdress, this male
figurine clearly represents a shaman or priest
from the ancient world. His additional ritual garb
includes ear spools, jewelry, and incised
armbands. During the pre-classic period, the
headdress was essential component of dress in
figural art throughout Columbia and Equador.
Headgear is not only part of the costume but an
iconographical attribute that indicates rank and
identifies deity impersonators or priests in the
religious hierarchy. Much of the surviving Pre-
Columbian art of Ecuador, such as this figurine,
was specifically made as funerary art. Whoever
this figure represented, his purpose was not only
great during his time, but also in our time.