Cultural diversity in the use of the landscape: a geoarchaeological interpretation for the construction of artificial mounds among the karanki-kayampi groups of the sierra norte del Ecuador

Abstract

This work proposes a reading on the dynamics of interaction between pre-Columbian societies and the natural landscape. As a specific case, we will analyze the artificial mounds («tolas»: hemispherical, ovoid and truncated pyramids with or without a ramp), attributed to the Karanki-kayampi cultural group, who inhabited the current provinces of Imbabura and northern Pichincha, in the Northern Andes of Ecuador, during the so-called Integration Period (1500-500 AP). Despite the fact that these monumental structures are associated with the same cultural group, the construction techniques differ due to a diversity in the selection of the landscape and in the use of its geomorphological characteristics. Through the analysis of stratigraphic profiles and using geographic information systems (GIS), the authors determined that the construction of tolas in the town of La Merced de Cobuendo, north-central of the province of Imbabura, was accomplished through the modification of natural hummocks.