Cotocollao Indians
Encyclopedia
The Cotocollao culture were an indigenous Pre-Columbian
culture the valley that is now Quito
, in Ecuador
.
husks to wrap up their dead, but later in their existence it was more common for them to bury their dead in a communal grave.
The Cotocollaos were farmers and their diet consisted primarily of corn and beans. They lived in a fertile valley which was good for planting corn. They occasionally would also eat wild fruit and hunt for meat.
Their houses were made of organic materials such as wood and straw, so they do not exist today. Because of this, many years were passed without knowing about their existence. Fortunately though, the holes for the posts which held up the houses still remain because they were made in volcanic rock, and because of these we know that they were about 6X8 meters (about 18X24 feet). The remnants of the village of the Cotocollaos is located in North Quito, and is about 1 km.2 altogether.
Many llama
and alpaca
bones have been found in the area, but it is not sure whether they domesticated these animals, or whether they were the remains of what had been hunted and eaten.
artwork. They made ceramics that were more for decoration than for their usefulness. It is not known whether or not they had a special place inside their houses to make ceramic artwork or not.
To make the ceramic, the Cotocollaos used a paste made of pumice
powder. The surface of the ceramic is known for its distinctive red tint. So mastered were they at this artwork that some pieces of ceramic are even known to produce certain animal or bird sounds. The quality of the ceramics was superior to all others in that time period. From the thousands of fragments of ceramic found in the area today, about 20% of them are decorated in some form by incisions, red paint, and in some rare cases, an iridescent coating.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
culture the valley that is now Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Introduction
The Cotocollao Indians were the first inhabitants of the mountains of what is now Ecuador. They lived approximately 1,500 to 500 years BCE. The Cotocollao had a culture based on art and they made very fine pieces of ceramic for the time in which they lived.History
The study over the Cotocollao Indians began in 1976 when some school children found various human bones close to their school. It is believed that for their earliest funerals, they used cornMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
husks to wrap up their dead, but later in their existence it was more common for them to bury their dead in a communal grave.
The Cotocollaos were farmers and their diet consisted primarily of corn and beans. They lived in a fertile valley which was good for planting corn. They occasionally would also eat wild fruit and hunt for meat.
Their houses were made of organic materials such as wood and straw, so they do not exist today. Because of this, many years were passed without knowing about their existence. Fortunately though, the holes for the posts which held up the houses still remain because they were made in volcanic rock, and because of these we know that they were about 6X8 meters (about 18X24 feet). The remnants of the village of the Cotocollaos is located in North Quito, and is about 1 km.2 altogether.
Many llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
and alpaca
Alpaca
An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...
bones have been found in the area, but it is not sure whether they domesticated these animals, or whether they were the remains of what had been hunted and eaten.
Artwork
Probably the most distinguishing feature of the Cotocollao Indians was their ability to create ceramicCeramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
artwork. They made ceramics that were more for decoration than for their usefulness. It is not known whether or not they had a special place inside their houses to make ceramic artwork or not.
To make the ceramic, the Cotocollaos used a paste made of pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
powder. The surface of the ceramic is known for its distinctive red tint. So mastered were they at this artwork that some pieces of ceramic are even known to produce certain animal or bird sounds. The quality of the ceramics was superior to all others in that time period. From the thousands of fragments of ceramic found in the area today, about 20% of them are decorated in some form by incisions, red paint, and in some rare cases, an iridescent coating.