The Manteño civilization (Spanish: Los Manteños) were the last pre-Columbian

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...

 civilization in modern-day 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...

, active 1150-400 b.p.

Before Present

Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...

 (850–1600 CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

).

Scope

The term was coined by Ecuadorian archeologist Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño

Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño

Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño was an Ecuadorian historian and politician, born in Quito on December 11, 1890 to Don Manuel Jijón Larrea and Doña Dolores Caamaño y Almada. He was the mayor of the city of Quito in the 1940s. He was a member of the Ecuadorian parliament and a candidate for the presidency...

, to describe pre-Hispanic settlement near the town of Manta

Manta

Manta is a mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is the second most populous city in the province, the fifth most populous in the country and, economically, the third most important city of Ecuador. Manta has existed since Pre-Columbian times. It was a trading post for the Mantas....

 and engulfed in part by the more recent settlement. It was soon after this that the term Manteño was greatly widened in scope to include several distinct sub-groups: northern Manteño (Manteño del Norte, Sillas, or Manabita), southern Manteño (Huancanvelica) and Punáe. Some archaeologists and historians reject this split, however, and apply the term Huancanvelica – a term of Incan origin, from the time of the first colonisation – to all three groups. Little work has distinguished such groupings. One historian, however, Cieza de León, has claimed that residents in coastal towns north of Salango

Salango

Salango is a rural parish of Puerto López Canton, Manabí Province, EcuadorSalango Community Tourist Center...5000 years of History and Culture...IntroductionLocation and dimensions Height: 0 - 108 m.s.n.m...

 used a type of facial tattoo distinguishable from those to their south. Other proposed divisions have included coastal and inland areas, based on types of burial and subsistence.

The Manteño chiefdoms – under the broad definition – extended over coastal parts of the Manabi

Manabí

Word Manabí can refer to:* Manabí Province in Ecuador* Manabí * The manga and anime series Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! or the nickname of its main character Manami Amamiya....

 and Guayas

Guayas

Guayas may refer to:*Ecuador:**Guayas River**Guayas Province**Guayas **Guayas *The fruit of the mamoncillo tree...

 provinces, including La Plata Island. The Bahía de Caráquez

Bahía de Caráquez

La Villa de San Antonio de Caráquez, known simply as Bahía de Caráquez or Bahía, is a coastal city in the Ecuadorian province of Manabí. The city is located on a sandy peninsula on the country's western coast at the mouth of the Río Chone...

 and Chone River

Chone River

-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.* *...

 mark its northern boundary, and the Guayas basin its southern boundary.

The town of Picoazá

Picoazá

Picoazá is an urban parish in Portoviejo Canton, Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is situated on the western side of the city of Portoviejo and has a population of nearly 19,000.-History:...

 was the site of a Manteño chiefdom, according to early colonial sources. In addition, major sites have been found at the Cerro de Hojas and Cerro Jaboncillo, the Cerro de Paco, Cerro las Negras, Cerro los Santo, Bellavista, Agua Blanca, Loma de los Cangrejitos, López Viejo, Los Frailes, Montecristi, Olón, Salango and La Libertad

La Libertad, Ecuador

La Libertad is a city located in western Santa Elena, Ecuador, by the sea. It is the seat of La Libertad Canton.As of the census of 2001, there are 77,646 people residing in the city. La Libertad is a canton itself, since 1993. Before 1993, it was part of Salinas Canton. La Libertad has important...

.

Organisation

Many (if not all) were split into four major settlements, with the chief of the principal settlement overlord. Caamaño believed that the Manteños operated like a trading ring rather than a kingdom or empire, and drew parallels to the Hanseatic League

Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

. Manteño settlements typically contain large quantities of characteristic pottery and large stone foundations.