Watercraft played central roles in the economic, social, and
spiritual lives of Ecuador’s prehispanic coastal cultures. Referring to the
period of the region’s first civilizations, from 2000 to 200 BCE, Karen Olsen
Bruhns states that “Transportation on the coast was … almost
entirely by boat, and canoe models are common in the art of the region.”
Artifacts on display at the newly renovated National Museum of Ecuador in Quito demonstrate the importance of watercraft to Ecuador’s
prehispanic populations and illustrate some of the ways in which they were used.
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| The ceramic canoe paddlers in this and the following image, from the Tolita culture (600 BCE to 400 CE) have been found in significant numbers (see previous post for similar figures of Tolita paddlers), testifying to the importance of the canoeist in daily
life. (Click any image to enlarge.) |
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| The
bulging cheeks show that the paddlers are chewing coca leaves. Since coca is
not native to Ecuador’s coast, this suggests regular trade between the coast
and the Andes or even the Amazon. And because the medicinal effects of coca at
countering altitude sickness are irrelevant on the coast, it may indicate that
even common people – not just shamans – used coca for its
stimulant/hallucinogenic effects. |
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| A
Tolita paddler in his ceramic canoe. Unlike the previous paddlers, who sat with
their legs spread, this one sits with his legs together. Behind him are the
remains of a second paddler with his legs spread to clear the first one’s hips,
while in the bow are the feet of an otherwise missing standing or squatting
passenger or high-status individual. The modeling of the complete paddler is more
sophisticated than in the previous photos. |
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| The
canoe has stabilizer boards attached to both sides, at or just above the
waterline. In case of a sudden loss of balance, these boards would provide some
resistance to further tipping and give
the paddlers a precious moment in which to apply bracing strokes to prevent a
capsize. |
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The item, from the Jama Coaque culture (350 BCE – 1532 CE) is
identified on the exhibit card as a “paddler attached to a vessel” (Remero adosado a recipiente). I question
the identification and suggest that the figure represents a warrior, not a
paddler, as the item he holds looks more like a spear than a paddle to my eyes,
and I have not seen the kneeling posture in other prehispanic depictions of
Ecuadorian canoeists. The figure’s attachment to a drinking vessel strongly
suggests ritual usage, which is not surprising for a warrior figure, somewhat
more so for that of a canoeist. If the figure does indeed represent a paddler,
this places canoeists at a high level of social significance.
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| A
model raft in silver from the Bahia culture (500 BCE to 650 CE), manned by two
paddlers, a steersman, and an individual of high status. |
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| The
logs are lashed together with silver wire. The figures are severely flattened sagitally, meant to be viewed only frontally, regardless of their orientation on the raft. |
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| The longer logs are outboard and shorter ones inboard, counter to common
practice of Ecuador’s later Manteño culture (500-1532 CE) and of many other
raft-building cultures around the world, in which longer logs tend to be placed
closer to the centerline, giving the raft a pointed bow (and sometimes stern as
well). |
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Tools used by the Manteño culture to collect thorny oysters (Spondylus). On the left is a weight used
by divers to enable them to descend rapidly to the depth where spondylus are
found. On the right is a chisel used to loosen the mollusks from the rocks to
which they attach themselves. Spondylus was important to many of Ecuador’s prehispanic
coastal cultures for its spiritual symbolism, for the production of jewelry and
other ornaments, and as an item of exchange.
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A fish's-eye depiction of diving for spondylus from a three-log raft using
tools like those in the previous photo.
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Not explicitly depicted by these artifacts are other activities
for which prehispanic coastal Ecuadorians used watercraft, including: fishing
for finfish, carrying produce and trade items, and traveling for social
purposes and for war. According to Bruhns, “Canoes seem to have been the major
means of transport in northern Ecuador, whereas the river rafts appear to have
been much used in the huge, meandering rivers of the Guayas Basin [at the mouth
of which is Guayaquil, modern Ecuador’s largest city], later being converted to
coast-wise transport as well.”
Source: Karen Olsen Bruhns quotations from Ancient South America, Cambridge University Press, 1994 (reprint
1999), pp.148-9
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