Cerro Narrío
(2000 – 600 a.C)

This culture is know also as Chaullabamba. It flourished in the southern basins of the present provinces of Cañar and Azauay. The settlements were generally built on hills and high river terraces, from which the inhabitants controlled important routes of communication that crossed the vast agricultural Andean valleys.

The most important subsistence activities were the agriculture and the raising of Andean camels (alpacas, llamas). A significative dietetic complement was obtained from the hunting of deer and other small game. The bones of hunted animals were manufactured into fine ornaments and tools.

The Cerro-Narrío site is considered a former commercial center along the routes that connected the Amazon Valley, the Highlands and the Coast. This conclusion has been drawn from the connexions between Cerro-Narrío and the traditions of Terminal Valdivia, Machalilla, Chorrera and Upano (the latter on the slopes of the Sangay volcano). From these peoples they obtained products characteristic of warn ecological niches.