Everything about The Machalilla totally explained
The
Machalilla were a
prehistoric people in
Ecuador, in southern
Manabí and the Santa Elena Peninsula. The dates when the culture thrived are uncertain, but are generally agreed to encompass 1500
BCE to 1100 BCE. Machalilla also refers to
Machalilla National Park in Manabí near
Puerto López and the town of Machalilla, a small fishing village in the vicinity of the park.
Machalilla Culture
The Machalilla were an
agricultural people who also pursued
fishing,
hunting and gathering. Like many prehistoric cultures of coastal Ecuador, the people practiced
artificial cranial deformation by using stones to flatten and lengthen their skulls.
Archaeologists focus on the unusual
cemeteries of the Machalilla, in which bodies were settled beneath a ceramic turtle shell, and on their
ceramic work in general, which represented artistic and technological advances in the art. The Machalilla are credited with adding to the ceramic bottle the stirrup spout, in which two spouts join together into one opening: an invention that would be prominent in northwest
South American pottery for centuries.
Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo
UEES in Guayaquil, Ecuador has a collection of Machalilla artifacts.
Machalilla National Park
Established in
1979, Machalilla National Park near Puerto Lopéz rests along the Pacific coast. It incorporates beaches,
fog forest,
dry forest, small islands and two larger islands, Salango and Isla de la Plata, the latter named for a legendary hoard of silver left by
Sir Francis Drake.
In
1990 the park was named an internationally important
wetland under the
Ramsar Convention. Wildlife includes
armadillos, two species of monkeys and birds of more than 270 species. Many of the large mammals in Machalilla National Park are regionally and locally
endangered. Machalilla National Park is the only
habitat outside of the
Galapagos Islands of
waved albatross. The ocean regions of the park also provide a breeding ground for
humpback whales. Vegetation includes
opuntia cactus,
palo santo trees,
kapok trees and the algaroba tree.
Most of the tropical scrub desert and forest of western Ecuador, once 25% but now only 1%, can be found in the park.
Machalilla National Park has been threatened by a number of factors, including
deforestation,
commercial fishing,
poaching and the ecological impact of the
tourist industry. In
1991,
The Nature Conservancy, the
United States Agency for International Development and a group of partner organizations across
Latin America and the
Caribbean began contributing funds for conservation as part of the
Parks in Peril (PiP) program. Machalilla National Park opened an on-site center for educating visitors about the ecology of the park and conservation issues. The park also hired locals to serve as guards, increasing local awareness of the issues impacting the park. Machalilla's partner organization,
Fundación Natura, has also worked with local communities to provide training on environmentally
agricultural and fishing practices.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Machalilla'.
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