The Ferdon Collections of prehistoric ceramic vessels and sherds from Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador

This paper describes 35 sites Edwin A. Ferdon, Jr. surveyed in Esmeraldas Province on the northwest coast of Ecuador, as part of a survey he made of 118 sites in 19 provinces of Ecuador before and during World War II. The collections have been held since that time by the School of American Research and then by the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe. Ceramic vessels and vessel fragments Ferdon collected from 16 of those sites in Esmeraldas Province are described.; In this paper, traditional concepts of vessel nomenclature and anatomy are amplified and refined. New methods of measurement, involving an imaginary centerline equidistant from vessel walls, are developed. The centerline is used as a base for measurement of angles of direction and curvature of the various parts of a vessel. An unconventional computerized data base management system for recording descriptions of attributes of ceramic sherds is originated.; The collections are analyzed, using visual and computerized methods, to determine, to the extent possible, cultural and chronological interrelationships among the sites from which collections were made. Cluster analyses resulting in "geo-cultural" clusters, to a significant extent but with some exceptions, follow the geographic clustering evident in data on site locations. A suggested chronology for those sites is developed relating them to other chronologies in the literature for that area of Ecuador and the related area in southwest Colombia. The Late Formative (Chorrera) period is manifested at sites on the right bank of the Esmeraldas River at its mouth. Sites apparently in transition to the Regional Development Period are located on the coast between the mouths of the Esmeraldas and Santiago rivers. The Regional Development Period is evident near the mouth of the Santiago River and associated estuaries, especially at the central site of La Tolita. The Integration Period seems to be predominant at sites around Atacames and near Esmeraldas, and possibly was also represented at the southernmost site near the border with Manabi Province.; Intense occupation and interrelationships among sites of the coastal area throughout these periods is concluded to have been the case, with shifting of central cultural and political sites up and down the coast during those periods.; This paper shows that museum collections with good associated field notes and records of provenience may be valuable sources of data for archaeological research.