Tolas, fish traps and radiocarbon dating: The spatial characterization of the Mante˜no site of Ligüiqui in Ecuador and its contextualization within the chronological framework of other pre-Hispanic cultures Castro Priego, Manuel Olmo Enciso, Lauro Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco José Labrada Ochoa, Marcos Octavio Diarte Blasco, Pilar Jijón Porras, Juan Andrés García-Alix Daroca, Antonio chronological sequence Ecuador Ligüiqui Ecuador is a key area in South America when it comes to understanding the economic, social and archaeological aspects of pre-Hispanic cultures in the northwestern region of the Andes. Among the most complex societies to have inhabited this territory is the so-called Manteño culture (AD ∼800–1530), which spanned across most of Ecuador’s central Pacific coast. Ongoing research at the site of Ligüiqui (Manta, Manabí) has enabled us to obtain a more complete overview of the chronological sequence of the Manteño period as well as contributing further data on the advanced stage of social development reached during the period; characterized by the hierarchical arrangement of sites, the use of extensive settlement models, and semi-circular stone fish traps (corrales). In order to understand the role played by this coastal site in the complex Manteño culture, a detailed radiocarbon study was performed in the sequence of the Ligüiqui site. In addition, using a detailed review of available Manteño settlement radiocarbon data (13 sites and 64 dates), we established a chronostratigraphic framework for the culture. Our data indicate that Ligüiqui probably acted as a supply centre for marine-origin products from the twelfth century onwards with activity peaking during the Late Manteño period. A multisite comparison using Bayesian modeling indicates an early onset of the Manteño culture in Ligüiqui around AD 700, and a general demise in most of the sites AD ∼1500 or slightly before. This culture finally collapsed before AD ∼1600 during the early Spanish colonial period. Only one site, La Libertad, shows potential evidence of having remained a Manteño settlement after that date. 2024-12-20T07:54:53Z 2024-12-20T07:54:53Z 2024-12-06 journal article Castro Priego, M. et. al. Radiocarbon (2024), pp. 1–28. [https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2024.111] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/98316 10.1017/RDC.2024.111 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Cambridge University Press