Zamora,
These artifacts were discovered in the last decade during the construction and operation of Fruta del Norte, the country's largest gold mine.
The center, called Arutam Wakam (Spirit of our Ancestors in the Amazonian Shuar language), was inaugurated Tuesday in the town of El Padmi, in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, bordering
A small, air-conditioned building next to the road houses some of the artifacts uncovered during the mining company's 10-year archaeological research program.
Among the finds are pottery, plant and food remains, monoliths, pieces of metal, lithic tools, and traces of metals such as gold, silver, and copper, providing evidence of human activity in the region as early as 7.000 B.C.
The center displays a variety of items, including ceramic vessels with different finishes for domestic and possibly ritual use, spinning tools indicating textile activities, a vessel with appliqués representing the hands and arms of a sloth, and an illustration of a tapir head on a carved stone.
34 square kilometer (21.1 square miles) search area
Funded by
According to the research, the area was inhabited by aboriginal societies from the pre-ceramic Paleo-Indian period (7.000 B.C.) to the Integration period (1.500 A.D.), "before the Inca and Spanish conquests."
During a tour of the center, Acosta pointed out that the archaeological research progressed in parallel with the development of the mine.
Andes connection
The studies also revealed that the Machinaza culture had links with areas in the Andes, as the findings indicate an exchange of products.
The center Arutam Wakam managed and administered by the
For
A beacon for the future
During the inauguration, she emphasized that each piece and corner of the space speaks in a silent but eloquent language about the traces of those who came before us, celebrating not just the opening of a building but "the birth of a living space that breathes history." EFE
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