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RESUMENEl área cultural caranqui, localizada en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador, comprende un conjunto homogéneo en términos de cultura material caracterizado principalmente por la presencia de complejos monumentales conformados por montículos artificiales, que en la terminología local se denominan tolas, y que tienen la forma de pirámides truncadas, ocasionalmente acompañadas de enormes rampas de acceso. La cultura material mueble asociada a estos monumentos, en particular la cerámica, es también bastante homogénea y cuenta con dos formas tipo, un ánfora grande y una olla asimétrica trípode. Este conjunto cultural data de la época preincaica tardía, y está fechado aproximadamente entre 1250 y 1525 d.C. Se ha tratado de explicar la organización política de estas sociedades desde modelos jerárquicos como el de la Teoría del Lugar Central, buscando una capital que hubiera ejercido poder y control sobre los otros sitios. Las fuentes etnohistóricas no sustentan una hipótesis en ese sentido, y hablan más bien a favor de señoríos relacionados pero autónomos. En este artículo proponemos una visión distinta de la organización política caranqui, desde el modelo de heterarquía, postulando que los sitios con montículos no fueron centros de poder político sino religioso. Sustentamos esta idea a través de un estudio diacrónico que combina las fuentes arqueológicas y las etnohistóricas.Palabras clave: Ecuador, caranqui, heterarquía, complejidad social, organización política Heterarchical Societies in Pre-Inca Ecuador: A Diachronic Study of Caranqui Political Organization ABSTRACTThe Caranqui cultural area, located in the Northern Highlands of Ecuador, comprises a homogeneous whole in terms of material culture, mainly characterized by monumental complexes formed by mounds (referred to as tolas in the local terminology), which tends to have the shape of a truncated pyramid, occasionally accompanied by huge access ramps. The material culture associated with these monuments, in particular ceramics, is also fairly homogeneous and has two type forms, a large amphora and an asymmetric tripod pot. This cultural complex is present from late pre-Inca times and is dated approximately between 1250 and 1525 A.D. There have been several attempts to understand the political organization of these societies through hierarchical models such as Central Place Theory, seeking a capital city that had exercised power and control over other sites. Ethno-historical sources do not support such a hypothesis, and rather, they seem to favor a series of related but independent chiefdoms or manors. In this article we propose a different view of Caranqui's political organization, through a heterarchy model, postulating that the sites with mounds were not political but rather religious power centers. We support this idea through a diachronic study combining archaeological and ethnohistorical sources.Key words: Ecuador, Caranqui, heterarchy, social complexity, political organization.Sumario: 1. Introducción. 2. Heterarquía. Un modelo alternativo para el análisis ...

Certain elements of the Tolita-Tumaco iconography are analyzed as isolated elements and are compared and associated with representations of the same style as well as with other styles. The main hypothesis is that in the period of Regional Development, many of the cultures of the Central and Northern Andes share elements of a wider mythological-religious worldview, the roots of which may go back to the Chavín Horizon. Those elements should be present and be recognizable in the iconographic representations of each culture, even when they appear in different levels of simplification or abstraction.

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