Agua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa
Formative to Integration (1500 BCE–1532 CE)·Machalilla to Manteño / Valdivia predecessor·🇪🇨 Manabí Province, Ecuador
About
About Agua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa
Agua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa in Manabí Province, Ecuador is a Formative to Integration (1500 BCE–1532 CE) ancient-city attributed to Machalilla to Manteño / Valdivia predecessor. Manteño valley town with sulfurous lagoon spa and burial urns. Norton: Agua Blanca inside Machalilla National Park, Manteño urn burials with Spondylus.
Why it mattersType-site for highland Machalilla to Manteño / Valdivia predecessor occupation
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Culture chronology refinement
- 02Imperial administration model
Theories
- 01Defensive puna adaptation
- 02Wari imperial expansion
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1500 BCE Valdivia; Manteño urban phase 800 CE
- Period
- Formative to Integration (1500 BCE–1532 CE)
- Culture
- Machalilla to Manteño / Valdivia predecessor
- Purpose
- Manteño valley town with sulfurous lagoon spa and burial urns
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1500 BCE Valdivia; Manteño urban phase 800 CE
Initial construction
c. 1960 CE
Systematic archaeological expedition
On the ground
Structures & features
1.4800° S · 80.7600° W · 80 m · 3 mapped features
Agua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa — Plaza and Platform Core
plazaCentral plaza and platform mound
1.4798° S · 80.7599° WAgua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa — Residential Sector
residentialDomestic sector
1.4802° S · 80.7598° WAgua Blanca — Machalilla / Manteño spa — Cemetery Extension
necropolisAssociated shaft or chamber cemetery
1.4796° S · 80.7602° W