Upano — Kilimope Plateau North Gardens at Sangay (Upano North)
Kilimope Norte · Upano North Platform Cluster · Sangay North Upano
Formative to Regional Development (500 BCE – 600 CE)·Upano / Kilmope / Sangay·🇪🇨 Morona-Santiago, Upano Valley, Kilimope plateau north extension beyond Sangay, Ecuador
About
About Upano — Kilimope Plateau North Gardens at Sangay (Upano North)
Northern plateau extension of the Upano Valley urban complex, where Kilimope plateau north extension preserves 400 platform mounds 10×20 m, 20 km road straight segments and garden ridges under montane forest north of Sangay volcano already in database's Upano central zone already in database's 2,000 mound core, this north sector adds 800 platforms with Upano monumental road that crosses Kilimope ridge at 980 m mapped 2024 Rostain-Estrada lidar (600 km2).
Occupied Upano (500 BCE–600 CE, then Huapula reoccupation), Kilimope north housed 10k on drained fields. Road segments show right-angle cuts. Garden ridges prove intensive cacao/maize valley-oasis agroforestry model. Ground truth found Kilimope pottery with Sangay ash.
Why it mattersKilimope north proves Upano valley extends 600 km2 beyond Sangay cluster; road straight geometry proves Upano monumental engineering and garden ridges anchor Amazon-Andes intensive agroforestry pre-Hispanic.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Kilimope north road is 300 BCE Upano or later Huapula reuse
- 02Attribution of Sangay ash layers to Kilimope abandonment arrow?
Theories
- 01Upano north road linked Sangay obsidian to Amazon lowlands
- 02Garden ridges were cacao orchard not maize raised field
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. 500 BCE Kilmope platforms; 300 BCE road segments; gardens Huapula reoccupation 600 CE
- Period
- Formative to Regional Development (500 BCE – 600 CE)
- Culture
- Upano / Kilmope / Sangay
- Purpose
- Upano urban extension — drained-field garden city and monumental road linking Sangay valley to Kilmope north
- Abandoned
- c. 600 CE Sangay eruption ash and road abandonment, Huapula resettlement
- Rediscovered
- 2024 Rostain-Estrada Science lidar 600 km2; 2024 Kilimope north ground truth
- Excavation
- Buried
c. 500 BCE
Upano Kilmope north platforms and garden ridges founded
300 BCE
20 km straight road segments cut across Kilmope ridge to Sangay
2024
Rostain Science lidar maps 400 north platforms and 20 km roads north of Sangay
On the ground
Structures & features
2.0550° S · 78.1450° W · 980 m · 3 mapped features
Platform Mound (10×20 m, 2.5 m high)
platform10×20 m house/platform 2.5 m high 400 north cluster on Kilimope
2.0555° S · 78.1455° WStraight Road Segment (20 km ×4 m)
road20 km straight road 4 m wide incised 0.8 m with right-angle bend
2.0545° S · 78.1460° WGarden Ridge (1000×2 m)
field1000×2 m garden ridge with cacao/maize raised field at 980 m
2.0550° S · 78.1440° W