{"id":49,"date":"2017-04-18T18:53:29","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T18:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/chapter\/the-valdivia-culture\/"},"modified":"2017-04-18T18:53:29","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T18:53:29","slug":"the-valdivia-culture","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/chapter\/the-valdivia-culture\/","title":{"raw":"The Valdivia Culture","rendered":"The Valdivia Culture"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul><li>Describe the significance of the Valdivia culture<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul><li>The Valdivia culture of Ecuador (3500-1800 BCE) is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas.<\/li>\n \t<li>The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza and were sedentary, egalitarian people.<\/li>\n \t<li>Valdivian pottery (bowls, jars, and feminine figures) are the oldest in the Americas, dating to 2700 BCE.<\/li>\n \t<li>Valdivians created rafts with sails, and built a maritime trade network with tribes in the Andes and Amazon.<\/li>\n \t<li>A main trading item was the red shell of the thorny oyster, called Spondylus.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Terms<\/h3>\n<h4>Spondylus<\/h4>\nA genus of bivalve mollusks, also known as thorny oysters.\n<h4>cassava<\/h4>\nThe starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree.\n<h4>egalitarian<\/h4>\nBelieving in the principle that all people are equal.\n\n<\/div>\nThe Valdivia culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It emerged from the earlier Las Vegas culture, and thrived on the Santa Elena peninsula near the modern-day town of Valdivia, Ecuador, between 3500-1800 BCE.\n<figure>\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"449\"]<img class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1745\/2017\/04\/18185329\/91n8voacqswgbau6402a.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"449\" height=\"394\" \/> Map of Valdivian Culture. Shown here is the location of the Valdivia culture.[\/caption]<\/figure><h1>Life Among the Valdivians<\/h1>\nThe Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza. They were sedentary, egalitarian people who lived off farming and fishing, and occasional deer hunting. From the remains that have been found, it has been determined that Valdivians cultivated maize, kidney beans, squash, cassava, chili peppers, and cotton plants, the latter of which was used to make clothing.\n<h1>Pottery<\/h1>\nValdivian pottery, which has been dated to 2700 BCE, was initially rough and practical, but over time\u00a0became splendid, delicate, and large. Bowls, jars, and female statues were used in daily life and religious ceremonies. They generally used the colors red and gray, and polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In their ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture showed a progression from the most simple, to much more complicated works. Valdivians were the first Americans to use pottery.\n<figure>\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"640\"]<img class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/textimgs.s3.amazonaws.com\/BLworldhist\/ywras464srgqlnncwxy5.jpe#fixme#fixme#fixme\" alt=\"image\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/> Valdivian Pottery. Valdivian pottery is the oldest in America, on display in this image at the Museo de La Plata in Argentina.[\/caption]<\/figure>\nThe trademark Valdivia pottery piece is the \"Venus\" of Valdivia: feminine ceramic figures. The \"Venus\" of Valdivia likely represented actual people; \u00a0each figurine is individual and unique, as can be seen in the hairstyles. They were made by joining two rolls of clay, leaving the lower portion separated as legs and forming the body and head from the top portion. The arms were usually very short, and in most cases were bent towards the chest, holding the breasts or chin.\n<h1>Trade<\/h1>\nValdivians created rafts with sails, and built a maritime trade network with tribes in the Andes and Amazon. A main trading item was the red shell of the thorny oyster, called Spondylus, which were often made into ornaments, and were considered more valuable than gold or silver.\n<h4>Sources<\/h4>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe the significance of the Valdivia culture<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Valdivia culture of Ecuador (3500-1800 BCE) is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas.<\/li>\n<li>The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza and were sedentary, egalitarian people.<\/li>\n<li>Valdivian pottery (bowls, jars, and feminine figures) are the oldest in the Americas, dating to 2700 BCE.<\/li>\n<li>Valdivians created rafts with sails, and built a maritime trade network with tribes in the Andes and Amazon.<\/li>\n<li>A main trading item was the red shell of the thorny oyster, called Spondylus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Terms<\/h3>\n<h4>Spondylus<\/h4>\n<p>A genus of bivalve mollusks, also known as thorny oysters.<\/p>\n<h4>cassava<\/h4>\n<p>The starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree.<\/p>\n<h4>egalitarian<\/h4>\n<p>Believing in the principle that all people are equal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Valdivia culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It emerged from the earlier Las Vegas culture, and thrived on the Santa Elena peninsula near the modern-day town of Valdivia, Ecuador, between 3500-1800 BCE.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div style=\"width: 459px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1745\/2017\/04\/18185329\/91n8voacqswgbau6402a.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"449\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of Valdivian Culture. Shown here is the location of the Valdivia culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h1>Life Among the Valdivians<\/h1>\n<p>The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza. They were sedentary, egalitarian people who lived off farming and fishing, and occasional deer hunting. From the remains that have been found, it has been determined that Valdivians cultivated maize, kidney beans, squash, cassava, chili peppers, and cotton plants, the latter of which was used to make clothing.<\/p>\n<h1>Pottery<\/h1>\n<p>Valdivian pottery, which has been dated to 2700 BCE, was initially rough and practical, but over time\u00a0became splendid, delicate, and large. Bowls, jars, and female statues were used in daily life and religious ceremonies. They generally used the colors red and gray, and polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In their ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture showed a progression from the most simple, to much more complicated works. Valdivians were the first Americans to use pottery.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/textimgs.s3.amazonaws.com\/BLworldhist\/ywras464srgqlnncwxy5.jpe#fixme#fixme#fixme\" alt=\"image\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valdivian Pottery. Valdivian pottery is the oldest in America, on display in this image at the Museo de La Plata in Argentina.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The trademark Valdivia pottery piece is the &#8220;Venus&#8221; of Valdivia: feminine ceramic figures. The &#8220;Venus&#8221; of Valdivia likely represented actual people; \u00a0each figurine is individual and unique, as can be seen in the hairstyles. They were made by joining two rolls of clay, leaving the lower portion separated as legs and forming the body and head from the top portion. The arms were usually very short, and in most cases were bent towards the chest, holding the breasts or chin.<\/p>\n<h1>Trade<\/h1>\n<p>Valdivians created rafts with sails, and built a maritime trade network with tribes in the Andes and Amazon. A main trading item was the red shell of the thorny oyster, called Spondylus, which were often made into ornaments, and were considered more valuable than gold or silver.<\/p>\n<h4>Sources<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-49\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Boundless World History. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Boundless. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/\">https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":622,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Boundless World History\",\"author\":\"Boundless\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-49","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":40,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49\/revisions"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/40"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/49\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}