The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year.
Native Lords of Quito in the Age of the Incas: The Political Economy of North Andean Chiefdoms
Abstract
By the time of Columbus, the people of Ecuador's tropical highlands had created small but remarkably complex and interlinked political societies. These small societies for many years proved able to fight off the overwhelming might of the Inca state. But around 1500 they fell to Inca invaders who, in turn, soon lost their dominion to Spanish warlords. Frank Salomon draws on large stores of sources to reconstruct the political and economic institutions of pre-Inca societies. Their structure before and during the Inca interlude reveals diversity in the Andean world. Salomon provides remarkable insight into the functioning of these 'chiefdoms', emphasizing their importance for the understanding of rank, inequality, privilege and central power in stateless societies. He also contributes to our understanding of expansion, colonization, and the adaptive relationships between indigenous and imposed regimes in a context of precapitalist statecraft.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In northern Ecuador, there is ethnohistoric evidence for long-distance exchange conducted by traders known as mindaláes and marketplaces or tiangueces in cities such as Quito.
“In northern Ecuador, there is ethnohistoric evidence for both long-distance exchange conducted by traders known as mindaláes and marketplaces or tiangueces in cities such as Quito ( 1 -7 ).”
From Investigating Obsidian Procurement at Integration Period (ca. AD 700-1500)Tola Sites in Highland Northern Ecuador via Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) (2013) · cites this paper as [1]
Ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence suggest that coca, capsicum pepper, cinnamon, cotton, salt, pottery, gold, shell, greenstone axes, and obsidian likely were involved in some form of long-distance exchange.
“Ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence also suggest that the following goods likely were involved in some form of long-distance exchange: coca, capsicum pepper, cinnamon, cotton, salt, pottery, gold, shell, greenstone axes, and obsidian ( 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 -10 ).”
From Investigating Obsidian Procurement at Integration Period (ca. AD 700-1500)Tola Sites in Highland Northern Ecuador via Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) (2013) · cites this paper as [1]
The most likely process would be the household-to-household exchange networks outlined in the ethnohistorical record.
“The most likely process would be the household-to-household exchange networks outlined in the ethnohistorical record ( 1 ).”
From Investigating Obsidian Procurement at Integration Period (ca. AD 700-1500)Tola Sites in Highland Northern Ecuador via Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) (2013) · cites this paper as [1]
Citations
Cites
Still being checked.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Understanding Early Civilizations
Trigger, B. G. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511840630 · Cited by 679
Adelaar, W. F. H., & Muysken, P. C. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486852 · Cited by 573
The Effect of the Inka State on Sausa Agricultural Production and Crop Consumption
Hastorf, C. A. (1990) · American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/281647 · Cited by 171
Benjamin, T. (2009) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511816604 · Cited by 147
Inka Pottery as Culinary Equipment: Food, Feasting, and Gender in Imperial State Design
Bray, T. L. (2003) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/972233 · Cited by 142
Technology as Fetish: Marx, Latour, and the Cultural Foundations of Capitalism
Hornborg, A. (2013) · Theory Culture & Society · doi:10.1177/0263276413488960 · Cited by 134
Functional‐cranial approach to the influence of economic strategy on skull morphology
González‐José, R., Rozzi, F. V. R., Sardi, M. L., Martínez‐Abadías, N., Hernández, M., & Pucciarelli, H. M. (2005) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.20161 · Cited by 131
Wealth Finance in the Inka Empire: Evidence from the Calchaqui Valley, Argentina
Earle, T. (1994) · American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/282457 · Cited by 126
Inka Rule in the Northern Calchaqui Valley, Argentina
D’Altroy, T. N., Lorandi, A. M., Williams, V. I., Calderari, M., Hastorf, C. A., DeMarrais, E., & Hagstrum, M. B. (2000) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1179/jfa.2000.27.1.1 · Cited by 115
Negotiating Community and Landscape in the Peruvian Andes: A Transconquest View
Wernke, S. A. (2007) · American Anthropologist · doi:10.1525/aa.2007.109.1.130 · Cited by 115
The Provincial Organization of Inka Ceramic Production
D’Altroy, T. N., & Bishop, R. L. (1990) · American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/281498 · Cited by 92
Status and diet in precontact highland ecuador
Ubelaker, D. H. V., Katzenberg, M. A., & Doyon, L. G. (1995) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330970407 · Cited by 91
Inka Administration of the Far South Coast of Peru
Covey, R. A. (2000) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/971851 · Cited by 61
Anthropogenic Change in the Landscapes of Highland Ecuador
Sarmiento, F. O. (2002) · Geographical Review · doi:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2002.tb00005.x · Cited by 83
The Fourfold Domain: Inka Power and Its Social Foundations
Rostworowski, M., & Morris, C. (1999) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521630757.012 · Cited by 74
Korovkin, T. (2001) · Latin American Research Review · doi:10.1017/s0023879100019178 · Cited by 69
The Archaeology of Food and Social Inequality in the Andes
Cuéllar, A. M. (2013) · Journal of Archaeological Research · doi:10.1007/s10814-012-9061-x · Cited by 64
Comunas and Indigenous Protest in Cayambe, Ecuador
Becker, M. (1999) · The Americas A Quarterly Review of Latin American History · doi:10.2307/1008320 · Cited by 64
Alconini, S. (2004) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/4141585 · Cited by 42
Indian Women of Early Colonial Quito as Seen Through Their Testaments
Salomon, F. L. (1988) · The Americas A Quarterly Review of Latin American History · doi:10.2307/1006910 · Cited by 60
Self-citationThe genesis of Felipe Guaman poma de ayala'snueva corónica y buen gobierno∗
Adorno, R. (1993) · Colonial Latin American Review · doi:10.1080/10609169308569807 · Cited by 58
The political economy of technofetishism
Hornborg, A. (2015) · Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory · doi:10.14318/hau5.1.003 · Cited by 57
The Importance of Early Maize Agriculture in Coastal Ecuador: New Data from La Emerenciana
Tykot, R. H., & Staller, J. E. (2002) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/342433 · Cited by 57
Ecuadorian Highland Quichua and the Lost Languages of the Northern Andes
Floyd, S. (2022) · International Journal of American Linguistics · doi:10.1086/717056 · Cited by 55
Dillehay, T. D., & Netherley, P. (1988) · University of Michigan Press eBooks · doi:10.30861/9780860545699 · Cited by 55
equilibrium and extraction: dual organization in the Andes
Gelles, P. H. (1995) · American Ethnologist · doi:10.1525/ae.1995.22.4.02a00040 · Cited by 53
Bray, T. L. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-306-48246-5_5 · Cited by 51
Chiefdoms in northern South America
Drennan, R. D. (1995) · Journal of World Prehistory · doi:10.1007/bf02221116 · Cited by 50
An Initial Consideration of Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in Prehispanic Ecuador
Burger, R. L., Asaro, F., Michel, H. V., Stross, F. H., & Salazar, E. (1994) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/971882 · Cited by 34
Redistribution and Markets in Andean South America
Hirth, K. G., & Pillsbury, J. (2013) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/673114 · Cited by 45
Topic, J. R., Topic, T. L., & Cava, A. M. (2002) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-0639-3_11 · Cited by 45
The use of magical plants by curanderos in the Ecuador highlands
Cavender, A., & Albán, M. (2009) · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-3 · Cited by 44
Footprints in the Forest: Ecotourism and Altered Meanings in Ecuador's Upper Amazon
Hutchins, F. (2007) · The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology · doi:10.1525/jlat.2007.12.1.75 · Cited by 43
Learning from theQadi: The Jurisdiction of Local Rule in the Early Colonial Andes
Graubart, K. B. (2015) · Hispanic American Historical Review · doi:10.1215/00182168-2870764 · Cited by 41
Taming Capitalism: The Evolution of the Indigenous Peasant Economy in Northern Ecuador
Korovkin, T. (1997) · Latin American Research Review · doi:10.1017/s002387910003805x · Cited by 39
Provisioning of the inka army in wartime: obsidian procurement in pambamarca, ecuador
Ogburn, D., Connell, S., & Gifford, C. (2009) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.10.019 · Cited by 37
Dynamics of Indigenous Demographic Fluctuations
Covey, R. A., Childs, G. H., & Kippen, R. J. (2011) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/660010 · Cited by 34
The Horizontal Archipelago: The Quijos/Upper Napo Regional System
Uzendoski, M. A. (2004) · Ethnohistory · doi:10.1215/00141801-51-2-317 · Cited by 33
Using the present to interpret the past: the role of ethnographic studies in Andean archaeology
Sillar, B., & Joffré, G. R. (2016) · World Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00438243.2016.1211033 · Cited by 32
Archaeological survey in northern highland Ecuador: Inca imperialism and the País Caranqui
Bray, T. L. (1992) · World Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00438243.1992.9980204 · Cited by 31
Reciprocity, Communion, and Sacrifice: Food in Andean Ritual and Social Life
Corr, R. (2002) · Food and Foodways · doi:10.1080/07409710212482 · Cited by 31
Jackson, J. E., & Ramírez, M. C. (2009) · American Ethnologist · doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2009.01177.x · Cited by 31
Wilson, C., Simpson, I. A., & Currie, E. J. (2002) · Geoarchaeology · doi:10.1002/gea.10015 · Cited by 30
Water, Ritual, and Power in the Inca Empire
Bray, T. L. (2013) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.7183/1045-6635.24.2.164 · Cited by 29
Julien, D. G. (1993) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/971791 · Cited by 29
Prehistoric camelids in the lowlands of Western Ecuador
Stahl, P. W. (1988) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/0305-4403(88)90035-0 · Cited by 26
The panzaleo puzzle: non-local pottery in northern highland ecuador
Bray, T. L. (1995) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1179/009346995791547813 · Cited by 25
Archaeology, ethnohistory and exchange along the coast of Ecuador
Currie, E. J. (1995) · Antiquity · doi:10.1017/s0003598x00081904 · Cited by 25
Negotiated Subjugation: Maritime Trade and the Incorporation of Chincha Into the Inca Empire
Sandweiss, D. H., & Reid, D. A. (2015) · The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology · doi:10.1080/15564894.2015.1105885 · Cited by 24
A High Elevation Zooarchaeological Assemblage from the Northern Andes of Ecuador
Stahl, P. W., & Athens, J. S. (2001) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1179/jfa.2001.28.1-2.161 · Cited by 24
Multi-Ethnic Settlement and Interregional Exchange in Pimampiro, Ecuador
Bray, T. L. (2005) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1179/009346905791072369 · Cited by 23
NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF INCA AND COLONIAL CERAMICS FROM CENTRAL HIGHLAND ECUADOR
Jamieson, R. W., Hancock, R. G. V., Beckwith, L. A., & Pidruczny, A. (2012) · Archaeometry · doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2012.00683.x · Cited by 23
Reassessing the developmental and chronological relationships of the formative of coastal ecuador
Staller, J. E. (2001) · Journal of World Prehistory · doi:10.1023/a:1012565115782 · Cited by 22
Demons, Imagination, and the Incas
MACCORMACK, S. G. (1991) · Representations · doi:10.1525/rep.1991.33.1.99p0028q · Cited by 22
Late Pre-Hispanic Chiefdoms of Highland Ecuador
Bray, T. L. (2008) · The Handbook of South American Archaeology · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5_27 · Cited by 21
Late Pre-Hispanic Polities of Coastal Ecuador
McEwan, C., & Delgado-Espinoza, F. (2008) · The Handbook of South American Archaeology · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5_26 · Cited by 17
Collaborative Archaeology to Revitalize an Afro-Ecuadorian Cemetery
Balanzátegui Moreno, D. C. (2018) · Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage · doi:10.1080/21619441.2018.1480117 · Cited by 18
Between Horizons: Diverse Configurations of Society and Power in the Late Pre-Hispanic Central Andes
Dulanto, J. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5_38 · Cited by 18
Obsidian in Southern Ecuador: The Carboncillo Source
Ogburn, D. E. (2011) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.7183/1045-6635.22.1.97 · Cited by 17
The nineteenth-century Spanish American novel
Benítez–Rojo, A. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.015 · Cited by 17
Owing and being in debt. A contribution from the northern Andes of Ecuador
Ferraro, E. (2004) · Social Anthropology · doi:10.1017/s0964028204000060 · Cited by 17
Hornborg, A. (2014) · American Anthropologist · doi:10.1111/aman.12145 · Cited by 15
Early Prehistoric Maize in Northern Highland Ecuador
Athens, J. S., Ward, J. V., Pearsall, D. M., Chandler-Ezell, K., Blinn, D. W., & Morrison, A. (2016) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.7183/1045-6635.27.1.3 · Cited by 15
Knight, C. L. F., Cuéllar, A. M., Glascock, M. D., Hall, M. L., & Mothes, P. A. (2010) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.12.002 · Cited by 15
Selective Faunal Provisioning in the Southern Highlands of Formative Ecuador
Stahl, P. W. (2005) · Latin American Antiquity · doi:10.2307/30042496 · Cited by 14
Remodelando la economía política del Imperio Wari
Earle, T., & Jennings, J. (2012) · Boletín de Arqueología PUCP · doi:10.18800/boletindearqueologiapucp.201201.010 · Cited by 14
Chiefdoms: The Prevalence and Persistence of “Señoríos Naturales” 1400 to European Conquest
Villamarín, J. A., & Villamarin, J. E. (1999) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521630757.009 · Cited by 14
Understanding early civilizations
Trigger, B. G. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511840630.002 · Cited by 14
Vantage Points: Andeans and Europeans in the Construction of Colonial Quito
Webster, S. V. (2011) · Colonial Latin American Review · doi:10.1080/10609164.2011.624330 · Cited by 13
Merrim, S. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.005 · Cited by 13
Early Regional Polities of Coastal Ecuador
Masucci, M. A. (2008) · The Handbook of South American Archaeology · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5_25 · Cited by 10
Caillavet, C. (2008) · Bulletin de l’Institut français d’études andines · doi:10.4000/bifea.3291 · Cited by 11
The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature
(1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694 · Cited by 11
Guengerich, A., & Berquist, S. (2020) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00934690.2019.1702830 · Cited by 11
The eighteenth century: narrative forms, scholarship, and learning
Stolley, K. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.012 · Cited by 11
Athens, J. S. (1992) · Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology/Interdisciplinary contributions to archaeology · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-6416-1_9 · Cited by 11
Dubois, L. (2009) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9780822391425-018 · Cited by 10
Naipes : Functions and Significance of Middle Sicán Standardized Sheetmetal Artifacts
Shimada, I., & Merkel, J. F. (2021) · Ñawpa Pacha · doi:10.1080/00776297.2021.1878618 · Cited by 10
The Rise of Native Lordships at Pashash, a.d . 200–600, North Highlands of Ancash, Peru
Lau, G. F., Dávila, M. L., Bongers, J. L., & Chicoine, D. (2022) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00934690.2022.2087993 · Cited by 10
Arqueología regional en el valle de tena: un estudio sobre la microverticalidad muisca*
Argüello García, P. M. (2016) · Antípoda: Revista De Antropología Y Arqueología · doi:10.7440/antipoda25.2016.07 · Cited by 10
The brief narrative in Spanish America: 1835–1915
Pupo-Walker, E. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.016 · Cited by 10
Ludmer, J. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.020 · Cited by 9
Rock Art, Historical Memory, and Ethnic Boundaries
Bray, T. L. (2002) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-0597-6_13 · Cited by 9
Makowski, K. A., & Milena Vega Centeno, A. (2004) · Bulletin de l’Institut français d’études andines · doi:10.4000/bifea.5314 · Cited by 9
Pärssinen, M. H., & Kiviharju, J. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.310.5756.1903d · Cited by 9
Trigger, B. G. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511840630.003 · Cited by 9
Sedentism, Production, and Early Interregional Interaction in the Northern Sierra of Ecuador
Ugalde, M. F., & Dyrdahl, E. (2021) · One World Archaeology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73998-0_13 · Cited by 8
The late imperial site of inca-caranqui, northern highland ecuador: at the end of empire
Bray, T. L., & Almeida, J. E. (2014) · Ñawpa Pacha · doi:10.1179/0077629714z.00000000020 · Cited by 8
The peoples of the coast of Ecuador accommodate the Inca state
Stothert, K. E. (2013) · Ñawpa Pacha · doi:10.1179/0077629713z.0000000004 · Cited by 8
Cultures in contact: Mesoamerica, the Andes, and the European written tradition
Adorno, R. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.004 · Cited by 8
McDonell, E. (2020) · The Latin American studies book series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51629-1_15 · Cited by 7
Acuto, F. A. (2012) · Revista Chilena de Antropología · doi:10.5354/0719-1472.2012.20256 · Cited by 7
Historians of the colonial period: 1620–1700
Bost, D. H. (1996) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521340694.007 · Cited by 7
Otavalenos at the Crossroads: Physical and Metaphysical Coordinates of an Indigenous World
Wibbelsman, M. (2005) · The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology · doi:10.1525/jlat.2005.10.1.151 · Cited by 7
University of York, & Currie, E. J. (2001) · Internet Archaeology · doi:10.11141/ia.10.5 · Cited by 6
‘Children of the Thunderbolt’: divine leadership in the Central Andes before the Incas
Lau, G. F., & Dávila, M. L. (2025) · World Art · doi:10.1080/21500894.2025.2451640 · Cited by 6
7 Distributional Heuristics in Unlikely Places: Incipient Markets and Hidden Commerce
Hutson, S. R. (2021) · Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association · doi:10.1111/apaa.12146 · Cited by 6
Bioarchaeological investigations of pre-state life at Cerro Oreja
Gagnon, C. M. (2008) · Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú eBooks · doi:10.18800/9789972428364.010 · Cited by 6
Road to empire: documenting an inca road in northern Ecuador
Sistrunk, H. (2010) · Ñawpa Pacha · doi:10.1179/naw.2010.30.2.189 · Cited by 6
Ancient DNA and spatial modeling reveal a pre-Inca trans-Andean parrot trade
Olah, G., Bover, P. R., Llamas, B., Heiniger, H., Llanos, R. A. S., & Shimada, I. (2026) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-026-69167-9 · Cited by 5
Metadata
- Authors
- Salomon, F.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Corresponding author
- Salomon, Frank
- ORCID
- Salomon, Frank
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 1986-07-25
- OpenAlex
- W4251375049
- Cited by
- 304
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 15.24
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Latin American history and culture
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Historical Studies in Latin America
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
- Keywords
- Quito, Inca expansion, stateless societies, social inequality, indigenous elites, Spanish conquest, colonial rule, Andean highlands, indigenous-colonial relations, Inca state
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review