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Cited by 0Amazonian Archaeology and EthnohistoryHistorical Studies in Central AmericaArchaeology and Cultural Heritage

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Bouchard, J.-F. & P. Usselmann, Trois millénaires de civilisation entre Colombie et Équateur : La région de Tumaco La Tolita: Paris, Éditions du CNRS, 2003, 154 p.

Open access
Lopez, Juanita·2003·Cahiers des Amériques latines
DOI 10.4000/cal.7469
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Abstract

On retrouve dans cet ouvrage une double approche, géographique et archéologique, portant sur une aire culturelle préhispanique très méconnue jusqu’à maintenant : les terres basses du Pacifique équatorial. Ce croisement disciplinaire a permis aux auteurs de montrer, à travers les vestiges archéologiques et la connaissance du milieu physique actuel, la manière dont les cultures qui ont occupé ce territoire se sont adaptées à des zones de forêts et de marécages, qualifiées encore aujourd’hui de...

Overview

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Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This is a book review by Juanita Lopez of Bouchard and Usselmann's *Trois millénaires de civilisation entre Colombie et Équateur : La région de Tumaco La Tolita* (CNRS, 2003), which combines geographic and archaeological approaches to a little-known pre-Hispanic cultural area. The review praises the book for showing how the Tumaco-La Tolita cultures adapted to difficult forest and marsh environments and for questioning earlier explanations of their decline.

Key findings

  • The book's dual geographic-archaeological approach shows how cultures in the lowlands of the equatorial Pacific adapted to forest and marsh zones still described as inhospitable, dangerous, and sources of social conflict.
  • The study confirms the temporal depth of cultural groups contemporary with the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayas; the Tumaco-La Tolita phase had a long apogee, and its remains extend to 300 AD.
  • Recently discovered sites reveal remarkable land-management forms (drainage canals, raised fields) that enabled agriculture on difficult terrain, challenging earlier hypotheses that overestimated environmental constraints to explain the civilization's decline.
  • Ceramic studies established several commonalities with other regions of the Ecuadorian Pacific coast.

Methods

  • The reviewed book is divided into five parts: three describe the region geographically and archaeologically; the fourth treats commercial relations and cultural exchange between the territories and the "metropole"; the fifth covers historical evolution from the Conquest to the present.
  • The study area extends between Tumaco (southern Colombia) and Esmeraldas (northern Ecuador), with the La Tolita site in the middle.
  • The authors conducted fieldwork, recreating travel parameters, and used modern navigation documents and interpretation of archaeological material to illuminate the navigation techniques of these cultures.

Limitations

  • The review states that the causes of the cultural decline and abandonment of the island remain unanswered, and that the authors do not elude the many open questions, notably those concerning relations between different contemporary pre-Hispanic groups.
  • The review notes that the multitude of animal representations, molds, masks, and costumes remains unexplained, given the absence of a direct written or oral tradition (stated in the review).
  • The review itself is a short book review (pp. 181-182) and does not present independent data or a critical methodological assessment beyond its descriptive summary (evident from the text).

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.4000/cal.7469

Cites

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

  • Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The study confirms the temporal depth of the cultural groups contemporary with the Incas, Aztecs and Mayas.

    “Cette nouvelle étude, vivement illustrée avec des figures, des cartes, des photos de paysages et d'objets archéologiques, confirme la profondeur temporelle des groupes culturels contemporains des Incas, des Aztèques ou des Mayas.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Texte intégral

    Recently discovered sites show remarkable forms of land management (drainage canals, raised fields) that allowed the development of agriculture on difficult lands.

    “Pourtant, des sites récemment découverts mettent en évidence des formes d'aménagement remarquables (canaux de drainage, champs surélevés…), qui ont permis le développement de l'agriculture sur des terres difficiles.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Texte intégral

    Studies on ceramics established several common points between the Tumaco-La Tolita culture and other regions of the equatorial Pacific coast.

    “En outre, les études menées sur la céramique ont permis d'établir plusieurs points communs avec d'autres régions de la côte Pacifique équatoriale.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The first occupants of the study region descend from groups belonging to the Formative period, which characterizes the first ceramicist farmer groups of the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE.

    “il apparaît clair aujourd'hui que les premiers occupants descendent des groupes appartenants à la période dite Formative, qui caractérise les premiers groupes d'agriculteurs céramistes du IVe et IIIe millénaires avant notre ère.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingreasoning
    § Texte intégral

    The first occupants arrived in the region already possessing their principal sociocultural and technological traits.

    “Ils y sont arrivés en ayant déjà leurs principaux traits socioculturels et technologiques.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 12
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 5

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    Floods and tsunamis are a constant threat in the study region.

    “Inondations et tsunamis sont une menace constante.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The cultural groups known as the 'Tumaco La Tolita phase' experienced a long period of apogee.

    “Les groupes culturels objets de cette étude, connus sous le nom de « phase Tumaco La Tolita », ont connu une longue période d'apogée.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The Tumaco La Tolita groups occupied a great diversity of natural environments while maintaining a balanced relationship with their environment.

    “Ils ont occupé une grande diversité de milieux naturels, tout en maintenant une relation équilibrée avec leur environnement.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The La Tolita site lies in the middle of this space, in a region shaped by many rivers, with heavy rainfall and high humidity.

    “Le site de La Tolita se trouve juste au milieu de cet espace, dans une région façonnée par de nombreuses rivières, où les précipitations sont fortes et les taux d'humidité élevés.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    Several indigenous groups are mentioned in the chronicles, but testimonies from that era are rare.

    “Si plusieurs groupes indigènes sont mentionnés dans les chroniques, les témoignages de cette époque sont rares.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The climatic conditions of the forest kept these territories away from permanent Spanish occupation.

    “Les conditions climatiques de la forêt les ont maintenus à l'écart d'une occupation espagnole permanente.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingreasoning
    § Texte intégral

    In recent centuries, the region was occupied by different ethnic groups that all suffered great isolation and knew only very short periods of prosperity.

    “Au cours des derniers siècles, la région a été occupée par des groupes ethniques différents qui ont tous souffert d'un grand isolement, et n'ont connu que de très courtes périodes de prospérité.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingreasoning
    § Texte intégral

    The regions of Tumaco in Colombia and Esmeraldas in Ecuador are today marginalized and underdeveloped.

    “Les régions de Tumaco, en Colombie, et d'Esmeraldas, en Équateur, sont aujourd'hui marginalisées et sous-développées.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The causes of the cultural decline and abandonment of the island remain unanswered.

    “Les causes du déclin culturel et de l'abandon de l'île demeurent encore sans réponse.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The remains of the Tumaco-La Tolita culture extend to 300 AD.

    “Les vestiges de la culture Tumaco-La Tolita s'étendent jusqu'à 300 après J.-C.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Premisenone given
    § Texte intégral

    The study area extends between Tumaco in southern Colombia and Esmeraldas in northern Ecuador.

    “La zone d'étude s'étend entre Tumaco, au Sud de la Colombie, et Esmeraldas, au Nord de l'Équateur.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Texte intégral

    The notion of a 'favorable environment' is relative and depends largely on how human societies take advantage of the resources of the environment.

    “Un des principaux mérites de cet ouvrage est donc de rappeler la relativité de la notion de « milieu favorable », qui dépend en grande partie de la manière dont les sociétés humaines savent tirer parti des ressources du milieu.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationnone given
    § Texte intégral

    The current inhabitants of these regions do not maintain with their environment the privileged relations that, despite difficult conditions, allowed brilliant cultures to develop.

    “Leurs habitants actuels n'entretiennent pas avec leur environnement ces relations privilégiées qui, malgré des conditions a priori difficiles, ont permis à des cultures brillantes de se développer.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
13 of 13

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Metadata

Authors
Lopez, J.
Corresponding author
Lopez, Juanita
Venue
Cahiers des Amériques latines
Publisher
OpenEdition
Published
2003
Volume
44
Issue
44
Pages
181-182
ISSN
  • 1141-7161 (ISSN-L)
  • 2268-4247
DOI
10.4000/cal.7469
OpenAlex
W4244736523
Cited by
0
References
0
Type
book review
Language
fr
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cahiers des Amériques latines (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OpenEdition (OpenEdition) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Cahiers des Amériques latines
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Historical Studies in Central America
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
Keywords
pre-Hispanic archaeology, Andean lowlands, Amazon basin, cultural adaptation, wetlands, forests, pre-Columbian societies

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