Coca ritual, aristocrats, and the landscape of power on the coast of Ecuador in the Early Regional Development period (100 BC–AD 300)

Abstract

Elaborate pottery figurines indicate that ritualized coca consumption was central to the function and identity of male aristocrats of coastal Ecuador during the Early Regional Development period (100 BC–AD 300). In parallel, lime residues, lime containers and lime dippers provide detail not only on the manufacture and circulation of ritual paraphernalia, but also on the symbolism and values attached to coca use. Drawing on evidence excavated at the Bahía II funerary precinct of Salango and elsewhere on the central coast, this article examines the role of coca ritual both in accessing the spirit world and in maintaining a system of authority based on sacred power.

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