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Host Community Information
Eleven unique cultures weave harmoniously together to form Ecuador's Indigenous population. By far the largest ethnic group is the Andean Quichua, who number more than two million. The Quichua, the Otavalenos, Salasacas, and Saraguros - all residing in the Ecuadorian Andes - keep the languages of the ancient Incas alive.
Archaeologists trace the first inhabitants as far back as 10,000 BC, when hunters and gatherers established settlements on the southern coast and in the central highlands. By 3,200 BC three distinct agricultural-based civilizations had emerged, producing some of the hemisphere's oldest known pottery. Advanced indigenous cultures such as the Chorrera, Jama Coaque, Bahia, Tolita, Machalilla and Valdivia ( the oldest known culture in the Americas ), flourished between 12,000 B.C. to 1,500 A.D. in Ecuador territory.
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