Pre-Columbian Era & Inca Empire
The history of human settlement in Ecuador dates back over 12,000 years. Long before the Incas arrived, highly developed cultures flourished on the coast and in the highlands:
Early Cultures
- Valdivia Culture (3500–1800 BC) — One of the oldest ceramic cultures in the Americas, located on the coast of Guayas and Santa Elena. The "Venus of Valdivia" figurines are world-famous and can be seen in Quito's museums.
- Cañari — In the southern highlands around present-day Cuenca. Masterful metalworkers and architects, whose ruins in Ingapirca still impress today.
- Quitu-Cara — In the northern highlands, namesake of the capital Quito. They built temples and terraces on the slopes of Pichincha.
The Inca Conquest (ca. 1460–1533)
From around 1460, the Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyo) expanded northward from Peru. The conquest of Ecuador took decades and was bloody — particularly the Cañari in the south offered fierce resistance. The Inca ruler Huayna Cápac made Quito his favorite residence and built a second capital alongside Cusco. Upon his death in 1527, he divided the empire between his sons: Huáscar (Cusco) and Atahualpa (Quito). The ensuing civil war significantly weakened the empire — making it easy prey for the Spaniards.
Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, had just won the civil war against his brother when the Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru in 1532. He was executed in Cajamarca in 1533 — marking the end of the Inca Empire.
