This is an investigation into the daily life of a small subsistence village called Rio Blanco located in the coastal province of Manabí, Ecuador. It is focused primarily on the traditional interactions between people and nature, how these interactions sustain life and create a sense of place and identity, and how these interactions are changing under pressure from the modern world. Through participant observation, information on the various aspects of interaction with the natural environment were collected. These include subsistence horticulture in the mountains of the cloud forest, movement through the landscape, and impacts on the immediate environment. The people of Rio Blanco depend heavily on their environment for the cultivation of food, procurement of non-timber forest resources, and above all as a place to call home. The repeated, quotidian interactions with nature and the environment cultivate a sense of place and in turn a sense of identity is daily born and perpetuated. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis provides an analysis of Manteño site abandonment in the cloud forest of Manabí, Ecuador. First, the types, frequency, and distribution of artifacts at site C4-044 were recorded, mapped, and compared to levels of phosphate in the soil to determine activity areas. The obtained evidence allowed me to make general approximations of the site’s pre-abandonment behavior. Then, the archaeological data together with environmental and bioarchaeological information from the region were assessed to propose the mode of departure from site C4-044. Through ethnography and ethnoarchaeology, a recent historical account of abandonment in the cloud forest was obtained as well, providing additional insight regarding adaptive strategies and behavioral choices to changing contextual circumstances. The culmination of this evidence shows a gradual mode of abandonment from site C4-044 in the cloud forest that was planned and executed accordingly. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The present study identifies settlement patterns of the Manteño culture within the cloud forest of southern Manabí by surveying, recording and analyzing the stone architecture found within the drainage basin of the Las Tusas River, Ecuador. The statistical methods used were: Triangulated Irregular Networks or TIN (for topography interpretations), K-means (to determine natural groups for structures based on their dimensions, shape, and wall thickness), Ripley’s K (to determine spatial nature of these groups) and Kernel Density (to visualize their spatial organization). The cloud forest ecotone of southern Manabí was an anthropogenic landscape during the late Integration period. The alluvial valleys of the upper Rio Blanco drainage basin do not represent a hinterland or a periphery occupation but a series of Manteño nucleated settlements raised on terraces and interconnected by strings of linear settlements and dispersed settlements throughout the rugged terrain of this landscape. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection