Sadie Kathryn Lucitante

The territory of the Indigenous Cofán Nation is a blank spot in South American archaeology, yet its story illustrates the most consequential moments in continental history. This project will investigate a Cofán historic residential center named Cuvoé, which is located on the Aguarico River in northeastern Ecuador. An archaeological study of Cuvoé will illustrate what centuries of colonial incursions have done to the Cofán and how their nation managed to survive a near-continuous series of assaults and occupations. The goal is to understand the structures of Cofán life at Cuvoé in the decades prior to missionary and extractive incursions, how the latter impacted Cofán life, and how the Cofán responded to those impacts through initial adaptation and resilience and eventual site abandonment. The specific research questions are: How did Cuvoé residents spatially and socially organize themselves prior to the late 19th century?; How did Cuvoé residents organize their productive activities during the same time frame, including their manufacture, acquisition, and use of ceramics and other objects?; What material remains indicate the presence and activities of missionaries and extractive agents at Cuvoé at the turn of the 19th century?; How did Cofán life at Cuvoé change during missionary and extractivist presence?