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Quito. Description

Although the earliest evidence of man in Ecuador can be traced back to 10,000 BC, there are few concrete facts about the country's history before the invasion of the Incas in the mid-15 th century. However, research is still ongoing. The Museo Banco Central del Ecuador has some fascinating artifacts that are laid out to chart the probable development of the country before this time, from the age of hunter-gatherers to the dawn of pottery and ceramics, agriculture and fixed settlements.

After the natives began to put down roots (between 500BC and 500AD), distinct cultures began to evolve, and by 1480, dominant Indian groups included Imbayas, Shyris, Quitus, Puruhaes and Caarisin the highlands, and the Caras, Manteos and Huancavilcas along the coast.

The Incas had dominated Peru since the 11th-century, but it was not until the mid 15th-century that they began to expand into Ecuador. Yapanqui led the invasion with his son Tpac Yapanqui. Despite resistance by local Indians, they eventually arranged peace terms with one dominant group in the south, the Caaris, but continued to battle resistance in the north. Tpac Yapanqui extended the empire further after the death of his father; establishing himself at Ingipirica before dominating the Quitu/Caras Indians at present-day Quito. He then built a huge road stretching the length of his empire from Cusco in Southern Peru north to Quito.

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