Macají Lourdes

The article presents the first results of the research carried out at the Macají Lourdes site (Riobamba, Chimborazo), discussing the characteristics of the archaeological record, cultural materiality, chronological data and the post-depositional processes that affected it. The evidence recovered through an archaeological prospection, including surface surveys, shovel tests pits, and stratigraphic excavation of four 3m x 1m units, revealed the presence of an archaeological site in Unit 01. Site that is associated with a domestic housing context made up of stone walls, inside which remains of a stove (tullpa), ceramics, lithic materials, carbonized botanical macroremains and high-density faunal bones were found arranged in a sandy-loam sedimentary matrix. It denotes a Puruha occupation between 600 to 700 AD during the final phase of the Regional Development Period (300 BC – 800 AD), which maintained exchange systems at the microregional and macroregional level (Northern and Southern Andes of Ecuador). This occupation was likely interrupted by the last eruptive activity of Chimborazo volcano, which occurred between early 5th and late 7th centuries, leading to the site´s abandonment due to prolonged events that must have caused significant socio-cultural stress and vulnerability.