Tumaco - La Tolita Culture

Biography:

The Tumaco-La Tolita culture or Tulato culture, also known as the Tumaco Culture in Colombia or as the Tolita Culture in Ecuador, was an archaeological culture that inhabited the northern coast of Ecuador and the southern coast of Colombia during the Pre-Columbian era. It takes its name from the two most representative archaeological sites of the culture, the Isla del Morro in the city of Tumaco and the Isla de la Tolita. They are known for the construction of earthen mounds known as Tolas, ceramic crafts and especially metalworking, since they handled gold with great skill and were also the first artisans in the world to work with platinum. The culture flourished between 600 BC and 400 AD in the estuary of the Río Santiago, in the north of the province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. The zone of influence includes the Pacific coast of the department of Nariño, Colombia and the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabí, Ecuador.