History According to  Juan de Velasco, in his book, Historia del Reino de Quito (1767), the Quitu were conquered by the Cara culture around 980 CE. Together, the two cultures formed the Quitu-Cara culture as the basis for the kingdom (or chiefdom) of Quito. Historians Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño and Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco have contested that such a kingdom existed, finding no evidence of Quitu remains. Archeological evidence does not prove the contested Kingdom of Quito, but shows long     occupancy of this site. The people made art and used wooden instruments for their music. Archeologist as an important concept, for it spared their archaeological remains from tomb robbers. Within the country today tomb robbers are recognized to have depleted other cultures of their archeological remains, most made of gold .
History The Quitu lived in an area surrounded by mountains, especially the massif formed by the Guagua and Ruco Pichincha volcanoes. The mountains were sacred to them. They established their burial or funeral centers on the plateau, and had most of their villages in the valleys. When they occupied this area, they used the Iñaquito lagoon. (In the 20th century, this was filled in and developed for an airport serving Quito.) Before the 21st century, little archeological evidence had been found associated with this people, and some historians doubted that they existed as a culture. According to Spanish missionary and historian Juan de Velasco, in his book, Historia del Reino de Quito (1767), the Quitu were conquered by the Cara culture around 980 CE. Together, the two cultures formed the Quitu-Cara culture as the basis for the kingdom (or chiefdom) of Quito. But historians Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño and Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco contested that such a kingdom existed, finding no evidence of Quitu remains. It was not until the early 21st century that their main funerary and ceremonial areas were discovered in Quito. Archeologist Holguer Jara said this delay protected their artifacts for centuries from grave robbers. Tomb robbers are known to have depleted many other cultures of their archeological remains, especially artifacts made of gold. But it also meant that archeologists and historians had learned little about this culture. In 2010, an area of numerous 20-meter deep Quitu tombs was discovered in Quito, dating to about 800CE. The tombs had three levels, with multiple burials on each level: four bodies on the lowest, and six on each of the next two levels. Individuals were buried in a squatting position, wrapped in cloth and with decorated ponchos, some featuring refined, carved spondilus shells, which they acquired from the Pacific coast by trade. The Quitu are believed to have endured as a people during a period of integration of cultures in the region, long before the Inca conquered the territory or the Spanish explorers arrived in the early 16th century. The Quitu traded with the Yumbo, a tribe that lived northwest of this area. The Yumbo had networks that reached from the Andes to the coast. The Quitu grave goods showed that they had acquired valuable spondilus shells. These were harvested in what are now the coastal provinces of Manabí and Santa Elena. The shells were exported throughout the trading networks of South America, as they have been found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and even present-day Mexico. Based on their use of these shells associated with religious rituals, the Quitu gave them sacred meaning. long occupancy of this site. The people made art and used wooden instruments for their music. The Museum of Florida has been developed here to display and interpret artifacts from the tombs. It is named after the neighborhood in which the tombs were found. The museum includes constructed figures of a Quitu man and woman (the latter's face was created by forensic techniques from a skull excavated at the site.) The woman wears clothing as found in the tombs: "a poncho covered with small buttons carved from spondilus shell and snails, as well as silverware such as earrings, pins, necklaces, hunting darts and "rattles". The Quitu were a festive people, and rattles were a way for women to make music as they walked .
R
According to
The Quitu lived in an area surrounded by mountains, especially the massif formed by the Guagua and Ruco Pichincha volcanoes. The mountains were sacred to them. They established their burial or funeral centers on the plateau, and had most of their villages in the valleys. When they occupied this area, they used the Iñaquito lagoon. (In the 20th century, this was filled in and developed for an airport serving Quito.)
A
Before the 21st century, little archeological evidence had been found associated with this people, and some historians doubted that they existed as a culture. According to Spanish missionary and historian
R
Historians
But historians
D
have
R
Archeological evidence does not prove the contested Kingdom of Quito, but shows long
It was not until the early 21st century that their main funerary and ceremonial areas were discovered in Quito. Archeologist Holguer Jara said this delay protected their artifacts for centuries from grave robbers. Tomb robbers are known to have depleted many other cultures of their archeological remains, especially artifacts made of gold. But it also meant that archeologists and historians had learned little about this culture.
A
In 2010, an area of numerous 20-meter deep Quitu tombs was discovered in Quito, dating to about 800CE. The tombs had three levels, with multiple burials on each level: four bodies on the lowest, and six on each of the next two levels. Individuals were buried in a squatting position, wrapped in cloth and with decorated ponchos, some featuring refined, carved spondilus shells, which they acquired from the Pacific coast by trade.
A
The Quitu are believed to have endured as a people during a period of integration of cultures in the region, long before the Inca conquered the territory or the Spanish explorers arrived in the early 16th century.
A
The Quitu traded with the Yumbo, a tribe that lived northwest of this area. The Yumbo had networks that reached from the Andes to the coast. The Quitu grave goods showed that they had acquired valuable spondilus shells. These were harvested in what are now the coastal provinces of Manabí and Santa Elena. The shells were exported throughout the trading networks of South America, as they have been found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and even present-day Mexico. Based on their use of these shells associated with religious rituals, the Quitu gave them sacred meaning.
A
long
R
Archeologist as an important concept, for it spared their archaeological remains from tomb robbers. Within the country today tomb robbers are recognized to have depleted other cultures of their archeological remains, most made of gold
The Museum of Florida has been developed here to display and interpret artifacts from the tombs. It is named after the neighborhood in which the tombs were found. The museum includes constructed figures of a Quitu man and woman (the latter's face was created by forensic techniques from a skull excavated at the site.) The woman wears clothing as found in the tombs: "a poncho covered with small buttons carved from spondilus shell and snails, as well as silverware such as earrings, pins, necklaces, hunting darts and "rattles". The Quitu were a festive people, and rattles were a way for women to make music as they walked