A Fresh Approach to Ecuador's Early Settlers
The recently restored "Villa Herlinda", a two floor manor dating back to 1942, now houses the delightful exhibition of "Life and Customs of the Settlers of Ancient Ecuador". The charming setting and suitable small size of the exhibit, added to the friendly didactic resources such as touch screens and a video, make of a visit to this unique museum a most pleasant experience.

The museum holds a sample of 129 selected archeological pieces of a collection of over 8,000 artifacts that belonged to Presley Norton, a passionate researcher and collector of Ecuador's archeology. The pieces belong to three historical periods: Formative (4,200 B.C. - 500 B.C), Regional Development (500 B.C. - 500 A.D.) and Integration (500 A.D.- 1530 A.D.). The archeological pieces are not displayed chronologically or by the culture they belong to, but rather by topics: figurines, the development of pottery, everyday life utensils, and finally the complex world of Ecuador's first inhabitants' cosmology, with Shamanism as a link between Earth and the greater dimensions.

This aesthetic historical display allows for a certain intimacy with each archaeological piece. Although each artifact has been carefully selected and has a peculiar history of its own, some of the most emblematic artifacts in the museum are two large ceramic jars of the Chorrera Culture, Phase II, 800 - 600 B.C, with zoomorphic representations: one with an eagle holding a snake in its mouth, found in window 2, and one of a crab and harpy eagle (see picture below), found in window 14. It is believed that the eagle represents the sky and the snake, Earth. The fact that the eagle holds the snake probably represents the power of the gods over the Earth. The other ceramic jar probably represents the fusion of two main life sources: water and air.

Presley Norton´s archeological investigations lead him to discover the Salango archeological site in 1979, where he inaugurated the first in-situ museum in the country. In a video presented at the beginning of the exhibit, Dr. Richard Lunnis, an American archaeologist who worked together with Presley Norton, guides us through "Worshipping the Ancestors: the Evolution of a Late Formative Ceremonial Center at Salango, Manabí Province". Here one is able to see archaeological investigation first hand. Currently the video is only presented in Spanish, but the rest of the information in the museum is presented in English as well.

Museo Presley Norton is open Monday thru Saturday from 10h00 to 18h00. Admission is free, as well as guide service both in English and Spanish.

Address: corner of 9 de Octubre and Carchi
Phone: (04) 229 3423.

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