The revaluation of cultural identity: A retrospective analysis of the main cultures of Ecuador

Abstract

Cultural identity is what makes the peoples of a nation rich, which is why the State must invest in rescuing their biodiversity, culture, traditions and gastronomy; The legacy left by the ancestors must be revalued and what rightfully belongs to them must not be allowed to vanish. This academic essay is based on the review of documentary sources, in it the positions of archaeologists, historians and researchers who studied Ecuadorian cultures are observed, as is the case of Meyers (1998); Holm (1981); Ayala (2017); Perez (1975); and Pazos (2008), among others. It seeks to know more deeply the cultural, agricultural, and gastronomic practices of the Milagro Quevedo and Manteño Huancavilca cultures, of the coastal region; the Caranqui culture of the Sierra and Shuar region of eastern Ecuador, and the cultural vestiges that were inherited from us, to analyze from an evaluative point of view the relationship between nature and man, as well as the customs that, despite the years remain valid in our society, forming the ancestral traditions that dignify our origin as a Latin American people and give meaning to the cultural diversity of our country.