Atallan

The Manta and Huancavilca peoples of the coast of Ecuador formed the Manteño-Huancavilca culture, one of the last pre-Columbian cultures of the country, which lasted from about 850 to 1600. Their chiefdoms stretched over the coasts of Manabí, Santa Elena and Guayas, as far as La Plata Island.

They grew maize, peanuts and squash, and dived for Spondylus shells, which they used as currency and traded as far north as Mexico. The Huancavilca are traditionally linked with the legend of the chief Guayas and his wife Quil, from whom Guayaquil is said to take its name.