Duco Mountains

The Duco Mountains belong to the high Andean country that surrounded the Quitu peoples near present-day Quito. Volcanoes and ridges define the setting, with the massif formed by Guagua and Ruco Pichincha standing at its centre. The Quitu occupied this landscape from deep antiquity through the period of regional integration, building most of their villages in mountain valleys. Higher slopes divided communities, but the valleys supplied more sheltered ground and access between neighbouring districts.

The mountains also shaped belief and burial. They were sacred to the Quitu, who placed three-level tombs about twenty metres deep on the plateau around 800 CE. People were buried in a squatting position, wrapped in cloth and decorated ponchos. The graves contained textiles, metals, food and drink, as well as carved Spondylus shells brought by trade from the Manta culture on the Pacific coast.

The archaeological traces points to independent Quitu communities and regional states rather than a securely documented united kingdom. Inca power later absorbed the area, and Spanish forces conquered the centre in 1534. The tombs found in Quito's Florida neighbourhood reveal a society connected through valley routes to distant coasts, while the mountain mass itself remained a visible and sacred presence above settlements.