Guancavilca

The Guancavilca inhabited the coast around the Gulf of Guayaquil before the Spanish conquest. Along with their Manteño neighbours farther north, they were accomplished sailors and merchants, using large sailing rafts to carry goods along the Pacific coast. Spondylus shells gathered from warm coastal waters were prized in the Andes, and their exchange formed part of far-reaching networks that connected the Ecuadorian shore with peoples to the south.

The later city of Santa Elena lies here.