The most geographically widespread pre-Columbian culture of Late Formative Ecuador, the Chorrera tradition (1300–300 BCE) unified the Pacific lowlands and Andean highlands through a distinctive ceramic tradition of whistling bottles, resist-painted vessels, and early metalworking.
The Chorrera culture of Ecuador was disrupted around 467 BCE by the eruption of the Pululahua volcano, which deposited ash across a large portion of Ecuador, ending the unified Chorrera cultural system, with surviving regional groups gradually evolving into the distinct Period of Regional Development cultures by 200–300 BCE.
The title dates precisely bracket the Chorrera period; covers its ceramic innovations and cultural significance in detail.
Places Chorrera within the broader Late Formative trajectory of western South America.