Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño
| Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Quito | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1890 |
| Died | 1950 |
| Nationality | Ecuadorian |
| Occupation | Historian, politician, archeologist |
Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño was an Ecuadorian historian and politician, born in Quito on December 11, 1890 to Don Manuel Jijón Larrea and Doña Dolores Caamaño y Almada. He was the mayor of the city of Quito (the capital of Ecuador) from 1946 to 1948. He was a member of the Ecuadorian parliament and a candidate for the presidency of Ecuador. He went to school in Quito, where he was taught by Archbishop Federico González Suárez. In 1912, he accompanied a fellow pupil, Don Carlos Manuel Larrea, and his own mother to Europe. There, he developed his interest in the sciences, and learned English, French and German. It was, having collected a large number of books, that he returned to Ecuador and began to utilize his funds to examine pre-Hispanic settlements in the area.[1]
As an archeologist, Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño surveyed pre-Hispanic settlement near the town of Manta, mapping the largest structures. It was then that he became the first to use the term "Manteño" to describe such settlement. Jijón y Caamaño believed that the Manteños operated like a trading ring rather than a kingdom or empire, and drew parallels to the Hanseatic League.[2]
He wrote several works, including Quito y la independencia de America: discurso leido en la sesion solemne celebrada por la Academia Nacional de Historia ... en conmemoracion del I centenario de la batalla de Pichincha ("Quito and the independence of America: Address delivered at the solemn session held by the National Academy of History ... in commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of Pichincha", referring to Quito, capital of Ecuador, and the Battle of Pichincha). He also wrote books on archaeological topics, such as the Antropología prehispánica del Ecuador ("Pre-Hispanic Anthropology of Ecuador").
References
- ↑ Arqueólogo Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño (1890-1950). Accessed 1 April 2010. (Spanish)
- ↑ Silverman, H., Isbell, W. (2008). Handbook of South American Archaeology. p. 505–14. Retrieved 28 March 2010.