The Valdivia Culture thrived on the coast of Ecuador between 3,500 and 1,800 B.C. This culture was discovered in 1956 by the Ecuadorian archeologist Emilio Estrada. Based on a comparison of archeological remains and pottery styles, Estrada and the American archeologist Betty Meggers suggested that a relationship between the people of Ecuador and the Jomon people of Japan had existed in ancient times, the original inhabitants of Japan - the Ainu and Jomon.

Sherry Thompsett
Peru The Valdivia Culture thrived on the coast of Ecuador between 3,500 and 1,800 B.C. This culture was discovered in 1956 by the Ecuadorian archeologist Emilio Estrada. Based on a comparison of archeological remains and pottery styles, Estrada and the American archeologist Betty Meggers suggested that a relationship between the people of Ecuador and the Jomon people of Japan had existed in ancient times, the original inhabitants of Japan - the Ainu and Jomon.