The Quitus were an indigenous people who inhabited parts of what is now Ecuador and Colombia between the 1st century BC and the 16th century AD. They established a large state centered around modern-day Quito that had extensive terraced agricultural systems and traded with peoples as far away as Mesoamerica. The Inca Empire conquered the Quitus in the late 15th century, though elements of Quitu culture persisted after the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century.

1. THE QUITUS