In the floodplains and mangroves of the Pacific Rim, between Esmeraldas in Ecuador and Buenaventura in Valle del Cauca, lived for a thousand years, between 700 BC and 350 A.D. societies of fishermen, farmers, sailors fruit pickers and hunters who sailed on the sea and worked metals. From the sands of the rivers they obtained gold and platinum transformed into delicate little ornaments as pendants, tiaras and ... nose rings or hooks. They built their houses on artificial platforms to protect them from flooding.