Baku, July 18, AZERTAC The discovery of an ancient pre-Columbian cemetery in the Ecuadorian capital is helping to shed light on human populations that settled in that region around 2,000 years ago, according to Agencia EFE. Ceramic vessels and stone-carved decorative objects are among the more than 5,000 pieces found at the site, which is located in what today is the Llano Chico area of Quito’s north side and had been buried until now under farmland.Among the finds made there by archaeologists from Quito’s Metropolitan Institute of Heritage (IMP) were a score of tombs, some of which feature burial offerings containing objects these people used in their daily lives.The cemetery now constitutes one of the main archaeological sites in the Ecuadorian capital, Andres Mosquera, one of IMP’s archaeologists, told Efe.Located 80 centimeters (just under three feet) below ground, the cemetery had been covered by a layer of ash from an eruption of the Pichincha Volcano.It is made up of one-meter-high shafts in the shape of bells or trapezoids that served as tombs, food storage areas or landfills.Although more than 5,000 pieces were recovered, only 128 were fully intact, Mosquera said.He added that those objects that were at least 75 percent preserved have been registered in the government’s databases.Inside the tombs, the archaeologists observed that the dead bodies had been buried in a bent position, which is characteristic of pre-Columbian cemeteries. But they found no evidence that the bodies - including adults no more than 40 years old and children - had been covered with any type of fabric.