Ecuador

Prehistoric animals, fossils, petrified wood, Charles Darwin, anthropologist Paul Rivet on stamps of Ecuador

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Contents:
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers west of the mainland.

The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

What is now Ecuador was home to a variety of Amerindian groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spain during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as its own sovereign state in 1830.

The first stamps of Ecuador were issued on 1 January 1865. The first Paleontology related stamps of Ecuador issued in 1936 - the set "100 years since Darwin's visit on Galapagos". Since then, several more stamps of Darwin and prehistoric animals and plants issued in the country. [R2]




Official stamps of Ecuador related to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology: fossils, prehistoric animals, Charles Darwin, anthropologist.

xx.xx.1936 "Centenary of the Darwin voyage to the Galapagos Islands" [1] 10.06.1983 "Galapagos" [1]
Charles Darwin on stamps of Ecuador 1936 Charles Darwin on stamps of Ecuador 1936 Charles Darwin on stamps of Ecuador 1983
12.02.1986 "450 years since discovery Galapagos islands" [1] 06.10.1997 "Rock and Minerals" [3] 10.05.2007 "Prehistoric animals"
Charles Darwin on stamps of Ecuador 1986 Petrified wood and minerals on stamps of Ecuador 1997 Prehistoric animals of Ecuador 2007
30.11.2009 "Galapagos National Park" [1]
Charles Darwin on stamps of Ecuador 2009

Notes:

[1] There are many stamps related to Galapagos islands issued in Ecuador, some of them show portraits of Charles Darwin, who visited these islands in 1836. The stamp of Charles Darwin from 1936 is the first stamp related to Charles Darwin ever.

[2] Petrified wood is shown on a blue stamp with face value of 2000 Sucres.



Other stamps of Ecuador to consider: anthropologist.

29.12.1958 "Death of Paul Rivet" [O1]
Paul Rivet on stamps of Ecuador 1958

Notes:

[O1] Paul Rivet was a French anthropologist who lived and worked in Ecuador for some period of time. In 1937 he founded the Musée de l'Homme (anthropology museum) in Paris, which became renowned for its ethnographic research and collections. In 1942, Rivet went to Colombia, where he founded the Anthropological Institute and Museum. [R3]



Commemorative postmarks of Ecuador related to Paleontology: prehistoric animals

Legend is here

17.09.1935 "Centenary of the Darwin voyage to the Galapagos Islads" [Sp] [PM1] 10.05.2007 "Prehistoric animals" [FDC]
Commemorative postmarks of Ecuador 1935 for opening the monument of Charles Darwin on San Christobal island of Galapagos archipelago Prehistoric animals on postmarks of Ecuador 2007

Notes:

[PM1] This rare postmark was issued to commemorate the Centenary of the Darwin voyage to the Galapagos Islads and was valid for 1 day only.
The text on the postmark is "Centenario del Viaje Darwin/ Galápagos/ Settembre 17 de 1935/ Archipiélago de Colón".



References:


Acknowledgements:
  • Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for the draft page review and his very valuable comments.
  • Many thanks to fellow collector Peter Brandhuber from Germany (who run Evolution of mankind and Philately group on facebook ) for his help to find an information about rare postmark of Ecuador from 1935 - "Centenary of the Darwin voyage to the Galapagos Islads".



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