The people of the Tolita-Tumaco culture lived in southwestern coastal Colombia and northwestern coastal Ecuador between 600 BC and AD 400. The culture is well known for its figurines which were made from light grey clay. The figurine head shown here wears large ear spools and a headdress decorated along the front bottom edge. It is possible to see a small amount of red paint on the ear spools and it is likely that much of the figurine was painted originally, but the paint has since worn off. A large number of Tolita-Tumaco figurines are shown wearing some type of head gear and some of the heads of these figurines appear to be altered, perhaps depicting some form of skull deformation. Skull deformation was practiced in many areas of Latin America, including Colombia and Ecuador, during the prehistoric period. Skull deformation can occur accidentally as a result of the use of cradle boards or other infant care practices, and can also be intentional through the binding of young infants' heads. The Tolita-Tumaco people may have considered skull deformation to be very beautiful and it may have been a sign of elite status. Some archaeologists also believe that different shapes of skulls produced through skull deformation may have shown membership in different social or ethnic groups.