The occurrence of tectonic uplift in coastal South American prehistory is discussed and evidence of emerged shoreline features is presented for the area of the Santa Elena Peninsula in Ecuador. It is hypothesized that this activity, once thought to be exclusively Pleistocene in timing, continued on into the Holocene. Given this perspective and field data, the role of the Early Formative Period Valdivia phase (3500-1500 BC) site of Real Alto is examined, as is the economic structure of Real Alto society. The pattern of site distribution and data from geological units indicate a long period of tectonic activity that restructured the Ecuadorian coastline and affected northern Andean prehistory. The implications for the origins of Valdivia and New World pottery are reconsidered in light of new information on the Quaternary environments of Ecuador.