In 1992, as part of an ethnoarchaeological investigation with the Chachi Indians of tropical Northwestern Ecuador, information was collected on the use of small, isolated, but semi-permanent dwellings called ranchos. Located deep in the forest, they are at least an hour walk from the main family houses which congregate along the shores of navigable rivers. Prehistoric occupations have been identified in these distant areas. The semi-permanent nature of these field houses and their seasonal use, calls into question the usual archaeological methods used to determine settlement patterns and population estimates.