In 1977 Olaf Holm, the Director of the Anthropology Museum of the Central Bank of Ecuador, asked Karen E. Stothert to excavate this pre-ceramic site.

[4] The discovery of the cemetery, and the Lovers of Sumpa particularly, brought a significant amount of media attention to Ecuador, which in turn helped emphasize the importance of archaeological research to the understanding of heritage and culture.

The Lovers of Sumpa have even been called the Romeo and Juliet of Ecuador, and for this reason have served as a great source of information for sculptors, poets, and musicians all over the world.

Increased oil prices prevented the country from supplying enough funds to the project to do anything beneficial other than provide guards to protect the important cultural site.

The opening of this museum showed great cooperation between private and public institutions and is home to a variety of Las Vegas artifacts and remains.