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The city of Cuenca, Ecuador, has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In the National History Archive rests the collection of the Third Notary, made up of 211 books that constitute the only notarial documentation in the region until 1700. It is complete and unique for the 17th century, except for the years 1664 to 1666. The information is historical-patrimonial and gives evidence of a different socio-economic reality than that of the two dominant histories centered in the Audience of Quito, during the colony and republic, and in Guayaquil, the economic dynamo of the South Pacific coast. 

The information reflects the active participation of men, women, Indians and Europeans and is not limited to economic issues. Local, national and international researchers reference the fonds, and Cuenca society still uses the information for land claims, legacies and ancestral knowledge. 

The books have parchment covers, sealed paper and iron gall ink since they are handwritten. The first notarial volume begins in 1563, six years after the city's founding; the last of the series goes up to 1950.