Skip to main content

Late Pre-Hispanic Chiefdoms of Northern Colombia and the Formation of Anthropogenic Landscapes

  • Chapter
The Handbook of South American Archaeology

The main objective of this paper is to discuss what we have learned of the relationships of these chiefdom societies with their environments and the transformations of the landscape as case studies in historical ecology. In both complexes of chiefdoms, Sinú and Tairona, the human populations shaped the landscape to such a degree that they are best understood as anthropogenic—two great archaeological landscapes transformed by human activities involving intensive selection and modification (Denevan 1992: 375). The impact of these chiefdoms on the landscape is apparent even in the present, defining the ecology of the regions. Only recently have they become more “natural” after the depopulation created by the Spanish conquest that decimated the native population to a fraction of its pre-Hispanic size.

This chapter considers how and why these pre-Hispanic societies developed a degree of complexity that places them in the chiefdom category. All of them had a strong impact on their landscapes, to the point that the modern environments can be characterized as archaeological artifacts still in use today. Descendents of the original inhabitants still live in both regions. Linguistically, the descendents of the Sinú have lost their language, making it impossible to classify them in terms of known linguistic families (Adelaar and Muysken 2004). However, taking toponyms into consideration the area seems to have been occupied by Chibchan speakers. In the case of the SNSM, the various groups that still exist also belong to the Chibchan language family.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adelaar, Willem F. H. and Pieter C. Muysken, 2004, The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, J.A., 1900, List of bats collected by Mr. H. Smith in the Santa Marta region of Colombia, with descriptions of new species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 13: 87–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aprile-Gniset, Jacques, 1991, La Ciudad Colombiana. Biblioteca Banco Popular, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartels, G., 1984, Morphoclimatic belts of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): Transecto Buritaca - La Cumbre, Vol. 2, edited by T. van der Hammen and P. Ruiz, pp. 99–130. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartley, B. G. D., 2005, The Genetic Diversity of Cacao and its Utilization. CABI Pub., Wallingford, UK and Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros Blanco, José Agustín, 1996, Dos Colonizaciones del Siglo XVII en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Archivo General de la Nación, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonzani, Renée M., 1997, Plant diversity in the archaeological record: a means toward defining hunter-gatherer mobility strategies. Journal of Archaeological Science 24:1129–1139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonzani, Renée M., 1998, Learning from the present: the constraints of seasonality on foragers and collectors. In Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes, Monograph 39, edited by Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo and J. Scott Raymond, pp. 20–35. The Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botiva Contreras, Alvaro, 1994, Arqueología de Rescate Oleoducto Vasconia-Coveñas. Colcultura Ican, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botiva Contreras, Alvaro, G. Cadavid, L. Herrera, A. M. Groot de Mahecha, and S. Mora., 1989, Colombia Prehispánica, Regiones Arqueológicas. Instituto Colombiano de Antropología. Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray, Warwick, 1995, Searching for the environmental stress: climatic and anthropogenic influences on the landscape of Colombia. In Archaeology in the Lowland American Tropics: Current Analytical Methods and Recent Applications, edited by Peter Stahl, pp. 96–112. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carbonó, E., 1987, Estudio Etnobotánico entre los Kogui de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. M.S. thesis in Systematics. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavelier, J., T. M. Aide, C. Santos, A. M. Eusse and J. M. Dupuy, 1998, The savanization of moist forests in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Journal of Biogreography 25: 901–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleef, A.M. and J. O. Rangel-Ch., 1984, La vegetación del páramo del noroeste de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): transecto Buritaca - La Cumbre, Vol. 2, edited by T. van der Hammen and P. Ruiz, pp. 203–266. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleef, A.M. J. O. Rangel-Ch., T. van der Hammen and R. Jaramillo-M., 1984, La vegetación de las selvas del transecto Buritaca. In La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): transecto Buritaca - La Cumbre, Vol. 2, edited by T. van der Hammen and P. Ruiz, pp. 267–406. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, Noble David, 1998, Born to Die : Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650. Cambridge University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cristiaa Granda, Rita Maria, 1996, The Status of Zenu Women: A Study of Gender Relations in Ancient Colombia. M.A. thesis. Faculty of Arts and Science, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuadros, Hermes, 1990, Vegetación caribeña. In Caribe Colombia, edited by M. Jimeno, pp. 66–83. Financiera Eléctrica Nacional, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, George, 1971, Los Peces del Norte de Colombia. INDERENA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denevan, William M., 1992, The pristine myth: the landscape of the Americas in 1492. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82(3):369–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denevan, William M., 1976, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denevan, William M., 2001, Cultivated Landscapes of Native Amazonia and the Andes. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fals Borda, Orlando, 1980, Mompox y Loba, Historia Doble de la Costa. Carlos Valencia Editores, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera, Antonio, 1936, Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas y Tierrafirme del Mar Océano. Tipografía de Archivos. Madrid.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera, Leonor, 2000, ¿Por dónde pasan los caminos Tairona? In Caminos Precolombinos, Las Vías, Los Ingenieros y Los Viageros, edited by Leonor Herrera and Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff. Instituto Colombiano de Antropología, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera de Turbay, L.F., 1984, La actividad agrícola en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): perspectiva histórica. In La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): Transecto Buritaca - La Cumbre, Vol. 2, edited by T. van der Hammen and P. Ruiz, pp. 501–530. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera de Turbay, L.F., 1985, Agricultura Aborigen y Cambios de Vegetación en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Fundación de Investigaciones Arqueológicas Nacionales, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez, A. R. (ed.), 1986, Proyecto Piloto de Evaluación para el Desarrollo de las Pesquerias Artesanales en la Región de Santa Marta. Editora Guadalupe Limitada/ CIID-Colciencias-FES, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooghiemstra, Henry and Thomas van der Hammen, 2004, Quaternary Ice-Age dynamics in the Colombian Andes. Developing an understanding of our legacy. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 359: 173–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoopes, John W., 2005, The emergence of social complexity in the Chibchan world of southern Central America and northern Colombia, AD 300–600. Journal of Archaeological Research 13: 1–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kopp, L. E., 1966, A taxonomic revision of the genus Persea in the western hemisphere. (Persea-Lauraceae). Mem. New York. Bot. Gard. 14:1–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurella, Doris, 1993, Handel und soziale Organisation im vorspanischen nördlichen Andenraum. Zur politischen Ökonomie subandiner Häuptlingstümer im Gebiet des ehemaligen Nuevo Reino de Granada vor der Eroberung durch die Spanier im frühen 16. Jahrhundert. Mundus Reihe Alt-Amerikanistik, Band 9. Holos Verlag, Bonn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langebaek, C. H. and A. Dever, 2002, Estudio regional en las bahías del Parque Tairona: arqueología, medio ambiente y desarrollo de sociedades prehispánicas. Boletín de Arqueología 17: 2–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Roy Gordon, B., 1957, Human Geography and Ecology in the Sinú Country of Colombia. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • López Castaño, Carlos E., 1998, Evidence of Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene occupations in the tropical lowlands of the middle Magdalena Valley. In Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes, Monograph 39, edited by Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo and J. Scott Raymond, pp. 1–9. The Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • López Castaño, Carlos E., 1999, Ocupaciones tempranas en las tierras bajas tropicales del valle medio del río Magdalena Sitio 05-yon-002, Yondo-Antioquia. Fundación de Investigaciones Arqueológicas Nacionales, Banco de la República, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacRae, W. D. and G. H. Towers, 1994, An ethnopharmacological examination of Virola elongata bark: a South American arrow poison. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 12:75–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. Alden, 1931, Archaeology of Santa Marta, the Tairona Culture, Part 1. Anthropological Series, Vol. XX, No.1. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. Alden, 1936, Archaeology of Santa Marta, the Tairona Culture, Part 2, Section 1, Publication 358. Anthropological Series, Vol. XX, No.2. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. Alden, 1939, Archaeology of Santa Marta, the Tairona Culture, Part 2, Section 2, Publication 446. Anthropological Series, Vol. XX, No. 3. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1986a, De los Tairona a los Kogi: una interpretación del cambio cultural. Boletín Museo del Oro 17: 32–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1986b, Contribución a la periodización cultural en el litoral del Parque Tairona. Boletín de Arqueológia 1: 24–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1986c, Excavación de un basurero en Ciudad Perdida. Boletín de Arqueológia 1: 28–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1987a, Aspectos culturales de las secuencias locales y regionales en los Tairona. In Chiefdoms in the Americas, edited by Robert D. Drennan and Carlos A. Uribe, pp. 213–228. University Press of America, Lanham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1987b, Gaira: introducción a la ecología y arqueología del litoral de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Boletín Museo del Oro 19:35–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1989, Investigaciones Arqueologicas en la Región Baja del Río Gaira, Departamento del Magdalena. Ms. on file. Fundación de Investigaciones Arqueológicas del Banco de la República, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1990, Las redes de caminos prehispánicas en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In Ingeniería Prehispánica, edited by S. Mora, pp. 47–72. Instituto Colombiano de Antropología and Fondo Eléctrico Nacional (FEN), Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1991, Ideology and structure of gender spaces: the case of the Kaggaba Indians. In Gender Archaeology, edited by D. Walde and N. D. Willows, pp. 327–335. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary. University of Calgary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1995a, Rocks vs clay: the evolution of pottery technology in the case of San Jacinto 1, Colombia. In The Emergence of Pottery, edited by William K. Barnett and John W. Hoopes, pp. 133–144. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1995b, Centralización e integración en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Boletín Museo del Oro 38–39:113–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1996a, Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff: 1914–1994. American Antiquity 61 (1): 52–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1996b, The study of collector variability in the transition to sedentary food producers in northern Colombia. Journal of World Prehistory 10 (1): 49–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1997, Prologo al Gran Jaguar. In Arqueología de Colombia by Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, pp.xi–xix. Segunda Edición. Presidencia de la República de Colombia, Biblioteca Familiar Colombiana, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1998a, Ideology, temples, and priests: change and continuity in house societies in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes, Monograph 39, edited by Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo and J. Scott Raymond, pp. 39–53. The Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 1998b, Bibliography of Gerardo Reichel-Dolmattoff: 1943–1997. In Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes, edited by Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo and J. Scott Raymond, Monograph 39, pp.ix–xv. The Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto, 2001, The rise of religious routinization. The study of changes from shaman to priestly elite. In Mortuary Practices and Ritual Associations: Shamanic Elements in Prehistoric Funerary Context in South America, edited by J. E. Staller and E. J. Currie, pp. 1–18. Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports. Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyuela-Caycedo, Augusto and Renée M. Bonzani, 2005, San Jacinto 1: A Historical Ecological Approach to an Archaic Site in Colombia. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, James J., 1952, The Settlement of the Sinu Valley of Colombia. Geographical Review 42: 67–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, James J. and William A. Bowen, 1966, Ancient ridged fields of the San Jorge River floodplain, Colombia. Geographical Review 56 (3): 373–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, James J., 1980, Europeanization of the savanna lands of northern South America. In Human Ecology in Savanna Environments, edited by David Harris, pp. 267–292. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plazas, Clemencia and Ana Maria Falchetti, 1990, Manejo hidráulilco Zenú. In Ingenierias Prehispánicas, edited by Santiago Mora. Fondo Fen Colombia and Instituto Colombiano de Antropologia. Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plazas, Clemencia, Ana Maria Falchetti, Juanita Sáenz Samper and Sonia Archila, 1993, La Sociedad Hidraulica Zenu. Banco de la Republica. Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reclus, E., 1881, Voyage á la Sierra-Nevada de Sainte Marthe. Librairie Hachette & Cie, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1957, Momil: a Formative sequence from the Sinu Valley, Colombia. American Antiquity 22 (3): 226–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1950, Los Kogi: una tribu de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, Tomo I. Revista del Instituto Ethnológico Nacional, 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1951a, Los Kogi: una tribu de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta-Colombia, Tomo II. Editorial Iqueima, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1951b, Datos Histórico-Culturales sobre las Tribus de la Antigua Gobernación de Santa Marta. Banco de la República, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1953, Contactos y cambios culturales en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 1: 15–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1954a, Investigaciones arqueológicas en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Partes 1 y 2. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 2: 145–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1954b, Investigaciones arqueológicas en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Parte 3, Sitios de contacto español en Pueblito. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 3: 139–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1965, Colombia. Thames and Hudson, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1997, Arqueología de Colombia. Segunda Edición. Presidencia de la República de Colombia, Biblioteca Familiar Colombiana, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1958, Reconocimiento arqueológico de la hoya del río Sinu. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 6: 31–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1951, Investigaciones arqueológicas en el Departamento del Magdalena, Colombia en 1946–1950. Parte I: Arqueología del Rio Ranchería. Boletín de Arqueología 3:19–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1953, Investigaciones arqueologícas en el Departamento del Magdalena, Colombia: 1946–1950. Divulgaciones Etnológicas 3 (4): 1–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1955, Investigaciones arqueológicas en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Parte 4, Sitios de habitación del Período Tairona II, en Pueblito. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 4: 191–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1956, Momíl, Excavaciones el Sinú. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 5: 109–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia Dussan de Reichel, 1991, Arqueología del Bajo Magdalena, Estudio de la Cerámica de Zambrano. Biblioteca Banco Popular, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, Nicolas de la, 1975, Floresta de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de la Ciudad y Provincia de Santa Marta. Biblioteca Banco Popular, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serje de la Ossa, M., 1984, Organización urbana en Ciudad Perdida. Cuadernos de Arquitectura. Escala No. 9, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, F. A. A., 1879, Notes on the topography of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society 1: 689–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, F. A. A., 1881, On the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and its watershed (State of Magdalena, U.S. of Colombia). Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society 3: 705–723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, Fray Pedro, 1981, Noticias Historiales de las Conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias Occidentales. Vol. 5. Biblioteca Banco Popular, Bogotá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smet, P. A. de, 1985, A multidisciplinary overview of intoxicating snuff rituals in the western hemisphere. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 13: 3–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strewe, R. and C. Navarro, 2004, New and noteworthy records of birds from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, north-eastern Colombia. Bull. B.O.C. 124: 38–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, R., 1894, Report on the Cultivation of Cacao, Bananas and India-Rubber in Districts Surrounding the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Foreign Office, London. Notes from letter by Basil G. Bartley to the author, 13 January 1998. Manuscript on file.

    Google Scholar 

  • Todd, W.E. C., and M.A. Carriker, Jr., 1922, Birds of the Santa Marta Region. Annals of the Carnegie Museum, 14. Pittsburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Hammen, T., 1984, Datos sobre la Historia de Clima, Vegetación y Glaciación de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): transecto Buritaca - La Cumbre, Vol. 2, edited by T. van der Hammen and P. Ruiz, pp. 561–573. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Hammen, T. and P. T. Ruiz (eds.), 1984, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia): Trancecto Buritaca-la Cumbre. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wynn, J. T., 1975, Buritaca Ceramic Chronology: A Seriation from the Tairona Area, Colombia. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Oyuela-Caycedo, A. (2008). Late Pre-Hispanic Chiefdoms of Northern Colombia and the Formation of Anthropogenic Landscapes. In: Silverman, H., Isbell, W.H. (eds) The Handbook of South American Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5_22

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics