Colombia has an ancient history before the Conquest and in different places is still alive the testimony of its indigenous past. In San Agustín, Huila department, are preserved stone monoliths represent gods and warriors. In the area of Tierradentro (Cauca), travelers can tour the hypogea, underground burial complexes with cameras.
From the Tayrona Park, on the Caribbean coast, move up a cobblestone path to the ruins of Pueblito, stone city built by the Tayrona, an advanced pre-Hispanic culture whose legacy of jewelry can be admired in the Museo del Oro in Bogota and Tayrona Culture Museum in Santa Marta.
Columbian Colombia
More than a dozen Colombian cultures inhabited the territory before the Conquest and left evidence of high level of development achieved. Cities and stone pathways, statuary, funerary urns and refined gold and pottery pieces are part of the legacy that today allows us to know their lifestyle and beliefs.
The Muiscas, settled in the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyacá, was a village of farmers. They were excellent goldsmiths and potters and left priceless treasures. The myth of El Dorado, which inspired the conquest of the interior of the continent, had its origin in the inauguration of the new chief who, covered with gold, on a raft headed toward the center of Lake Guatavita accompanied by their priests.
The pottery and metalwork are also highlighted in the cultures Quimbaya, Sinu, Tayrona and Calima. His works can be seen in the Museo del Oro del Banco de la República, the Archaeological Museum Casa del Marqués de San Jorge and the National Museum in Bogota, the Quimbaya Culture Museum in Armenia, the Tayrona Culture Museum in Santa Marta and Sinu Culture Museum in Cartagena. In specialist galleries can buy replicas made with the same techniques used by the indigenous groups.
