Calima culture

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The pre-Columbian Calima culture was an archaeological culture widespread in western Colombia , dating back to around 1600 BC. Chr. Unfolded and up to about 1700 N. Chr. Survived. In the history of Colombia it falls into the late phase of the formative period (6000 to 1500 years BP or 4050 BC to 450 AD) and the period of regional development (from 450 AD).

etymology

The Calima culture was named after the eponymous Río Calima .

Geographical distribution

Distribution areas of the pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia

The culture extended in the Departamentado del Valle del Cauca north and northwest of Cali over the catchment areas of the rivers Río Calima, Río San Juan and Río Dagua, which drain into the Pacific . Its core area covered around 50 square kilometers. The altitudes are between 1000 and 2500 meters above sea ​​level .

Timeframe

For a better resolution of the cultural and historical circumstances, the Calima culture was divided into four phases (from young to old):

  • Malagana phase - from AD 1600
  • Sonso phase - AD 200 to Spanish conquest in the 16th century - period of regional development
  • Yotoco phase - 100 BC BC to AD 1200 - outgoing formative period and early period of regional development (Clásico Regional)
  • Ilama phase - 1600 to 200/100 BC BC - part of the Formative period

Ilama phase

Distribution area of ​​the Ilama phase

The Ilama phase , which is often seen as a separate cultural stage ( Ilama culture ), began around 1600/1500 BC. At the upper reaches of the Río Calima. Compared to their predecessors, which between 7050 and 2050 BC BC. Inhabited the same region, the Ilama culture was fundamentally different and it is therefore assumed an exogenous origin. Rodriguez-Flórez et al. (2013) suggest that the ancestors of the Ilama culture from the northwest in the period 4050 to 2050 BC. Were immigrated.

Due to the acidity of the soil, there are only a few skeleton finds to be recorded, so it is very difficult to get an idea of ​​the culture carriers themselves. What remains are ceramic remains that were found in the El Topacio and El Pital sites . As excavations confirm, the people of the Ilama phase built their dwellings mainly on ridges above rivers and springs. Around the year 1000 BC Already very numerous, but scattered settlements formed usually quite concentrated, rural village communities. Not only the precipitous slopes on the Cordillera Occidental towards the Pacific were settled, but also the lower, drier and warmer Cauca Valley. During the Ilama phase, however, the settlement structures did not yet reveal a process of concentration that would indicate a kind of socio-political centralization.

Golden funeral mask of the Ilama culture, 5th to 1st century BC Chr.

The livelihood of the Ilama phase was primarily arable farming , which was supplemented by collecting and hunting . Mainly corn , cassava , kidney beans and various types of vegetables were grown . Old fields were abandoned when the soil was exhausted and new areas were then cultivated.

The pottery occupied a prominent position in the llama phase. The ceramic was decorated with incised patterns and attachments; Geometric patterns were painted on with red and black, vegetable-based paints. Mythical beings from Ilama cosmology or animals such as jaguars , snakes , crocodiles and bats are often represented in figures . Particularly beautiful pieces come from graves that were laid underground as shaft or chamber graves, but were not visible on the surface.

The dead were buried near the dwellings, sometimes inside. The rectangular, 1.5 to 2 meter deep shafts had a side chamber in which the deceased were buried in an outstretched position with their heads twisted to the side. Numerous vases and other ceramic objects served as grave goods.

In the metal processing , the llama-blacksmiths were familiar with the basic fusion and also knew the bustle of workpieces and relief engravings. They used gold and copper and their alloys such as B. Tumbaga . Mainly ritual objects such as masks , necklaces (with, for example, chain links from human-animal hybrid beings, combination human-crocodile) and breast plates were produced. Gold processing began towards the end of the Ilama phase. Compared to later sections of the Calima culture, the finds are still relatively rare, although they far exceed the very sparse finds in the Tierradentro and the San Agustín culture .

Yotoco phase

Distribution area of ​​the Yotoco phase

The Yotoco phase or Yotoco culture followed in the 1st century BC. Chr. On the Ilama phase and shows its further development. From the 3rd century there was a coexistence with the parallel developing Sonso culture . From the 6th century onwards , the Yotoco culture experienced a sharp decline and - due to the penetration of new tribes - finally fell into disrepair in the 13th century .

The distribution area of ​​the Yotoco culture was almost identical to that of the Ilama phase, minor expansions were made towards the Pacific coast and at higher altitudes of the Cordillera. The settlement forms from the Ilama phase were practically adopted, the only innovation was the construction of terraces . The frequent clearing suggests an increase in the population. There was also continuity in agriculture and the same fruit plants were grown, plus arakacha , annatto and calabashes . The expansion into lower areas brought about a new cultivation technique (the so-called Waru-Waru technique ), which consisted of a system of drainage channels and raised beds to protect against flooding .

The yotoco phase impresses with its ceramics. Vases, bowls, plates, pots, saucepans, drinking mugs, kantharoi , swing-top vessels and urns were made. The same procedures were used in the decoration as in the Ilama phase. The anthropomorphic and zoomorphic vases are remarkable. The multiple finds of hybrid figures with carnivores or so-called alter egos as well as geometrically executed masks also show a close relationship with the San Agustín culture and the Tumaco-La-Tolita culture .

Golden headdress of the Yotoco culture, 1st to 7th century AD. Depicted is a cosmological hybrid human-crocodile-bird

Metal processing is also a continuation of the Ilama tradition. Processing methods were forging and embossing , as gold sheets were predominantly used. The sheets were often cut round and then given different motifs. The objects made from gold and tumbaga included figurines, tiaras, earrings, nose jewelry, (anthropomorphic) breast plates, bracelets and bangles, pliers and masks. With the lost wax process z. B. very elaborate masks and trailers made. The technique of granulation found its application in necklaces and their chain links, rings and cubes.

As in the Ilama phase and in the Tumaco-La-Tolita culture , the tombs were underground, but showed much richer grave goods, in particular finely crafted works of art made of gold as well as personal jewelry, weapons and other equipment. The finds are very similar to the descriptions from the 16th century of the splendor of the tribal princes (caciks) of that time and thus prove the increase in power of the Yotoco rulers.

The period from 500 to 800 AD brought with it great social upheavals, which are noticeable in new styles in ceramics and metal processing.

Sonso phase

Distribution area of ​​the early phase of the Sonso culture ( Sonso Temprano )

The early stage of the Sonso phase ( Spanish Sonso Temprano ) began around 500 AD and lasted until 1200 AD. The later phase ( Sonso Tardio ) ended with the conquest by the Spanish in 1535 . The distribution area of ​​the Sonso phase had increased compared to its predecessors, on the one hand further downstream on the Río Calima to the confluence of the Río San Juan, on the other hand in the valley of the Río Cauca between Amaime and the mouth of the Río La Vieja .

The Sonso phase shows no continuity with the Ilama and Yotoco cultures, neither in the cultural nor in the anatomical context. Comparisons of teeth demonstrate the fundamental difference between the two cultures. It is assumed that the culture carriers of the Sonso phase in the period 50 BC. And 450 AD immigrated from the south.

The art objects of the Sonso culture, which from 500 AD gradually began to replace the Yocoto culture, were of a lower level of craftsmanship and much less iconographic in their execution. It is quite possible that gold jewelry was no longer reserved for the upper class.

The extremely rich burials of the Yotoco phase also decreased dramatically during the Sonso phase. For this purpose, cemeteries were created, which were created on the slopes below the settlements. The deceased, wrapped in blankets and fastened to the burial chamber with ropes, were buried with their heads facing east. The shafts were 4 to 6 meters deeper and consisted of a frontal chamber from which several side niches branched off. Children were often second buried in urns . Only in a very few cases were wooden sarcophagi found.

Distribution area of ​​the late phase of the Sonso culture ( Sonso Tardio )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Drennan, RD: Chiefdoms of Southwestern Colombia . In: Handbook of South American Archeology . 2008, p. 381-401 .
  2. ↑ a b Rodríguez-Flórez, Carlos David and Colantonio, Sonia: Tumbas, served y cultura: 2,500 años de microevolución y los orígenes de las sociedades prehispánicas en la región arqueológica calima de Colombia, Sur America . In: Antropo . tape 30 , 2013, p. 13–31 ( ehu.es [PDF]).
  3. ^ A b Cardale de Schrimpff, M .: The People of the Ilama Period . In: Cardale de Schrimpff - Calima and Malagana (Ed.): Art and Archeology in Southwestern Colombia. Pro Calima Foundation . Lausanne 2005.
  4. ↑ Cardale de Schrimpff, M .: Cazando animales en el bestiario cosmológico: el cocodrilo en el suroeste de Colombia y en regiones vecinas del Ecuador (800 AC a 500 DC) . In: Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Études Andines . tape 35 (3) , 2006, pp. 409-431 .
  5. ↑ a b Rodriguez, CA: El Valle del Cauca prehispánico: procesos socioculturales antiguos en las regiones geohistoricas del alto y medio Cauca y la costa pacífica Colombo-Ecuatoriana . Editorial Universidad del Valle, Fundación Taraxacum, Santiago de Cali 2002.
  6. ↑ a b Rodríguez, CA: Alto y medio Cauca prehispánico . In: Colección Colombia antigua . tape 1 . Editorial Syllaba Press, Fundación Taraxacum, Santiago de Cali 2007.
  7. ↑ a b Bray, W. et al .: Lords of the Marshes: the Malagana People . In: Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff (Ed.): Calima and Malagana. Art and Archeology in Southwestern Colombia . Bogotá-Lausanne, Pro Calima, 2005, p. 140-201 .
  8. ↑ Cardale, M., Bray, W., Gahwiler-Walder, T. and Herrera, L .: Calima: diez mil años de historia en el suroccidente de Colombia . Editorial Fundación ProCalima, Bogotá 1992.

literature

  • Rodríguez, Carlos Armando: Tras las huellas del hombre prehispánico y su cultura en el valle del Cauca . Ed .: Instituto Vallecaucana de investigaciones científicas INCIVA, Fundación hispanoamericana de Cali, Embajada de España en Colombia. Cali 1992.