Quimbaya culture
The Quimbaya culture was a pre-Columbian archaeological civilization in Colombia . It existed from around the 6th century BC. Chr. Up to the conquest by the Spanish . She became famous for her goldsmithing .
etymology
The Quimbaya culture or Quimbaya civilization, also spelled Quimbayá culture, was named after the Quimbaya tribe. The city of the same name Quimbaya in the Quindío department got its name from the culture.
Geographical distribution
The Quimbaya culture was established on the middle reaches of the Río Cauca , roughly coinciding with the present-day departments of Quindío , Caldas and Risaralda .
Timeframe
No reliable data are available about the beginning of the Quimbaya civilization, but the period between the 6th and 1st century BC is generally assumed. Chr. Assumed what the outgoing period Formative Colombia's equivalent. Civilization reached its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. This creative period is also known as the Quimbaya Classic . After the cultural decline around 1000 AD, the archaeological complexes of Middle Cauca (1000 to 1200 AD) and Caldas (1000 to 1535 AD) emerged.
The Museo del Oro in Bogotá divides the Quimbaya culture into two phases based on the gold work:
- Late Quimbaya - AD 600/700 to AD 1600
- Early Quimbaya - 500 BC Chr. To 700 AD
Way of life
Favored by a temperate climate, the Quimbayas primarily farmed crops based on maize and cassava , plus avocados , guavas and legumes such as those of the Inga genus . They were also excellent beekeepers and went fishing . The hunting was of great importance and provided them with meat - hunting animals were other possums , tapir , armadillo , fox and peccaries , such as bone finds show.
The Quimbaya civilization, built up from a large number of tribal communities, was hierarchical and based on a division of labor. In addition to caciques , shamans and priests who acted as tribal chiefs , there were also warriors, potters, goldsmiths and traders. It is assumed that the society was headed by a total of around 100 caciques, each cazicazgo in turn comprised 200 tribes.
The forms of settlement in the Middle Cauca Complex emerged from individual village communities. During this time, the deceased were buried in shaft graves with side chambers. In the Caldas complex, however, the dead were buried in urns .
In general, the Quimbayas believed in survival or resurrection after death. Their graves were varied and adapted to the respective circumstances. In order to make their journey in the afterlife easier for the dead , they were given ample grave goods, such as B. Food, personal jewelry and sacred objects, but also weapons. Most of the rich gold finds come from grave goods.
The mining occupied a very important position in the Quimbaya civilization. Above all , gold extracted from river soaps was mined. The processes used to obtain it were already advanced for their time.
In addition to metal processing, textile production based on cotton was also of a high standard. Mostly cotton blankets were woven, but these were not preserved due to the climatic conditions.
The Quimbayas also had trade relations with neighboring peoples. Raw gold, goldsmith's work, textiles and salt obtained by boiling river water were exchanged . Gold had to be imported because the company's own supplies were limited.
cannibalism
It is believed that the Quimbayas followed the cannibalistic practice of anthropophagy . So far, however, only one confirmed case has become known. The motive behind these practices is deterrence or revenge on enemies and a simultaneous incorporation of their life force. What is certain is that the Quimbayas displayed the impaled skulls of killed enemies as trophies in the assembly area. During the Spanish conquest, they intensified this custom to instill fear in their opponents.
Works of art
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The Quimbaya civilization created art objects from gold and tumbaga . Since the raw material gold was scarce in their territory, the Quimbayas developed alloys with copper and, secondarily, silver . The alloy of gold with copper is known as tumbaga. By adding copper, the pieces of jewelry were largely preserved in their original state.
Typical Qimbaya goldsmiths' work contains around 40–54% gold, 33–50% copper and 4–14% silver.
The most common are anthropomorphic figures, which usually depict men or women in a sitting, meditative-looking posture. Frequent creations are also vegetable fruits and the so-called poporos . In the latter a lime powder was kept, which was taken with the help of a small needle during the ritual chewing of coca leaves .
Most of the gold finds have so far been made among the grave goods, which were usually stowed in hollowed-out wooden sarcophagi. Gold had a very high, almost sacred position among the Quimbayas and was, so to speak, a "free ticket" for posterity.
The gold figures were mainly made by melting or using the lost wax process. They are characterized by their clean lines and smooth, polished surfaces. Spherical motifs predominate in the natural-looking depictions of people and animals.
Mysterious finds
Among the numerous gold artefacts, pieces emerged that were previously referred to as Pájaros del Otún ( Spanish: pájaro = bird) after their location in Río Otún in Risaralda . Including a possible flying fish or shark , which proponents of pre-astronautics interpret as an airplane .
Spanish conquest
The Spanish conquest of the Quimbaya area began in 1539. In the following years, the natives were forced to serve within the encomendia economy . In response, the first Quimbaya Rebellion broke out in 1542, followed by a second and much more extensive uprising in 1577 . The indigenous population has been steadily losing weight since contact with the Spaniards; so in 1559 only 45% of the original Cazicazgos were left . Forced labor, malnutrition, internment and the war of the Pijaos against the Spaniards decimated the Quimbayas to such an extent that in the area where 20,000 tribes lived in 1539, only 69 tribes were counted in 1628.
literature
- Carmen Huera, Estella Ocampo, Luis Monreal y Tejada: Afrique, Amerique, Asie . In: Histoire universelle de l'art . tape III . Larousse, 1989. ISBN 2-03-505213-3 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Juan Friede: Los Quimbayas bajo la dominación española . 2nd Edition. Carlos Valencia Editores, 1973, Bogotá 1963.
- ^ Enora Gault: El hombre y el animal en la Colombia prehispánica . In: Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino . 17, Nº 1, 2012, p. 11-30 .
- ↑ H. Arsandaux, P. Rivet: L'you orfèvrerie Chiriqui et de Colombie . In: Journal de la Société des Américanistes . tape 14-15 , 1922, pp. 169-182 .