Calima culture (200 BCE–400 CE) is a series of
pre-Columbian cultures from the
Valle del Cauca in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
.
["Calima Darién Archaeological Museum: 10,000 Years of History."]
''Colombia''. (retrieved 1 Dec 2011)
The four societies that successively occupied the valley and make up Calima culture are the Ilama, Yotoco, Sonso, and
Malagana culture
Malagana, also known as the Malagana Treasure is an Archaeological sites in Colombia, archaeological site of Colombia named after a sugarcane estate (house), estate where it was accidentally discovered in 1992. During the few days after its discove ...
s.
[
The Calima Darién Archaeological Museum and the Calima Gold Museum feature artifacts from the Calima culture.][
]
Ilama culture
By 1500 BCE the Ilama culture, the first Agricultural-Pottery society, appeared along the Calima River, near the present day towns of Restrepo and Darien. Its society had a social structure of ''Cacicazgos'' (chiefdoms) that prevailed until the arrival of the Spaniards. The economy of Ilama was based on textile weaving, metallurgy, hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Yuca and beans were primary crops. The Chief or Cacique
A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
was the leader of the settlement. Other occupations were shamans, warriors, farmers, hunters, pottery men, and goldsmiths. Their ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...
were typically red and black, featuring religious imagery.[
]
Yotoco culture
By 100 CE the Ilamas developed into the Yotoco Culture, which expanded their territory further into the Cauca River and the Pacific Ocean and to the south to the region of what is now the city of Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
.
The Yotocos prevailed in the region until 1200 CE and were a highly stratified society headed by caciques, which managed several settlements. The population had increased, forcing them to develop effective agricultural techniques to feed its population which also improved the techniques on pottery and metal works. They created polychrome ceramics and introduction of hammered goldware.[ The agriculture of the Yotocos was more varied than that of the Ilamas and was based on maize, ]yuca
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennia ...
, beans
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
, arracacha, achiote
''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub or small tree native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide.
The plant is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also calle ...
among others. The Yotoco started declining in the 6th century CE.
Sonso culture
Sonso culture (500–1200 CE) flourished during the Late Period I. Population increased, government became more centralized. Sonso culture was marked by fewer ceramic styles, and their goldware was mixed with copper and cast.[
]
Malagana culture
The primary archaeological site for Malagana culture is Malagana. Dating from 300 BCE to 300 CE, the site was discovered in 1992, and an estimate four tons of artifacts were looted from it in a matter of days."Hallazgo arqueológico en el estadio del Deportivo Cali ."
''El Dorado Colombia.'' (retrieved 1 Dec 2011) This culture produced fine, burnished ceramics, predominantly white or terra cotta in color. Ocarina
The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...
s, large bottles, and alcarrazas, double spout and bridge vessels, become common.[
]
References
External links
Calima culture artwork
, National Museum of the American Indian
The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Calima culture
{{authority control
Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean
Indigenous peoples in Colombia
Prehistory of Colombia