Timoto–Cuica people were an

indigenous people of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

composed primarily of two large tribes, the Timote and the Cuica, that inhabited in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

region of Western

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.Mahoney 89 They were closely related to the

Muisca people The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan ...

of the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

n Andes, who spoke Muysccubun, a version of

Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...

. The Timoto-Cuicas were not only composed of the Timote and the Cuica groups, but also of smaller tribes including the Mucuchíes, the Miguríes, the Tabayes and the Mucuñuques.

Culture and society

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Venezuela had an estimated indigenous population of one million, with the Andean region being the most densely populated area. The two groups lived in what are today the states of Mérida, Trujillo and

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

. Most scholars agree that the Timoto-Cuicas arose as a distinct tribal group, with the Timotes and the Cuicas as the main components of largely the same identity. They possessed advanced technology and thrived as a civilization much more developed than the nomadic tribes further east. The Timotes were mostly present in the area of today’s Mérida state in Venezuela, the mountainous Andean region, with the sub-group of Cuicas living slightly to the north, in the llano plains. The chief characteristic of the Timoto-Cuicas culture was their focus on agriculture, primitive industry and trade. They focused heavily on the terraced cultivation system, by creating irrigated platforms on the hillsides of the region – a system often seen in the Andean civilizations. Society was complex with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks. Their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part and depended on growing crops. Regional crops included potatoes and ullucos.Venezuela
''Friends of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum''. (retrieved 9 July 2011) By creating large ‘steps’, reinforcing them with stone and irrigating them with a system of channels, they managed to succeed in creating an efficient agricultural system. This skillful method of cultivation allowed the Timoto-Cuicas to grow an abundance of vegetables – the earliest sources mention the growing of potatoes and corn, as well as beans, sweet yucca and several indigenous plants: cassava, mecuy, quiba, guaba and agave. They left behind works of art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing.

Gallery

Placa de los Nikitaos y carámica de los Kuikas.jpg, Plaque and ceramics of the Nikitao and Cuica tribes Momia de los Isnumbíes.jpg, Mummy from the Isnumbí people, Diocesan Museum of Mérida Habitación de los indios.jpg, Room of the natives of

Apartaderos Apartaderos is a small Andean town in Mérida State, Venezuela. Located at an altitude of , it is the highest town in Venezuela, surrounded by páramo vegetation, the town has tourism facilities such as restaurants, gift shops and small hotels. ...

Indios Mucuchíes.jpg, Mucuchí people, who were part of the Timoto tribe Indias Mucuchíes.jpg, Mucuchí women Mucuchíes de Misteke.jpg, Mucuchí people from Misteke, Venezuela

References

Bibliography

* Mahoney, James
"Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish American in Comparative Perspective."
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. .

External links

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De los timoto-cuicas a la invisibilidad del indigena andino y a su diversidad cultural
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Timoto-Cuica People Indigenous peoples of the Andes Indigenous culture of the Americas Indigenous peoples in Venezuela Pre-Columbian cultures Extinct ethnic groups