Muisca architecture
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This article describes the architecture of the Muisca. The
Muisca 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 langu ...
, inhabiting the central highlands 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 Car ...
n
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 ...
(
Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alti ...
and the southwestern part of that the
Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Range ...
), were one of the four great civilizations of the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
. Unlike the three civilizations in present-day
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
(the
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
,
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
, and the
Incas The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) wa ...
), they did not construct grand
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
of solid materials. While specialising in
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and gold-working, cloths and ceramics, their architecture was rather modest and made of non-permanent materials as wood and clay. Evidence for the Muisca architecture relies on archaeological excavations performed since the mid 20th century. In recent years larger areas showing evidence of the Early Muisca architecture have been uncovered, the biggest of them in
Soacha , image_map = Colombia - Cundinamarca - Soacha.svg , map_caption = Location of Soacha in Cundinamarca , pushpin_map = Colombia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_nam ...
, Cundinamarca. All of the original houses and temples have been destroyed by the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
conquerors and replaced with
colonial architecture Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...
. Reconstructions of some houses (''bohíos'') and the most important temple in the
Muisca religion Muisca religion describes the religion of the Muisca people, Muisca who inhabited the central highlands of the Colombian Andes before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca. The Muisca formed a Muisca Confederation, confederation of holy Muisca ruler ...
; the
Temple of the Sun A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around th ...
in
Sogamoso Sogamoso () is a city in the department of Boyacá of Colombia. It is the capital of the Sugamuxi Province, named after the original Sugamuxi. Sogamoso is nicknamed "City of the Sun", based on the original Muisca tradition of pilgrimage and ador ...
, called Sugamuxi by the Muisca, have been built in the second half of the 20th century. Notable
scholars A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...
who have contributed to the knowledge about the Muisca architecture are
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...
, who made the first contact with the Muisca, early 17th century
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
s
Pedro Simón ''Fray'' Pedro Simón ( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain, 1574 - Ubaté, New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a Spanish franciscan friar, professor and chronicler of the indigenous peoples of modern day Colombia and Venezuela, at the time for ...
and
Juan de Castellanos Juan de Castellanos (March 9, 1522 – November 1606)Jua ...
later bishop
Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1624, Bogotá – March 29, 1688) was a Spanish Neogranadine Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Panamá (1676–1688) ''(in Latin)'' and the Bishop of Santa Marta (1668–1676).Arzobispo de Pa ...
and modern
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s Eliécer Silva Celis, Sylvia Broadbent,
Carl Henrik Langebaek Carl Henrik Langebaek Rueda ( Bogotá, 1961) is a Colombian anthropologist, archaeologist and historian. He has been contributing on the knowledge of archaeological evidences, especially the Herrera Period and the Muisca.
and others.


Background

The Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the high plateau in the Colombian Andes, has been inhabited for at least 12,400 years, with the earliest evidence in
El Abra El Abra is the name given to an extensive archeological site, located in the valley of the same name. El Abra is situated in the east of the municipality Zipaquirá extending to the westernmost part of Tocancipá in the department of Cundinamar ...
,
Tibitó Tibitó is the second-oldest dated archaeological site on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia.Tequendama Tequendama is a preceramic and ceramic archaeological site located southeast of Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia, a couple of kilometers east of Tequendama Falls. It consists of multiple evidences of late Pleistocene to middle Holocene populati ...
. During this era, the
paleoclimate Paleoclimatology (British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth's history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important to ...
and
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
and
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
were different from today. It was the end of the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
, when
stadial Stadials and interstadials are phases dividing the Quaternary period, or the last 2.6 million years. Stadials are periods of colder climate while interstadials are periods of warmer climate. Each Quaternary climate phase is associated with a Ma ...
s and
interstadial Stadials and interstadials are phases dividing the Quaternary period, or the last 2.6 million years. Stadials are periods of colder climate while interstadials are periods of warmer climate. Each Quaternary climate phase is associated with a Ma ...
s intercalated and the
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s in the
Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leagu ...
were advancing and retreating. When the first
hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
s arrived from the north (the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
coast and earlier from
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
), they encountered still the
Pleistocene megafauna Pleistocene megafauna is the set of large animals that lived on Earth during the Pleistocene epoch. Pleistocene megafauna became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event resulting in substantial changes to ecosystems globally. The role of hu ...
on the highlands; ''
Cuvieronius ''Cuvieronius'' is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere, named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. Alive, specimens typically stood about tall at the shoulder, weighed about and would have superficially resembled a modern elephant ...
'', '' Stegomastodon'', ''
Haplomastodon ''Notiomastodon'' is an extinct proboscidean genus of gomphotheres (a distant relative to modern elephants) endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. ''Notiomastodon'' specimens reached a size similar to t ...
'' and ''
Equus andium ''Amerhippus'' is an extinct South American horse of uncertain taxonomic identity. It is sometimes classified as a subgenus of the genus '' Equus'', containing several extinct species of horses that lived in South America, or a single, morpholog ...
'' in particular. During this time and age, as is evidenced in
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
excavations at various sites on the Altiplano, the people lived in caves and rock shelters. The prehistorical period was followed by the Herrera Period, commonly dated at 800 BCE to 800 CE. It was in this era that the agricultural advancement, that started in the latest preceramic times, caused a change towards population of the plains, away from the caves and rock shelters. This also led to an increase in population which was modest in the early Herrera Period and more pronounced towards the end of it; the start of the Muisca Period at around 800 CE. Further population growth and a more stratified society is observed in archaeological analysis of the Late Muisca Period, from 1200 CE onwards. The first contact with the Muisca happened in 1537 by the troops of
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
and explorer
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...
and his brother Hernán.


Muisca architecture


Houses and settlements

The houses of the Muisca, called ''bohíos'' or ''malokas'', were circular structures made of poles of wood and walls of clay, with a conical reed roof. A long beam of wood supported the roof in the centre of the round structure and was attached to the wooden poles. The interior of the roof was decorated with cloths with thin strokes of different colours. On the floor fine straw was placed. Some ''bohíos'', probably those of the ''
cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...
s'' had
ceramic 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, porcelain ...
floors, as evidenced by findings in
Mosquera Mosquera is a Spanish surname (first name) originally from Galicia (Spain). The family crest states (Spanish) Gallego. It derives from the mansion of the family's founder, Ramiro de Mosquera. In the fifth century, it was already linked to ''Moscos ...
. This was atypical for the Muisca houses. Although the Spanish chroniclers have reported "great populations" of the Muisca territories, the people lived in small settlements, described by the Spanish conquerors as "dispersed homesteads". As the Maya people, the Muisca related the smaller settlements with their effective
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. Houses on the Bogotá savanna were built on slightly elevated areas to prevent them from floodings of the various rivers, humedales and swamps, characteristic of the area. Each community had their own farmlands and hunting grounds surrounding their houses. The houses were constructed around a central square with the house of the ''cacique'' in the centre. Two or more "gates" in the ''cercado'' (enclosure) gave access to the village. The exact number of houses in the villages remains unclear and requires more archaeological work. De Quesada described villages of 10 up to 100 houses. The Late Muisca Period, commonly defined as 1200-1537, is characterised by denser population and larger communities, especially in
Suba Suba may refer to: Groups of people *Suba people (Kenya), a people of Kenya **Suba language *Suba people (Tanzania), a people of Tanzania * Subha (writers), alternatively spelt Suba, Indian writer duo Individual people *Suba (musician), Serbian- ...
and Cota with more dispersed housing in the vicinity. Excavations in the Las Delicias neighbourhood of Bogotá, on an alluvial terrace of the Tunjuelito River in 1990, exposed six circular structures of in diameter, which is slightly smaller than living spaces found in other areas, e.g. in
Facatativá Facatativá is a city and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, located about 18 miles (31 km) northwest of Bogotá, Colombia and 2,586 meters above sea level. The city is known for its Archaeological Park Piedras del Tunjo (Rocks ...
(). The occupation of these houses has been dated from the start of the Muisca Period until the colonial period. The living space was occupied in two stages, starting from 950 BCE, followed by a next phase dated at 750 BCE. The dating has been done based on carbon, taken from the floors of the area. Ceramics, animal bones, swindles, seeds and jewellery has been found in this location too. Archaeologist Silva Celis uncovered in 1943 housing structures in Soacha with four different temporal levels with indications of population in the form of ash deposits from fires and animal bones. Various scholars agree that the housing of the Muisca was egalitarian; little differentiation between the living spaces of the ''caciques'' and the lower-class people has been found, especially in Soacha.Kruschek, 2003, p.180Henderson & Ostler, 2005, p.149 It has been described -by
Pedro Simón ''Fray'' Pedro Simón ( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain, 1574 - Ubaté, New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a Spanish franciscan friar, professor and chronicler of the indigenous peoples of modern day Colombia and Venezuela, at the time for ...
among others- that at the entrance posts of the houses of the ''caciques'' human sacrifice remains were hanging and the posts smeared with blood from the victims, who were regarded as sacred when they were young boys (''moxas'') or captured from neighbouring indigenous groups. Archaeological evidence from Mosquera supported this thesis.


Roads

The roads of the Muisca people were unpaved, which makes it hard to identify them in archaeological excavations. Some of the roads were trade routes, with the eastern neighbours ( Llanos Orientales), in the north with the
Guane people The Guane were a South American people that lived mainly in the area of Santander and north of Boyacá, both departments of present-day central-Colombia. They were farmers cultivating cotton, pineapple and other crops, and skilled artisans worki ...
and in the west with the Panche and Muzo, others were sacred routes. Examples of holy roads, used for pilgrimages, were found in
Guasca Guasca is a Colombian town and municipality in the Guavio Province, part of the Cundinamarca Department located approximately 55 km from Bogotá passing through the town of La Calera, Cundinamarca or 65 km passing through Sopó. Guas ...
and Siecha. Routes communicating Muisca territories with
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
producing areas ran through
Somondoco Somondoco is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. This town and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the Llanos ...
and Súnuba. The roads crossing the mountains surrounding the Altiplano were narrow, making it more difficult for the Spanish conquistadores to cross them, especially with horses. Once they reached the open terrains of the Bogotá savanna, movement became easier.


Temples

The Muisca, as part of their
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, built various temples throughout their territories. The most sacred were the Sun Temple in
Sugamuxi Sugamuxi (died 1539) was the last '' iraca''; ''cacique'' of the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times be ...
and the Moon Temple in Chía. The Sun Temple was built to honour
Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the deity, god of the Sun in the Muisca religion and mythology, religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía (goddess), Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca people, Muisca and their Mu ...
, the Sun god of the Muisca, and the Moon Temple was honouring his wife, Chía. Also notable was the
Goranchacha Temple The Goranchacha Temple (Spanish: ''Templo de Goranchacha'') is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The temple is named after the mythologic ...
, according to Muisca myths built by
Goranchacha Goranchacha was a mythical ''cacique'' who was said to have been the prophet of the Muisca of South America, in particular of the '' zacazgo'' of the northern Muisca Confederation. He is considered the son of the Sun, impersonated by the Sun god ...
. On one of the islands in
Lake Fúquene Lake Fúquene is a heart-shaped lake located in the Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, in the north of Cundinamarca, Colombia, at the border with Boyacá. The Andean lake, at an average altitude of , was consider ...
there had been a temple with grand decoration and 100 priests, as described by De Piedrahita.Casilimas, 1987, p.135 Pedro Simón noted that the temples were built with wood from the ''
guayacán ''Guaiacum'' (''OED'' 2nd edition, 1989.Entry "guaiacum"
in
Lake Guatavita Lake Guatavita (Spanish: ''Laguna Guatavita'') is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes in the municipality of Sesquilé in the Almeidas Province, Cundinamarca department of Colombia, northeast of Bogotá, the capital of ...
,
Lake Iguaque Lake Iguaque is a lake located in the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The lake and the surrounding area was declared a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary in 1977. Geography and climate Lake Iguaque is located northeast of Villa de Leyva and is part of ...
,
Lake Tota Lake Tota ( es, Lago de Tota) is the largest lake in Colombia, located in the east of Boyacá department, inside the Sugamuxi Province, it is the source of the Upia River which flows into the Orinoco River basin. The major town on the lake is A ...
,
Lake Fúquene Lake Fúquene is a heart-shaped lake located in the Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, in the north of Cundinamarca, Colombia, at the border with Boyacá. The Andean lake, at an average altitude of , was consider ...
,
Lake Suesca Lake Suesca is a natural water body situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, belonging to the municipalities of Suesca and Cucunubá in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. The basin has a semi-elliptical shape that extends on a north–s ...
and the
Siecha Lakes The Siecha Lakes are three glacial lakes located in the Chingaza Natural National Park in Cundinamarca, Colombia. The Andean lakes are considered sacred in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the area before the Spanish conquest of the Mu ...
, the Muisca constructed some places where religious ceremonies were held, such as the
Cojines del Zaque The ''Cojines del Zaque'' (English: "Cushions of the ''Zaque''") is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The ''cojines'' are two round stones us ...
and the
Hunzahúa Well The Hunzahúa Well (Spanish: ''Pozo de Hunzahúa'') is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The well is named after the first ''zaque'' of Hunza ...
, both in
Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
, present-day Tunja. As an exception to the wood-and-clay structures of the houses and temples of the Muisca people, allegedly one of their structures had been made of stone; the fortress of Cajicá, just north of present-day Bogotá. The structure is described with walls of thick and high, but modern scientists have cast doubt on the structure and if it existed in the
pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...
.


Post-conquest

The first construction of post-conquest architecture took place shortly after De Quesada had conquered the city of Bacatá, later called Santafe and known as the capital Bogotá in modern age. At the location of present-day
Teusaquillo Teusaquillo is the 13th locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in the geographic center of the city, to the northwest of downtown Bogotá. This district is inhabited by middle and upper class residents. It is an urbanized locality ...
, twelve houses and a church in the style of the Muisca -with wood and clay- had been constructed. It was a general policy of the Spanish, eased by the non-permanent architecture of the Muisca, that existing structures would be taken down and replaced by Spanish colonial architecture.


Reconstructions

Reconstructions of Muisca ''bohíos'' and the most important temple of Sogamoso, are displayed in the
Archaeology Museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as ...
in Sogamoso. This work has been done in the early stage of archaeological research on the Altiplano, in the 1940s. Eliécer Silva Celis was the architect and archaeologist involved in the reconstructions. Archaeological work has been hindered by the constant expansion of the capital Bogotá in which vicinity and territory many ancient structures were built. An archaeological expedition of 2002 proved that within months the previously unoccupied
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
was already covered with construction.Kruschek, 2003, p.56


See also

*
Muisca art This article describes the art produced by the Muisca. The Muisca established one of the four grand civilisations of the pre-Columbian Americas on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in present-day central Colombia. Their various forms of art have bee ...
*
Incan architecture Inca architecture is the most significant pre-Columbian architecture in South America. The Incas inherited an architectural legacy from Tiwanaku, founded in the 2nd century B.C.E. in present-day Bolivia. A core characteristic of the architectur ...
*
Maya architecture Maya architecture spans several thousands of years, several eras of political change, and architectural innovation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Often, the buildings most dramatic and easily recognizable as creations of the Ma ...
* Muisca agriculture *
Aztec architecture Aztec architecture is a late form of Mesoamerican architecture developed by the Aztec civilization. Much of what is known about it comes from the structures that are still standing. These structures have survived for several centuries because of ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Native american styles Pre-Columbian architecture Buildings and structures in Boyacá Department Buildings and structures in Cundinamarca Department