Checua is a

preceramic Aceramic is defined as "not producing pottery". In archaeology, the term means "without pottery". Aceramic societies usually used bark, basketry, gourds and leather for containers. It is sometimes used to refer to a specific early Neolithic period ...

open area

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 ...

in Nemocón, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The site is located north of the town centre.Gómez Mejía, 2012, p.146 At Checua, thousands of stone and bone tools, stone flakes and human remains have been found, indicating human occupation from around 8500 to 3000 years BP. Main archaeologist for Checua is

Ana María Groot Ana María Groot de Mahecha (Bogotá, 29 August 1952) is a Colombian historian, archaeologist, anthropologist and associate professor at the Department of Anthropology of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Ana Mariá Groot speaks Spanish, Engl ...

, who published the results of her research in 1992.Groot de Mahecha, 1992

Background

The Altiplano Cundiboyacense has been inhabited at least since 12,500 years ago. The first human settlers migrated via the

Darién Gap The Darién Gap (, , es, Tapón del Darién , ) is a geographic region between the North and South American continents within Central America, consisting of a large watershed, forest, and mountains in Panama's Darién Province and the norther ...

from Central America to South America and led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They populated the rock shelters of the high plateau in the Andes, then still with abundant

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 ...

as '' Cuvieronius'', '' Haplomastodon'', '' Equus amerhippus'' and giant sloths. During this

phase, the population shifted from rock shelters to open area settlement, of which Galindo and Checua are among the oldest. A later site in Soacha, Cundinamarca; Aguazuque is comparable to Checua. During the second millennium before present, the population increased and settlements became bigger. This is evidenced in the findings at the

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

of Nemocón.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.7

Description

Geology

Checua is located in a valley of the

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 Alt ...

and its geology is determined by the Andean orogeny. Checua lies in the middle of a rich

halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, ...

area, with salt mines in Nemocón,

Zipaquirá Zipaquirá () is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Cogua and Nemocón to the north; Tocancipá to the east; Tabio, Cajicá and Sopó to the south; and Subachoque and Pacho ...

and

Tausa Tausa () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Ubaté Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Tausa is and was an important town on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense due to its salt mine. It was the third most prolific salt deposit fo ...

surrounding the site. The sedimentary sequence consists of the oldest outcropping units of the Villeta Group of

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pr ...

age. This sequence is followed by the sandstone formations of the Guadalupe Group,

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

in age. Overlying the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Creta ...

section is the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

Guaduas Formation. Due to the Andean tectonic movements, most of the Tertiary section is eroded or non-deposited and the Guaduas Formation is overlain by the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological 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 finally confirmed ...

Sabana Formation.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.11

Climate

The climate of the area around Checua is constant throughout the year with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum of . The yearly precipitation varies from to , mostly in short erosional showers. The winds can be strong and aid the erosive process of the water.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.12

Vegetation

The vegetation was of a lower altitude dry forest type with native species '' Dodanae viscosa'', ''

Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are ...

sp.'', ''

Prunus capuli ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the ...

'', '' Xilosma speculiferum'', '' Duratana mutissi'', ''

Lupinus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

sp.'', dividivi (''Tara spinosa''), ''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

sp.'', '' Hesperolemes heterophyla'' and fique (''Agave sp.'').Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.13

Stone tools

The Checua site has been divided into nine stratigraphical units of sands and clays.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.17 More than 1750 lithic tools have been found in the units, with a highest frequency in units 4 and 5b. They mostly consist of scrapers and knives. Furthermore, 2820 stone flakes, interpreted as materials to build tools have been discovered, with a highest frequency in unit 8.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.28

Bone tools

Various bone tools have been found in Checua. The type is very similar to those found at Aguazuque and

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 popula ...

. Apart from tools, also a

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

made from bone has been uncovered. This bone flute was discovered in stratigraphic unit 5b at a depth of .Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.56

Tooth enamel

Dating of the

tooth enamel Tooth enamel is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the crown. The other major tissues are denti ...

of one of the remains, using Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), provided an age of 7850 ± 190 years BP.Sandoval & Almanza, 2012, p.251 Using the same method, in 2014 another tooth enamel was analysed, providing an age of 5021 ± 202 years BP.Carvajal et al., 2014, p.128

Human occupation phases

Analysis of the various stratigraphic levels and the tools found, led to the identification of four zones of human occupation within a total time span of 5500 years (6500–1000 years BCE).Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.61 The first zone, dated to about 8500 to 8200 years BP, contains mostly scrapers and perforators used for the elaboration of meat and animal skins. The second zone of occupation, lasting from about 8200 to 7800 years BP, consists of various burial sites.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.64-77 Here, also scrapers and perforators were found, together with the main ingredients of the

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of the people; white tailed deer and

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.66 In this zone, the bone flute has been unearthed.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.76 The third level corresponds to the seventh stratigraphical unit where many bone fragments were found. The unit has been compared to Aguazuque for dating at around 5000 years BP, possibly lasting till 4000 years BP.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.80 As is the case with Aguazuque, the fourth and uppermost zone has been disturbed by modern agricultural activities and the presence of glass indicates contamination with postcolonial influence. A top age for the sequence has not been provided, but an occupation until 3000 years BP is suggested.Groot de Mahecha, 1992, p.83

References

Bibliography

* * * *