This article describes the economy 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 l ...

were the original inhabitants 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 ...

, the high plateau 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 Le ...

of central present-day Colombia. Their rich economy and advanced merchant abilities were widely known by the indigenous groups of the area and described by the Spanish conquistadores whose primary objective was the acquisition of the mineral resources of ''Tierra Firme'';

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

. The Muisca economy was self-sufficient regarding the basic supplies, thanks to the advanced technologies of the agriculture on raised terraces by the people. The system of trade was well established providing both the higher

social classes A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, income ...

and the general population abundances of gold, feathers, marine snails, coca, yopo and other

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to ...

. Markets were held every four to eight days in various settlements throughout the

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanish ...

and special markets were organised around festivities where merchants from far outside the Andes were trading their goods with the Muisca. Apart from agriculture, the Muisca were well developed in the production of different crafts, using the raw materials traded with surrounding indigenous peoples. Famous are the golden and ''tumbaga'' objects made by the Muisca. Cotton mantles, cloths and nets were made by the

Muisca women This article describes the role of women in the society of the Muisca. The Muisca are the original inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense (present-day central Colombian Andes) before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca in the first h ...

and traded for valuable goods, tropical fruits and small cotton cloths were used as money. The Muisca were unique in South America for having real coins of gold, called ''tejuelos''. Mining was an important source of income for the Muisca, who were called "The Salt People" because of their salt mines in

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 ...

, Nemocón 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 ...

. Like their western neighbours, the

Muzo Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muz ...

-who were called "The Emerald People"- they mined

s in their territories, mainly in

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. ...

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes ...

was found throughout the region of the Muisca in

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

sediments and used for the fires for cooking and the production of salt and golden ornaments. As the clear objective of the Spanish colonisers was to gain access to the rich mineral resources and the golden figures made by the Muisca, many primary accounts of the Muisca economy have been considered biased, misinterpreted or even outright false by later scholars. Pedro de Aguado,

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 ...

, Juan de Castellanos, Juan de los Barrios, first conquistador

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 nam ...

and many others have written about the economy of the Muisca. Later research, in many cases nuancing or even refuting the scriptures of the early Spanish writers, has been conducted by

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.

, Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff, Sylvia Broadbent, Jorge Gamboa Mendoza, Javier Ocampo López and others.

Background

In the times before the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of diff ...

, the central part of present-day Colombia; the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian

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 ...

was inhabited by the Muisca who were organised in a loose confederation of rulers. The central authorities of

Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of ...

in the south and Hunza in the north were called ''

zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...

'' and ''

zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...

'' respectively. Other rulers were the ''

iraca The ''iraca'', sometimes spelled ''iraka'',Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.12, p.77Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85 was the ruler and high priest of Sugamuxi in the confederation of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the central hig ...

'' priest in sacred City of the Sun Sugamuxi, the ''

Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a ''cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the Colo ...

'' of

and various other ''

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 ...

s'' (chiefs). The Muisca spoke Chibcha, in their own language called ''Muysccubun''; "language of the people". The Muisca, different from the other three great civilizations of the Americas; the

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 popu ...

Aztecs 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 ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl l ...

, and

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admi ...

, did not build grand stone

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 buildings ...

, yet their settlements were relatively small and consisted of ''bohíos''; circular houses of wood and clay, organised around a central market square with the house of the ''cacique'' in the centre. Roads were present to connect the settlements with each other and with the surrounding indigenous groups, of which the Guane and Lache to the north, the

Panche The following purported languages of South America are listed as unclassified in Campbell (2012), Loukotka (1968), ''Ethnologue'', and ''Glottolog''. Nearly all are extinct. It is likely that many of them were not actually distinct languages, only ...

and

to the west and Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua to the east were the most important. The Muisca were polytheistic and 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 ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

was closely connected with the natural area they were inhabiting. They had a thorough understanding of astronomical parameters and developed a complex luni-

solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar ...

; the Muisca calendar. According to the calendar they had specific times for sowing, harvest and the organisation of festivals where they sang, danced and played music and drank their national drink

chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post- Spanish conquest periods, corn beer ('' chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize ...

in great quantities. The Muisca

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

the most respected members of their community and the mummies were not buried, yet displayed in their

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, in natural locations such as caves and even carried on their backs during

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

to impress their enemies. Their

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

is the most famous remnant of their culture, as living spaces, temples and other existing structures have been destroyed by the Spanish who colonised the Muisca territories. A primary example of their fine goldworking is the Muisca raft, together with more objects made of gold, ''tumbaga'', ceramics and cotton displayed in the Museo del Oro in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

, the ancient capital of the southern Muisca.

Muisca economy

Accounts of the Spanish conquistadores show the Muisca had a highly advanced and specialised economy based on a variety of sources of income. The main foundation of their economy was the agricultural development using raised terraces on the fertile plains and valleys of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. The ''caciques'' did not control the production directly although surpluses were distributed among them.Kruschek, 2003, p.12 Excavations at the

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 ...

'' El Infiernito'' did not provide evidence of a power structure based on economical differences.Langebaek, 2005, p.291 Social complexity and advanced status of economies are often measured based on the specialisation in craft production. The specialised crafts form an economical advantage and sign of social prestige over competing communities. This has been theorised in the case of the Muisca economy, yet certain research restricted to the Bogotá area has found little evidence to support that thesis. Explanations for the lack of archaeological evidence on wealth differences and relations between higher social classes and wealth have been given in the form of methodological issues, ethnohistorical exaggerations by the Spanish looking for gold and sampling issues.Kruschek, 2003, pp.231-239 The biased views of the Spanish on the Muisca economy and other characteristics of the Muisca society have been noted by various scholars and in recent years a re-examination of those primary accounts has been conducted, among others by Jorge Gamboa Mendoza.Gamboa Mendoza, 2016 All the 16th century Spanish chroniclers agree upon the trading advantage the Muisca had. One of them was Juan de los Barrios who wrote that the Muisca men were traders (''hipa'' in the

Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/), or Muysca de Bogotá, was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Muisca inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense ...

) and extremely able in such matters; "The Muisca were so sharp in their dealings that no other Indian could equal them in matters of such dazzling ingenuity".Francis, 1993, p.48 The early Spanish writers have reported that the Muisca paid tribute to other ''caciques''. It has been suggested, for instance by

, that those "tributes" were a misinterpretation of the Spanish. The Chibcha verb "to give, to present" was ''zebquisca'' and the word for "to give" was ''zequasca'', ''zemnisca'' or ''zequitusuca''.Francis, 1993, p.55

Agriculture

Agriculture was the main source of income for the Muisca who were generally self-sustaining due to the fertility of the soils of the Altiplano, especially on the Bogotá savanna. The fertility originates from the lake deposits, the result of 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 ...

Lake Humboldt that existed until around 30,000 years BP and which remnants are still visible today; the various lakes and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

(''humedales'') of the Altiplano. Other prehistorical and historical lakes were present in the other valleys of the high plateau; the Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley,

Iraka Valley The ''iraca'', sometimes spelled ''iraka'',Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.12, p.77Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85 was the ruler and high priest of Sugamuxi in the confederation of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the central ...

and the

Tenza Valley The Tenza Valley ( Spanish: ''Valle de Tenza'') is an intermontane valley in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The valley stretches over the southeastern part of the department of Boyacá and the northeastern part of Cundinamarca. ...

. When the lakes dried up, they left leveled fertile soils which were used by the Muisca to cultivate a large variety of crops, mainly

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes t ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, a ...

and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...

es.Francis, 1993, p.34Francis, 1993, p.36 The fertility of the Bogotá savanna was enhanced by the deposition of

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

volcanic ashes.Kruschek, 2003, p.216 Fruits were cultivated in

and Subachoque.Restrepo Manrique, 2012, p.37 The highest population density was related to the richest agricultural lands, mainly on the Bogotá savanna. To ensure a subsistence economy, the Muisca irrigated their lands and varied their cultivation over different climatic zones. The geography of the area allowed for micro-ecological regions providing farmlands on the fertile plains and in higher altitude terrains such as mountain slopes. Quinoa and potatoes (''

Solanum tuberosum The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

'') were cultivated on the highest altitudes, maize and

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...

in the temperate regions and yuca, arracacha,

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

and

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 p ...

in the low-lying valleys with a warmer climate.Los muiscas - actividades económicas
/ref> Additionally, ''

Cucurbita maxima ''Cucurbita maxima'', one of at least five species of cultivated squash, is one of the most diverse domesticated species. This species originated in South America from the wild subspecies ''Cucurbita maxima subsp. andreana'' over 4,000 years ago ...

'', ''

Oxalis tuberosa ''Oxalis tuberosa'' is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua, oca in Spanish, yam in New Zealand and a number of other alternative names. The plant was brought into cult ...

'' (oca), '' peppers'' and ''

Ullucus tuberosus ''Ullucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Basellaceae, with one species, ''Ullucus tuberosus'', a plant grown primarily as a root vegetable, secondarily as a leaf vegetable. The name ''ulluco'' is derived from the Quechua word , b ...

'' were cultivated by the Muisca.Delgado Burbano et al., 2014, p.104 The surplus of the agricultural production was available for trading on the many markets throughout the Muisca territories. In the northern areas of Vélez, Surubá and Hunza, the topographical variability allowed for the cultivation of

and yuca and later sugarcane. The dramatic variations in temperature and rainfall together with the irrigation from the rivers Suárez, Chicamocha, Opón and Carare provided a sophisticated and diverse economic system.Francis, 1993, p.37 Irrigation canals and raised terraces were built throughout the area, important ones 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 o ...

, Chocontá,

Tocancipá Tocancipá () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Tocancipá is situated in the northern part of the Bogotá savanna, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Easte ...

and

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department ...

.Cultura Muisca
The favourable climate of the lower altitude areas, such as the Valley of

Tena TENA is a Swedish-based brand of Essity that specializes in products for adults with urinary or fecal incontinence, such as pads and diapers. TENA also produces a youth diaper brand for teenagers and larger children. The company has offices ...

, allowed for two maize harvests a year, while on the cooler Bogotá savanna only one harvest per year was possible.Argüello García, 2015, p.127

Hunting and fishing

The Muisca obtained most of their meat and fish by hunting and fishing. The many rivers and lakes on the Altiplano provided rich resources in fish, especially the lakes Fúquene and Tota. Hunting and fishing were activities performed by the Muisca men, while the

cared for the sowing, cloth production and ceramics elaboration.Ocampo López, 2007, p.214 Domestication of

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 ...

s started already in the

Herrera Period The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. The Herrera ...

around 500 BCE. Evidence for this has been discovered at Tequendama IV among other sites.Correal Urrego, 1990, p.86

Mining

The territories of the Muisca contained rich mineral resources of various kinds.

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

was mainly extracted in

, Nemocón and

with minor mining activity in Sesquilé, Gámeza, and

Guachetá Guachetá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Ubaté Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Guachetá is located at from the capital Bogotá. It borders the Boyacá municipalities of Ráquira and Samacá in the north, Ubaté and ...

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

s were mined in

, Coscuez and Ubalá.Francis, 1993, p.35

exploitation was executed in Sugamuxi, Tópaga and Gámeza. Copper mining took place in Gachantivá, Moniquirá and Sumapaz. Gold and

deposits were not common in the Muisca area and mostly obtained through trade.Ocampo López, 2007, p.210 The mining of emeralds was conducted using ''coas'', long thick wooden poles. The people dug holes during the rainy seasons next to the emerald-containing rocks and the emeralds from sedimentary rocks would wash into the holes that dried up and provided the clean emeralds. Emeralds from veins in

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, cau ...

s were excavated using sharp poles. Carbon was a common resource in the Muisca territory and was found mainly in the

and Guaduas Formations. The process of exploitation was similar to the emeralds, using pointed wooden sticks.

Production

Apart from agriculture and mining, production was an important economic activity of the Muisca. Raw materials for the production of

en and ''

tumbaga ''Tumbaga'' is the name for a non-specific alloy of gold and copper given by Spanish Conquistadors to metals composed of these elements found in widespread use in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica in North America and South America. The term is believe ...

'' objects,

cloths and

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, porcelai ...

s were mostly traded with neighbouring indigenous groups, or the result of extraction within the Muisca Confederation, such as clays from the many rivers on the Altiplano.

Ceramics

The Muisca were notable for their ceramics production and major production was located close to rivers and lakes. The surroundings of Lake Fúquene formed a principal place for ceramics production, especially in Ráquira and Tinjacá. The Spanish called the people from this region "Pottery People".Ocampo López, 2007, p.211 Other important clay and ceramic producing settlements were Soacha,

Cogua Cogua () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is situated on northern part of the Bogotá savanna with the urban centre at an altitude of at from the capital Bogotá. Cogua borders Tausa in the north, ...

, Guatavita,

Gachancipá Gachancipá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Guatav ...

and

on the Bogotá savanna and Tutazá, Ráquira,

Sutamarchán Sutamarchán is a town and municipality in the Ricaurte Province, part of the department of Boyacá of Colombia. Sutamarchán is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the department capital Tunja. It borders Santa Sofía in the no ...

(Boyacá) and Guasca and

Suesca Suesca is a town and municipality in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, north of the capital Bogotá. Suesca forms the northern edge of the Bogotá savanna and ...

to the north of the flat plains.Ocampo López, 2007, p.212Francis, 1993, p.39 The production of pottery was the task assigned to the Muisca women who produced various ceramics such as

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

vases, cups and mugs, the typical bowls called ''múcura'', pans, the large pots for salt extraction (''gacha'') and jars with two, four or six holds. The pots were decorated with colourful paints and stylilised serpent or

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

figures.

Goldworking

Most famous were the Muisca for their goldworking. The majority of historical artefacts in the world are made of gold and ''tumbaga'', a copper-gold-silver alloy. Gold was not common in the Muisca territories as a primary resource and was obtained through trade. The primary site for goldworking was Guatavita, close to the

sacred lake Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. ...

which shares its name, Lake Guatavita. A range of objects was made of the precious minerals; crowns, nose rings, pectorals, earrings, diadems, '' tunjos'' (small anthropomorphic or zoomorphic offer pieces), brooches, scepters, coins (''tejuelo'') and tools. To produce their objects, the people used melting pots, torches and ovens. The ''tumbaga'' was poured into heated stone moulds filled with beeswax to elaborate the desired figures. The heat would melt the wax and leave space for the gold to replace it. The advanced techniques produced highly stylilised figures.

Weaving

The weaving was performed by the women and used the cotton cultivated in the warmer climates, traded for salt or ceramics. Wooden spindles and clay rolls were used to perform the weaving of braided or tied cloths and mantles. Also nets were made of cotton. Needles were made of gold or bone. The cloths were painted black, red and other colours with clay rollers and pencils. As paint the Muisca women used indigo, woodlice (purple),

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...

(gold), plants of the '' acanthus'' family and '' Bocconia frutescens'' (orange) and other natural inks.

Trade

Early chronicler Juan de Castellanos noted that the Muisca were "more traders than fighters". Trading was performed using salt, small cotton cloths and larger mantles and ceramics as

barter trade In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distin ...

.Francis, 1993, p.44 Also flat dishes made of gold were used as coins. These ''tejuelo'' were plain round disks of , or diameter. ''Tejuelo'' have been found in

Guayatá Guayatá is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Guayatá is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at distances of from the department capital Tunja and from the national ca ...

in the

. This monetary system using coins was unique among the South American indigenous peoples.Daza, 2013, p.26 Every four days markets were active in

, Hunza,

and

Turmequé Turmequé is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Turmequé is located at northeast from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Ventaquemada in the west, in the ...

.Ocampo López, 2007, p.215Cultura Muisca - Comercio y Arte
/ref> Other important market settlements were Chocontá, Pacho,

, Funza and

.Los Muiscas
- Pueblos Originarios According to

, the Muisca held markets every eight days.Daza, 2013, p.25 Sorocotá, along the Suárez River was a major market town for trade with the Guane where gold from Girón and the Carare River area was traded for emeralds from Somondoco. Also tropical fruits that didn't grow on the high plateau in the Andes were sold here. The town of La Tora, present-day Barrancabermeja, was important for trade with the Caribbean coast and the major source for the highly regarded marine snail shells, elaborated with gold by the Tairona.Ocampo López, 2007, p.216 Trade with the lowland people of the

Llanos Orientales The Llanos ( Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grassland ...

happened along

trade routes A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sin ...

across the Eastern Ranges. The crossings over rivers were made with ropes. Products as yopo, bee wax and honey, cotton, fish and fruits were traded with the Llanos peoples Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua.Francis, 1993, p.46 Also the precious colourful feathers of exotic birds, used for the Muisca crowns were traded with the Llanos, that provided animal skins such as

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

s for the hats of the ''caciques'' as well. While archaeological evidence suggests the trade was mainly inside the Muisca terrain, the low preservation degree of certain objects may well have biased that conclusion.Kruschek, 2003, p.14 The cotton, important for the weaving of mantles both for clothing on the relatively cold Altiplano, came from northern and eastern regions. The northern circle of trade was centered around Sugamuxi and Tundama and the eastern trade dominated by the markets in Teusacá, Chocontá and Suesca. Coca trade concentrated in the north around Motavita and Chitagoto as well as

Soatá Soatá is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia. Soatá is located on the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range, at the northeast end of the Department of Boyacá. It is the capital of the Northern Boyacá P ...

.Francis, 1993, p.40 The merchants from Paipa would travel the from the city to Soatá to buy coca which was sold again on the market in Tunja, to the south.Francis, 1993, p.43 At certain times according to the Muisca calendar, the people organised bigger markets during their festivities where people from farther away would come and trade their products. One of the most important of those ''ferias'' were held close to the banks of the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much o ...

, to the west of the Muisca territories in

and

terrains. Here, gold and tropical fruits as

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Pre-Columb ...

es, guayabas, ice cream beans, star apples and various members (

guanabana Soursop (also called ''graviola, guyabano'', and in Hispanic America, ''guanábana'') is the fruit of ''Annona muricata'', a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is wi ...

, chirimoya and others) of the ''

Annona ''Annona'' (from Taíno ''annon'') is a genus of flowering plants in the pawpaw/ sugar apple family, Annonaceae. It is the second largest genus in the family after '' Guatteria'', containing approximately 166

'' family were obtained, traded for mantles, emeralds and salt. Other big festivity markets were organised in Coyaima, on the banks of the Saldaña River and close to

Neiva Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly ...

, area of the

Pijao The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia. Ethnography The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Columbian time ...

Colonial period

Soon after the arrival of the Spanish, a system of

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

was installed in the

New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada ( es, Nuevo Reino de Granada), or Kingdom of the New Granada, was the name given to a group of 16th-century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Royal Audience of Santa ...

, as Colombia was called after 1537, where the ''caciques'' of the Muisca settlements were forced to pay tributes to the Spanish every six months.Segura Calderón, 2014, p.37 The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into intensive agriculture and mining that created a change in the landscape and culture of the Muisca.Martínez & Manrique, 2014, p.102 The indigenous inhabitants were forced to work the farmlands and mines for the Spanish, who imported slaves from Africa in addition to the Muisca labour.Martínez & Manrique, 2014, p.103 The European settlers used the Muisca economy, where gold was exchanged for cotton, salt, emeralds, mantles and other products to avoid paying the ''quinta real'' tax to the Spanish crown, which was based on gold. Where the first settlers required the Muisca chiefs to pay their tributes to the new reign in gold, later payments were done using the replacement products that were then changed to gold at the markets of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

and Mariquita.Francis, 1993, p.41 In 1558, 20 years after the victory of the Spanish conquistadores over the Muisca, a letter to the Spanish crown revealed that more than 11,000 pesos were lost per year in evaded tax payments due to the system of trade via other products than gold.Francis, 1993, p.42

Modern age

Remaining of the Muisca economy in the present are the many markets throughout central Colombia, the emerald mining (Colombia is the most productive country worldwide of the green

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several ...

gemstone, producing 70-90% of their finest quality ones) and the elaboration of cloths and pottery. Collection of Muisca economical products are displayed in the famous Gold Museum in Bogotá, the Archaeology museum of

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 ...

, the

Colombian National Museum The National Museum of Colombia ( es, Museo Nacional de Colombia) is the National Museum of Colombia housing collections on its history, art, culture.People and gold
- Museo del Oro

References

Bibliography

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