Tairona
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The Tairona were a precolumbian civilization in the region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the present-day Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America which goes back to the 1st century AD and showed documented growth around in the 11th century. The Tairona people formed one of the two principal groups of the Chibcha and were pushed into submarginal regions by the Spanish conquest. The indigenous Kogi people who live in the area today are direct descendants of the Tairona.
Knowledge sources about the precolumbian Tairona civilization are limited to archaeological findings and a few written references from the Spanish colonial era. A major city of the Tairona and archaeological site is today known as Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for "Lost City"), it was discovered by treasure hunters in 1975. The Tairona are known to have built terraced platforms, house foundations, stairs, sewers, tombs, and bridges from stone. Use of pottery for utilitarian and ornamental/ceremonial purposes was also highly developed.
The Tairona civilization is most renown for its distinctive goldwork. The earliest known Tairona goldwork has been described for the Neguanje Period (from about 300AD to 800AD) and its use within the Tairona society appears to have extended beyond the elite. The gold artifacts made comprise pendants, lip-plugs, nose ornaments, necklaces, and earrings. Gold cast Tairona figure pendants (known as "caciques") in particular stand out among the goldworks of precolumbian America because of their richness in detail. The figurines depict human subjects - thought be noblemen or chiefs - in ornate dresses and with a large animal mask over the face. Many elements of their body posture (e.g., hands on their hips) and dress signal an aggressive stance and hence are interpreted by some as evidence for the power of the wearer and the bellicose nature of Tairona society at that time.
At the time of the conquest, the Tairona Indians are known to have had traditional cultural practices, including freedom to divorce and acceptance of homosexuality, that differed significantly from their Catholic conquerers. In his book, We Say No, Eduardo Galeano writes that the Tairona Indians "rose in defense of their sexual customs" in 1599 and that 80 Tairona communities were "virtually exterminated" by the resulting repression.
External links and references
- Information from the Tairona Heritage Trust
- Tairona. (2006). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 14, 2006
- Jeffrey Quilter and John W. Hoopes, Editors, 2003: Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia
Categories
Articles to be expanded | Pre-Columbian cultures | Indigenous peoples of South America | Indigenous peoples in Colombia