﻿THE 
  ARCHEOLOGY 
  OF 
  COLOMBIA 
  

  

  By 
  Wendell 
  C. 
  Bennett 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  The 
  archeological 
  past 
  of 
  Colombia 
  (map 
  1, 
  No. 
  19) 
  is 
  a 
  subject 
  of 
  

   great 
  importance 
  to 
  all 
  scholars 
  interested 
  in 
  the 
  problems 
  of 
  migra- 
  

   tions 
  and 
  contacts 
  between 
  Middle 
  and 
  South 
  America, 
  since 
  the 
  

   location 
  of 
  this 
  country 
  in 
  the 
  northwest 
  corner 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  American 
  

   continent 
  makes 
  it 
  an 
  inevitable 
  link. 
  Land 
  migrants, 
  proceeding 
  

   southward 
  through 
  the 
  Isthmus 
  of 
  Panama, 
  would 
  be 
  led 
  back 
  into 
  

   the 
  Andes 
  via 
  the 
  north-to-south 
  Atrato, 
  Cauca, 
  and 
  Magdalena 
  

   Rivers 
  or 
  diverted 
  eastward 
  following 
  the 
  Andean 
  range 
  which 
  curves 
  

   into 
  Venezuela. 
  The 
  archeology 
  of 
  Colombia 
  should 
  ultimately 
  fur- 
  

   nish 
  a 
  record 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  earliest 
  hunting 
  nomads 
  to 
  the 
  

   latest 
  exchanges 
  between 
  the 
  more 
  advanced 
  civilizations. 
  This 
  

   would 
  be 
  true 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  event 
  that 
  many 
  elements 
  of 
  higher 
  civil- 
  

   izations 
  originated 
  in 
  South 
  America 
  and 
  spread 
  northward 
  from 
  

   there. 
  

  

  Colombia 
  is 
  likewise 
  of 
  interest 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  marginal 
  position 
  to 
  

   the 
  complex 
  cultures 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  Andes. 
  Elsewhere, 
  a 
  detailed 
  

   picture 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  Andean 
  pattern 
  has 
  been 
  obscured 
  by 
  the 
  highly 
  

   developed 
  political 
  organization 
  of 
  the 
  Inca. 
  Since 
  that 
  Empire 
  

   extended 
  only 
  slightly 
  north 
  of 
  Ecuador, 
  the 
  Colombian 
  cultures 
  might 
  

   be 
  considered 
  representative 
  of 
  Andean 
  development 
  before 
  the 
  period 
  

   of 
  Inca 
  dominance. 
  

  

  The 
  Chibcha 
  of 
  Colombia 
  are 
  generally 
  considered 
  to 
  represent 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  major 
  centers 
  of 
  higher 
  civilization 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World, 
  and, 
  fur- 
  

   thermore, 
  archeological 
  remains 
  elsewhere 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  present 
  

   evidence 
  of 
  considerable 
  technical 
  advancement 
  in 
  the 
  arts 
  and 
  crafts. 
  

   Consequently, 
  Colombian 
  archeology 
  is 
  a 
  field 
  of 
  interest 
  in 
  itself 
  irre- 
  

   spective 
  of 
  its 
  potential 
  contribution 
  to 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  

   Andes 
  and 
  to 
  problems 
  of 
  migration 
  and 
  cultural 
  contact 
  between 
  

   the 
  higher 
  civilizations 
  of 
  Middle 
  and 
  South 
  America. 
  

  

  Finally, 
  Colombia 
  may 
  well 
  have 
  been 
  an 
  important 
  center 
  for 
  con- 
  

   tacts 
  between 
  the 
  Andean 
  civilizations 
  and 
  the 
  Amazonian 
  cultures. 
  

   The 
  Eastern 
  Cordillera 
  extends 
  from 
  Colombia 
  into 
  Venezuela 
  and 
  

  

  823 
  

  

  