﻿Vol.2] 
  ARCHEOLOGY 
  OF 
  COLOMBIA 
  — 
  BENNETT 
  825 
  

  

  form 
  reasonably 
  effective 
  barriers. 
  Although 
  large 
  intermont 
  basins 
  

   are 
  lacking, 
  many 
  small 
  pockets 
  of 
  habitable 
  land 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  each 
  

   of 
  the 
  altitude 
  zones. 
  East 
  of 
  the 
  Magdalena 
  River, 
  the 
  Cordillera 
  

   Oriental 
  runs 
  from 
  south 
  to 
  north, 
  then 
  curves 
  eastward, 
  skirts 
  the 
  

   Maracaibo 
  Basin, 
  and 
  extends 
  well 
  across 
  Venezuela. 
  Although 
  sim- 
  

   ilar 
  in 
  many 
  ways 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  mountain 
  ranges, 
  it 
  contains 
  a 
  series 
  

   of 
  extensive, 
  high, 
  intermont 
  basins 
  in 
  the 
  Departments 
  of 
  Cundina- 
  

   marca 
  and 
  Boyaca. 
  These 
  large 
  basins 
  provide 
  the 
  optimum 
  con- 
  

   ditions 
  in 
  Colombia 
  for 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  Andean 
  culture 
  pattern 
  

   and 
  were 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  Chibcha 
  civilization. 
  Finally, 
  the 
  isolated 
  

   Sierra 
  Nevada 
  de 
  Santa 
  Marta 
  is 
  of 
  considerable 
  archeological 
  interest 
  

   because 
  of 
  the 
  ancient 
  village 
  sites 
  found 
  there, 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  the 
  environment 
  seems 
  in 
  no 
  way 
  superior 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  sections. 
  

  

  In 
  Colombia, 
  the 
  mountain 
  section 
  has 
  a 
  double 
  rainy 
  season 
  during 
  

   the 
  year, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  uplands 
  between 
  10,000 
  feet 
  (about 
  3,050 
  m.) 
  and 
  

   the 
  snow 
  line 
  are 
  classified 
  as 
  paramo, 
  or 
  cold 
  wet 
  rain 
  forests. 
  This 
  

   type 
  of 
  environment 
  is 
  not 
  particularly 
  conducive 
  to 
  the 
  llama 
  and 
  

   alpaca 
  herding 
  so 
  important 
  in 
  the 
  Central 
  Andes. 
  The 
  Colombian 
  

   topography 
  likewise 
  effectively 
  isolated 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  cultural 
  units. 
  

   Not 
  only 
  are 
  the 
  mountain 
  ranges 
  high 
  but 
  the 
  contrasting 
  altitude 
  

   zones 
  act 
  as 
  barriers 
  against 
  too 
  much 
  shifting 
  from 
  one 
  section 
  to 
  

   another. 
  Distance 
  is 
  still 
  another 
  factor 
  of 
  isolation. 
  

  

  Except 
  for 
  the 
  large 
  intermont 
  basins 
  of 
  the 
  Cordillera 
  Oriental, 
  

   agricultural 
  land 
  was 
  largely 
  limited 
  to 
  the 
  mountain 
  slopes. 
  Since 
  

   the 
  slopes 
  are 
  forest-covered, 
  the 
  slash-and-burn 
  type 
  of 
  clearing 
  must 
  

   have 
  been 
  as 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  today. 
  Throughout 
  the 
  Co- 
  

   lombian 
  Andes 
  many 
  pockets 
  of 
  fertile 
  soil 
  are 
  available 
  for 
  this 
  type 
  of 
  

   cultivation, 
  but 
  there 
  are 
  but 
  few 
  areas 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  large 
  population 
  

   could 
  be 
  concentrated. 
  The 
  extensive 
  fiats 
  of 
  the 
  Cauca 
  River 
  valley 
  

   might 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  exception, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  these 
  were 
  apparently 
  so 
  

   swampy 
  and 
  so 
  covered 
  with 
  coarse 
  grass 
  that 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  uti- 
  

   lized 
  by 
  digging-stick 
  agriculturists. 
  

  

  The 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  archeological 
  sites 
  confirms, 
  in 
  part, 
  this 
  environ- 
  

   mental 
  analysis. 
  For 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  evidence 
  for 
  

   large, 
  concentrated 
  settlements. 
  The 
  extensive 
  stone 
  villages 
  of 
  Santa 
  

   Marta 
  are 
  notable 
  exceptions, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  still 
  a 
  possibility 
  that 
  further 
  

   exploration 
  in 
  the 
  Chibcha 
  area 
  will 
  reveal 
  more 
  extensive 
  habitation 
  

   sites. 
  Elsewhere, 
  however, 
  the 
  standard 
  pattern 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  isolated 
  

   house 
  sites 
  or 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  houses 
  grouped 
  reasonably 
  near 
  to 
  each 
  other. 
  

   Graves 
  may 
  be 
  located 
  near 
  the 
  house 
  platforms, 
  or 
  may 
  be 
  grouped 
  

   into 
  irregular 
  cemeteries. 
  This 
  absence 
  of 
  large 
  villages 
  and 
  cem- 
  

   eteries 
  has 
  been 
  an 
  obstacle 
  to 
  comprehensive 
  archeological 
  investi- 
  

   gation. 
  Another 
  handicap 
  to 
  archeological 
  exploration 
  is 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  the 
  pre-Columbians 
  rarely 
  used 
  nonperishable 
  materials, 
  such 
  as 
  

   stone 
  or 
  adobe, 
  in 
  their 
  construction 
  work, 
  although 
  exceptions 
  are 
  

  

  