History of the Tairona who lived in the Lost City in Colombia
The Tairona Society
Approximately 1,800 years ago, the ancestors of the society we now know as the “Tairona” began settling the lowlands of the Caribbean coast, between the Ciénaga Grande and the Palomino River, also building small settlements on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Until just a few years ago, we knew very little about this period, commonly referred to as “Neguanje” or “Buritaca,” and its relation to the societies that the Spanish encountered in the 16th century. However, recent archaeological research in the sites of Bahía Chengue –Tairona Park–, Pueblito –Tairona Park–, and Teyuna or Ciudad Perdida has uncovered habitation sites of these early settlers, buried under the terraces of earth and stone from the Tairona period (1000 to 1600 AD).
During this period, from around 200 AD to 1000 or 1100 AD, habitation sites were characterized by villages ranging from four to ten hectares with circular domestic structures, some of which already had rudimentary stone retaining walls. The few funeral structures excavated by archaeologists from this period indicate the presence of different social groups within the population. Funeral goods, including thousands of carnelian, nephrite, and jadeite bead necklaces, along with ear ornaments, bracelets, and nose rings made of gold, have been found in the tombs from the Neguanje period.
By the 11th or 12th century, the stone villages of their descendants began to spread across the northern face and southeastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, marking the beginning of one of the most fascinating and least studied societies of South America. In 1948, when the Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo anchored in the bay of Santa Marta, more than 250 Tairona settlements stretched from the bays along the Caribbean Sea up to 2,700 meters in altitude, with a population that may have exceeded 250,000 inhabitants, scattered across an area of about 5,000 square kilometers on the northern and southwestern slopes of the Sierra. In addition to the settlements, some of which exceeded 100 hectares, between the 12th and 15th centuries, extensive networks of stone roads were built to connect them, along with irrigation channels, cultivation terraces, and water drainage systems.
Although it is common to refer to this entire population as “Tairona,” the social and political organization that the Spanish encountered in the region at the beginning of the 16th century was truly complex. While there seems to have been a certain linguistic unity, and the shared stone architecture and cultural materials suggest a high degree of sociocultural cohesion, the settlements, grouped in various ways, functioned as politically independent units. That is, we know that by the 16th century, some leaders extended their political power over other settlements and had under their command lower-ranking leaders, thus controlling large territories or “provinces,” as the Spanish called them. However, it appears that no single leader had control over the entire population or all the territory. This indicates a complicated sociopolitical landscape where different leaders likely competed with one another to extend their influence through alliances, feasts, trade, and occasional skirmishes, which led to fluctuating political power and authority.
With the founding of the city of Santa Marta between 1525 and 1526, what had until then been small-scale commercial expeditions in Tairona territory became a colonizing enterprise driven by the Spanish Crown. Throughout the 16th century, various governors unsuccessfully attempted to subdue the population, convert them to Christianity, and dominate the territory, but they only managed to control the area immediately surrounding the small colony of Santa Marta and some coastal towns. The settlements located deeper in the Sierra were always beyond their control. Overall, the 16th century was marked by intense periods of conflict followed by years of calm and the restoration of peaceful trade relations between the indigenous people and the Spanish. Viewed this way, the Spanish colonial effort in Santa Marta was a profound failure, as they never succeeded in establishing permanent settlements in the Sierra or dominating its population. The Spanish control over the area was so limited that some Tairona leaders managed to establish trade relations with English and French pirates, exchanging pieces of gold for weapons – armor, halberds, swords, daggers, and muskets – steel tools – machetes and axes – and European wines. By acquiring these exotic goods, the leaders enhanced their prestige and political authority.
The slow but steady abandonment of the large Tairona settlements throughout the 16th century was likely due to multiple factors that significantly impacted the indigenous population. In addition to the constant internal conflicts and those with the Spanish colonists, the introduction of new diseases, such as typhus, influenza, and smallpox, led to cyclical epidemics that decimated the population. While exact figures for the Sierra Nevada are unavailable, various studies have shown that by around 1570, the indigenous population in different parts of the New World had declined by an average of 80 percent, and documents from the region frequently mention the appearance of plagues. The frequency and severity of these diseases prevented the population from recovering, causing severe problems in the indigenous social structure that hindered its reproduction.
On the other hand, although their effects are often exaggerated, the punitive campaign of 1599 – 1600, led by the newly arrived governor Juan Guiral Belón, succeeded in defeating the Tairona population living near Santa Marta. That year, the indigenous peoples of Bonda, Macinga, and Jeriboca revolted against the insistence on converting them to Christianity and demanding tribute payments to the Crown. The initial uprising cost the lives of three missionary friars sent to convert them, at least thirty more Spaniards, including some women and children, and an undetermined number of African slaves and indigenous servants. The Spanish retaliation was swift; Guiral Belón pursued the political leaders responsible for the uprising, capturing and executing them, thus subduing the indigenous villages closest to Santa Marta. Meanwhile, those who survived the retribution were scattered in nearby encomiendas and were prohibited from reestablishing settlements in the highlands of the Sierra Nevada.
Despite this display of force, the Spanish settlers never managed to establish permanent settlements in the Sierra Nevada in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the forest slowly overtook the great Tairona villages. It is presumed that the indigenous population that survived migrated to areas outside colonial control.
The effective indigenous resistance and the limited penetration of the Spanish into their territories during the 16th century meant that, unlike other areas of South America, there are no detailed descriptions of their society and daily life. However, a summary of the most reliable descriptions and archaeological research presents a highly hierarchical society, with political and religious leaders, specialized potters, goldsmiths, and stone carvers, and what appeared to be a warrior elite.
Documents from the early 16th century describe the indigenous people of the region as particularly careful about their personal appearance, making body adornment and aesthetics extremely important. Men wore nose rings and gold ear ornaments, lip adornments – bezotes – and semi-lunar pectorals, as well as necklaces with beads made of shell, bone, teeth, carnelian, crystal quartz, jasper, emerald, nephrite, and chalcedony. Featherwork was also highly valued, with birds being raised specifically for their feathers to create crowns, mantles, and vests, or to set them in gold ornaments or turn them into flowers.
The chroniclers also agree that, aside from these bodily adornments, clothing for both men and women was quite simple. It is mentioned that men usually went naked, except for a penis cover made of shell or a cotton mantle draped over their shoulders. Women wore cotton mantles around their waists or shoulders to cover themselves, along with large quantities of beads around their necks, calves, ankles, and wrists. Documents highlight that the mantles were made from finely woven cotton, dyed in various colors and/or designs, and those worn by higher-ranking individuals were also decorated with feathers and beads of gold and stone.
The villages were surrounded by fields of corn, cassava, beans, and fruit orchards, as well as small vegetable gardens with chili and medicinal plants inside the settlements. Spanish chroniclers also mention beekeeping using clay pots as containers for the hives, and the use of wax to cast gold pieces. In the coastal villages, fishing and salt collection were especially important activities, as fish were dried and salted to be taken to the highlands of the Sierra as exchange goods.
Excerpt from the Visitor’s Guide to the Teyuna Archaeological Park – Ciudad Perdida by the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH).