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Muisca agriculture

April 17, 2023

The Muisca agriculture describes the agriculture of the Muisca, the advanced civilisation that was present in the times before the Spanish conquest on the high plateau in the Colombian Andes; the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. The Muisca were a predominantly agricultural society with small-scale farmfields, part of more extensive terrains. To diversify their diet, they traded mantles, gold, emeralds and salt for fruits, vegetables, coca, yopo and cotton cultivated in lower altitude warmer terrains populated by their neighbours, the Muzo, Panche, Guane, Guayupe, Lache, Sutagao and U'wa. Trade of products grown farther away happened with the Calima, Pijao and Caribbean coastal communities around the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

The Bogotá savanna, location of the agricultural fields of the Muisca
Maize was the main agricultural product for the Muisca
Avocados are a sub-tropical fruit, traded with indigenous neighbours who inhabited cooler areas
After the conquest of the Muisca lands, barley was introduced quickly and grew well on the fertile highlands
The cubio; a tuber cultivated in the higher altitude areas of the Muisca terrains
Quinoa was a plant originally from Peru, but cultivated in the highlands of the Muisca territories
Chivatá means "our outside crop fields" in Muysccubun

Important scholars who have contributed to the knowledge about the Muisca agriculture have been Pedro Simón, Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff, Carl Henrik Langebaek and Sylvia Broadbent.

Background

The central highlands of the Colombian Andes show evidence of population since 12,400 years BP at various archaeological sites such as El Abra, Tequendama and Tibitó. The prehistorical period is called Preceramic and lasted from 11,000 to 7000 years BP. This was followed by the Archaic period until 3000 BP (1000 BCE). Some of the earliest evidence of agriculture in South America is found in Colombia, dated at 4000 to 3000 BCE.[1] Around this time, archaeological evidence shows the previous hunter-gatherer-based people left their rock shelters and started to live on the open plains of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, especially the southern part, the Bogotá savanna.[2]

Between ca. 1500 to 1000 BCE, the increase in d13C in Muisca human remains analysed indicate a diet that was richer in maize and as of 1000 BCE maize dominated the Muisca diet.[3] Analysis of C4 by the Groningen University revealed that the cultivation of maize took a leap around 750-800 BCE, the most accepted start of the Herrera Period.[4] During the Early Herrera, around 500 BCE, the use of ceramics became widespread in the area.[5] It is theorized that those developments happened because of the migration of people from other areas.[6]

From approximately 800 AD, the Herrera Period was followed by the Early Muisca Period that lasted until 1200. From 1200 until the conquest of the Spanish, the time is called Late Muisca.[7] The difference between the Early and Late Muisca Periods mainly lies in the organization of the chiefdoms (cacicazgos) and the population growth. During the Late Muisca Period, the people were organized in a loose confederation of different rulers. The main rulers were the zipa based in Bacatá and the zaque who was seated in Hunza. The northernmost parts of the Muisca Confederation were ruled by the Tundama in Tundama and the holy iraca based in the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Apart from that, different caciques were the heads of smaller villages of bohíos in other parts of the Muisca territories.

Agriculture

The Muisca, living on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, were mainly concentrated on the plains and in the valleys, comprising 12 % of the Muisca territory, with minor communities in the higher terrains and slopes of the mountains. As the valleys, especially the Bogotá savanna were part of an ancient lake, Lake Humboldt, the soil was very fertile allowing for a variety of crops to be cultivated.[8]

The agriculture of the Muisca was performed on small-scale cropfields, part of more extensive lands, and in a rather egalitarian manner; the higher social classes did not have access to more agricultural products than the lower class Muisca.[9] Their main difference was in the construction of their houses and access to meat.

The predominant agricultural product of the Muisca was maize and they had numerous words in their language, Muysccubun, for the plant, kernels and processing of it.[10] Evidence for maize cultivation predates the Muisca; already in the Herrera Period maize cultivation has been identified based on pollen analysis.[11] The cacicazgos were self-sufficient in their agricultural products and surpluses of maize (abitago) were traded for more tropical climate fruits such as pineapples, avocados and Ipomea batatas.[12][13]

The Muisca used terraces for their agriculture on the often flooded highlands and a system of irrigation and drainage was developed.[14] They cultivated their crops in rows of mounds.[15][16]

The harvests and the cultivation of the crop fields was the task of men, while the women did the sowing. The Muisca believed the fertility of the women would be transferred to the crop fields.[17] To increase the fertility of the cropfields, the farmers burned plants and spread the ash over their lands.[17]

Colonial period

After the Spanish conquest, the reformation was not only political (encomenderos) and religious, through the many missionaries, but also on an agricultural level. The transition to a mixed agriculture with Old World crops was remarkably fast, mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense permitting European crops to grow there, while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops. In 1555, the Muisca of Toca were growing European crops as wheat and barley and sugarcane was grown in other areas.[18]

Main crops cultivated

Apart from maize, the main plants to be cultivated were:

Religion

In the Muisca religion, the god of fertility of the farmfields and the people was Chaquén. During times of sowing and harvest the people gathered to pay tribute to Chaquén. At these festivities, defined by the Muisca calendar, they drank chicha, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented maize and sugar.[39]

Toponyms

Many of the toponyms in the Muisca Confederation refer to the agriculture of the people. The Chibcha word tá, common in names of modern municipalities, means "farm field".[40] Examples are the former capital of the southern Muisca; Bacatá (after which Bogotá is named), Chitaraque, Chivatá, Cucaita, Guayatá, Soatá, Socotá, Tota, Machetá, Manta, Quetame and Tabio, among others.[41][42]

See also

References

  1. ^ García, 2005, p. 5.
  2. ^ Correal, 1990, p. 13.
  3. ^ Hammen et al., 1990, p. 3.
  4. ^ Correal, 1990, p. 164.
  5. ^ Argüello García, 2015, p. 56.
  6. ^ Schrimpff, 1985, p. 107.
  7. ^ Argüello García, 2015, p. 38.
  8. ^ Francis, 1993, pp. 36-38.
  9. ^ Langebaek et al., 2011, p. 17.
  10. ^ Daza, 2013, pp. 27-28.
  11. ^ Kruschek, 2003, p. 5
  12. ^ Langebaek, 1985, p. 4.
  13. ^ Schrimpff, 1985, p. 106.
  14. ^ Daza, 2013, p. 23
  15. ^ Ocampo López, 2007, ch. V, p. 207.
  16. ^ García, 2012, p. 43.
  17. ^ a b Daza, 2013, p. 24
  18. ^ Francis, 1993, p. 60.
  19. ^ García, 2012, p. 44.
  20. ^ García, 2012, p. 50.
  21. ^ García, 2012, p. 52.
  22. ^ García, 2012, p. 55.
  23. ^ García, 2012, p. 56.
  24. ^ a b García, 2012, p. 59.
  25. ^ García, 2012, p. 61.
  26. ^ García, 2012, p. 63.
  27. ^ García, 2012, p. 73.
  28. ^ García, 2012, p. 76.
  29. ^ García, 2012, p. 80.
  30. ^ García, 2012, p. 84.
  31. ^ García, 2012, p. 91.
  32. ^ García, 2012, p. 93.
  33. ^ García, 2012, p. 94.
  34. ^ García, 2012, p. 98.
  35. ^ García, 2012, p. 105.
  36. ^ García, 2012, p. 106.
  37. ^ García, 2012, p. 110.
  38. ^ García, 2012, p. 112.
  39. ^ Ocampo López, 2013, ch. 10, p. 64.
  40. ^ (in Spanish) ta - Muysccubun Dictionary
  41. ^ (in Spanish) Etymology Bacatá - Banco de la República
  42. ^ (in Spanish) Etymology Municipalities Boyacá - Excelsio.net

Bibliography

  • Argüello García, Pedro María. 2015. Subsistence economy and chiefdom emergence in the Muisca area. A study of the Valle de Tena (PhD), 1–193.University of Pittsburgh. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Cardale de Schrimpff, Marianne. 1985. En busca de los primeros agricultores del Altiplano Cundiboyacense - Searching for the first farmers of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 99–125.Banco de la República. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Correal Urrego, Gonzalo. 1990. Aguazuque: Evidence of hunter-gatherers and growers on the high plains of the Eastern Ranges, 1–316.Banco de la República: Fundación de Investigaciones Arqueológicas Nacionales. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Daza, Blanca Ysabel. 2013. Historia del proceso de mestizaje alimentario entre Colombia y España - History of the integration process of foods between Colombia and Spain (PhD), 1–494.Universitat de Barcelona.
  • Francis, John Michael. 1993. "Muchas hipas, no minas" The Muiscas, a merchant society: Spanish misconceptions and demographic change (M.A.), 1–118.University of Alberta.
  • García, Jorge Luis. 2012. The Foods and crops of the Muisca: a dietary reconstruction of the intermediate chiefdoms of Bogotá (Bacatá) and Tunja (Hunza), Colombia (M.A.), 1–201.University of Central Florida. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Hammen, Thomas van der; Gonzalo Correal Urrego, and Gert Jaap van Klinken. 1990. Isótopos estables y dieta del hombre prehistórico en la sabana de Bogotá - Stable isotopes and diet of the prehistoric man on the Bogotá savannaBoletín de arqueología 2. 3–10.
  • Kruschek, Michael H.. 2003. The evolution of the Bogotá chiefdom: A household view (PhD), 1–271.University of Pittsburgh. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Langebaek Rueda, Carl Henrik; Marcela Bernal; Lucero Aristizabal; María Antonieta Corcione; Camilo Rojas, and Tatiana Santa. 2011. Condiciones de vida y jerarquías sociales en el norte de Suramérica: el caso de la población muisca en Tibanica, Soacha - Life conditions and social hierarchies in the north of South America: the case of the Muisca population in Tibanica, SoachaIndiana 28. 15–34.
  • Langebaek Rueda, Carl Henrik. 1985. Cuando los muiscas diversificaron la agricultura y crearon el intercambio - When the Muisca diversified the agriculture and created the exchange, 1–8.Banco de la República. Accessed 2016-07-08..
  • Ocampo López, Javier. 2013. Mitos y leyendas indígenas de Colombia - Indigenous myths and legends of Colombia, 1–219.Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A..
  • Ocampo López, Javier. 2007. Grandes culturas indígenas de América - Great indigenous cultures of the Americas, 1–238.Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A..

April 17, 2023
muisca, agriculture, describes, agriculture, muisca, advanced, civilisation, that, present, times, before, spanish, conquest, high, plateau, colombian, andes, altiplano, cundiboyacense, muisca, were, predominantly, agricultural, society, with, small, scale, fa. The Muisca agriculture describes the agriculture of the Muisca the advanced civilisation that was present in the times before the Spanish conquest on the high plateau in the Colombian Andes the Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Muisca were a predominantly agricultural society with small scale farmfields part of more extensive terrains To diversify their diet they traded mantles gold emeralds and salt for fruits vegetables coca yopo and cotton cultivated in lower altitude warmer terrains populated by their neighbours the Muzo Panche Guane Guayupe Lache Sutagao and U wa Trade of products grown farther away happened with the Calima Pijao and Caribbean coastal communities around the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Bogota savanna location of the agricultural fields of the Muisca Maize was the main agricultural product for the Muisca Avocados are a sub tropical fruit traded with indigenous neighbours who inhabited cooler areas After the conquest of the Muisca lands barley was introduced quickly and grew well on the fertile highlands The cubio a tuber cultivated in the higher altitude areas of the Muisca terrains Quinoa was a plant originally from Peru but cultivated in the highlands of the Muisca territories Chivata means our outside crop fields in Muysccubun Important scholars who have contributed to the knowledge about the Muisca agriculture have been Pedro Simon Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff Carl Henrik Langebaek and Sylvia Broadbent Contents 1 Background 2 Agriculture 2 1 Colonial period 2 2 Main crops cultivated 3 Religion 4 Toponyms 5 See also 6 References 6 1 BibliographyBackground EditThe central highlands of the Colombian Andes show evidence of population since 12 400 years BP at various archaeological sites such as El Abra Tequendama and Tibito The prehistorical period is called Preceramic and lasted from 11 000 to 7000 years BP This was followed by the Archaic period until 3000 BP 1000 BCE Some of the earliest evidence of agriculture in South America is found in Colombia dated at 4000 to 3000 BCE 1 Around this time archaeological evidence shows the previous hunter gatherer based people left their rock shelters and started to live on the open plains of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense especially the southern part the Bogota savanna 2 Between ca 1500 to 1000 BCE the increase in d13C in Muisca human remains analysed indicate a diet that was richer in maize and as of 1000 BCE maize dominated the Muisca diet 3 Analysis of C4 by the Groningen University revealed that the cultivation of maize took a leap around 750 800 BCE the most accepted start of the Herrera Period 4 During the Early Herrera around 500 BCE the use of ceramics became widespread in the area 5 It is theorized that those developments happened because of the migration of people from other areas 6 From approximately 800 AD the Herrera Period was followed by the Early Muisca Period that lasted until 1200 From 1200 until the conquest of the Spanish the time is called Late Muisca 7 The difference between the Early and Late Muisca Periods mainly lies in the organization of the chiefdoms cacicazgos and the population growth During the Late Muisca Period the people were organized in a loose confederation of different rulers The main rulers were the zipa based in Bacata and the zaque who was seated in Hunza The northernmost parts of the Muisca Confederation were ruled by the Tundama in Tundama and the holy iraca based in the sacred City of the Sun Suamox Apart from that different caciques were the heads of smaller villages of bohios in other parts of the Muisca territories Agriculture EditThe Muisca living on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense were mainly concentrated on the plains and in the valleys comprising 12 of the Muisca territory with minor communities in the higher terrains and slopes of the mountains As the valleys especially the Bogota savanna were part of an ancient lake Lake Humboldt the soil was very fertile allowing for a variety of crops to be cultivated 8 The agriculture of the Muisca was performed on small scale cropfields part of more extensive lands and in a rather egalitarian manner the higher social classes did not have access to more agricultural products than the lower class Muisca 9 Their main difference was in the construction of their houses and access to meat The predominant agricultural product of the Muisca was maize and they had numerous words in their language Muysccubun for the plant kernels and processing of it 10 Evidence for maize cultivation predates the Muisca already in the Herrera Period maize cultivation has been identified based on pollen analysis 11 The cacicazgos were self sufficient in their agricultural products and surpluses of maize abitago were traded for more tropical climate fruits such as pineapples avocados and Ipomea batatas 12 13 The Muisca used terraces for their agriculture on the often flooded highlands and a system of irrigation and drainage was developed 14 They cultivated their crops in rows of mounds 15 16 The harvests and the cultivation of the crop fields was the task of men while the women did the sowing The Muisca believed the fertility of the women would be transferred to the crop fields 17 To increase the fertility of the cropfields the farmers burned plants and spread the ash over their lands 17 Colonial period Edit After the Spanish conquest the reformation was not only political encomenderos and religious through the many missionaries but also on an agricultural level The transition to a mixed agriculture with Old World crops was remarkably fast mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense permitting European crops to grow there while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops In 1555 the Muisca of Toca were growing European crops as wheat and barley and sugarcane was grown in other areas 18 Main crops cultivated Edit Apart from maize the main plants to be cultivated were Canna edulis or achira one of the first plants cultivated in the Andes 19 Arracacia xanthorrhiza or arracacha ideally grown at altitudes of 1 800 metres 5 900 ft and above 20 Tropaeolum tuberosum or cubio ideally grown at high altitudes exceeding 3 000 metres 9 800 ft 21 Oxalis tuberosa although this root is not native to Colombia it was used by pre Columbian societies in Cundinamarca and Boyaca after being introduced from its place of origin in Peru where the majority of varieties are found 22 Ullucus tuberosum or ulluku 23 Polymnia edulis 24 Solanum tuberosum Solanum colombianum Solanum andigena Solanum rybinii and Solanum boyacense 24 Manihot esculenta or yuca a very important tuber cultivated as of 1120 BCE 25 Ipomoea batatas sweet potatoes as evidenced from 3200 years before present in Zipacon 26 Chenopodium quinoa quinoa originating from Peru more than 5000 years before present 27 Phaseolus vulgaris common bean first domesticated in Mexico Central America Peru and Colombia 28 Arachis hypogaea peanuts 29 Curcubita maxima and Curcubita pepo pumpkins earliest evidence from Zipacon already 3860 BCE 30 Physalis peruviana or uchuva typical fruit of Colombia grown at altitudes above 2 200 metres 7 200 ft 31 Solanum quitoense or lulo the national fruit of Colombia 32 Passiflora a wide variety of passionfruits 33 such as P mixta P cumablensis P antioquiensis and P ambigua and the largest species P quadrangularis 34 Cyphomandra betacea tree tomato 35 Annona cherimola A muricata and A squamosal 36 Vaccinium meridionale 37 Rubus glaucus R macrocarpus and R adenotrichus 38 Religion EditIn the Muisca religion the god of fertility of the farmfields and the people was Chaquen During times of sowing and harvest the people gathered to pay tribute to Chaquen At these festivities defined by the Muisca calendar they drank chicha an alcoholic beverage made from fermented maize and sugar 39 Toponyms EditMany of the toponyms in the Muisca Confederation refer to the agriculture of the people The Chibcha word ta common in names of modern municipalities means farm field 40 Examples are the former capital of the southern Muisca Bacata after which Bogota is named Chitaraque Chivata Cucaita Guayata Soata Socota Tota Macheta Manta Quetame and Tabio among others 41 42 See also Edit Colombia portal Agriculture portalMuisca economy Incan agriculture agriculture in Mesoamerica Muisca cuisineReferences Edit Garcia 2005 p 5 Correal 1990 p 13 Hammen et al 1990 p 3 Correal 1990 p 164 Arguello Garcia 2015 p 56 Schrimpff 1985 p 107 Arguello Garcia 2015 p 38 Francis 1993 pp 36 38 Langebaek et al 2011 p 17 Daza 2013 pp 27 28 Kruschek 2003 p 5 Langebaek 1985 p 4 Schrimpff 1985 p 106 Daza 2013 p 23 Ocampo Lopez 2007 ch V p 207 Garcia 2012 p 43 a b Daza 2013 p 24 Francis 1993 p 60 Garcia 2012 p 44 Garcia 2012 p 50 Garcia 2012 p 52 Garcia 2012 p 55 Garcia 2012 p 56 a b Garcia 2012 p 59 Garcia 2012 p 61 Garcia 2012 p 63 Garcia 2012 p 73 Garcia 2012 p 76 Garcia 2012 p 80 Garcia 2012 p 84 Garcia 2012 p 91 Garcia 2012 p 93 Garcia 2012 p 94 Garcia 2012 p 98 Garcia 2012 p 105 Garcia 2012 p 106 Garcia 2012 p 110 Garcia 2012 p 112 Ocampo Lopez 2013 ch 10 p 64 in Spanish ta Muysccubun Dictionary in Spanish Etymology Bacata Banco de la Republica in Spanish Etymology Municipalities Boyaca Excelsio net Bibliography Edit Arguello Garcia Pedro Maria 2015 Subsistence economy and chiefdom emergence in the Muisca area A study of the Valle de Tena PhD 1 193 University of Pittsburgh Accessed 2016 07 08 Cardale de Schrimpff Marianne 1985 En busca de los primeros agricultores del Altiplano Cundiboyacense Searching for the first farmers of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense 99 125 Banco de la Republica Accessed 2016 07 08 Correal Urrego Gonzalo 1990 Aguazuque Evidence of hunter gatherers and growers on the high plains of the Eastern Ranges 1 316 Banco de la Republica Fundacion de Investigaciones Arqueologicas Nacionales Accessed 2016 07 08 Daza Blanca Ysabel 2013 Historia del proceso de mestizaje alimentario entre Colombia y Espana History of the integration process of foods between Colombia and Spain PhD 1 494 Universitat de Barcelona Francis John Michael 1993 Muchas hipas no minas The Muiscas a merchant society Spanish misconceptions and demographic change M A 1 118 University of Alberta Garcia Jorge Luis 2012 The Foods and crops of the Muisca a dietary reconstruction of the intermediate chiefdoms of Bogota Bacata and Tunja Hunza Colombia M A 1 201 University of Central Florida Accessed 2016 07 08 Hammen Thomas van der Gonzalo Correal Urrego and Gert Jaap van Klinken 1990 Isotopos estables y dieta del hombre prehistorico en la sabana de Bogota Stable isotopes and diet of the prehistoric man on the Bogota savannaBoletin de arqueologia 2 3 10 Kruschek Michael H 2003 The evolution of the Bogota chiefdom A household view PhD 1 271 University of Pittsburgh Accessed 2016 07 08 Langebaek Rueda Carl Henrik Marcela Bernal Lucero Aristizabal Maria Antonieta Corcione Camilo Rojas and Tatiana Santa 2011 Condiciones de vida y jerarquias sociales en el norte de Suramerica el caso de la poblacion muisca en Tibanica Soacha Life conditions and social hierarchies in the north of South America the case of the Muisca population in Tibanica SoachaIndiana 28 15 34 Langebaek Rueda Carl Henrik 1985 Cuando los muiscas diversificaron la agricultura y crearon el intercambio When the Muisca diversified the agriculture and created the exchange 1 8 Banco de la Republica Accessed 2016 07 08 Ocampo Lopez Javier 2013 Mitos y leyendas indigenas de Colombia Indigenous myths and legends of Colombia 1 219 Plaza amp Janes Editores Colombia S A Ocampo Lopez Javier 2007 Grandes culturas indigenas de America Great indigenous cultures of the Americas 1 238 Plaza amp Janes Editores Colombia S A Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muisca agriculture amp oldid 1148380375, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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