Aguazuque

The stone artefacts uncovered are very similar in character to those found at El Abra and Tequendama and consist of tools mainly made of chert from the Guadalupe Group. The tools comprise various kinds of scrapers, knives, perforating tools, burins, spokeshaves, maceheads and round mortars and flat milling stones. Most of the artefacts originate from the nearby chert, with some tools made from shales of the Villeta Group and more allochthonous basalt tools, coming from farther west, around the Magdalena River, provenance of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes.[16] Apart from tools, Aguazuque is characterised by a large percentage of flakes resulting from the lithic reduction; the process of elaboration of the tools; in total 3868 samples, between 60 and 70% of the lithic fragments found were of this type.[17]

Other artefacts found were made of bones and shells, such as beads, spear points, perforating tools, knives and scrapers. The latter formed the majority of bone tools found, accounting for 55 to 75% of the bone artefacts found.[18]

White-tailed deer formed the main meat in the diet of the inhabitants of Aguazuque

In all of the layers of the Aguazuque site, remains of fauna have been uncovered. The fauna, part of the cuisine of the inhabitants of Aguazuque, consisted of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and invertebrates such as gastropods, fresh water oysters and crustaceans.

As at the other sites on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the main part of the diet of the people was formed by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Other mammals included little red brocket (Mazama rufina), guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), crab-eating fox (Dusicyon thous), spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), ocelot (Felis pardalis), puma (Felis concolor), lowland paca (Agouti paca), Agouti taczamawskii, Dasyprocta, ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua), western mountain coati (Nasuella olivacea), common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) and collared anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla).[19] Reptiles consisted of the turtle Kinosternon postinginale and remains of caimans, indicating hunting in terrains much farther to the west; the Magdalena River.[20][21]

Fish was coming from the various lakes, rivers and wetlands dotting the Bogotá savanna, that originally were part of Lake Humboldt. Fish remains consisted of Eremophilus mutisii, Pygidium bogotense and Grundulus bogotensis.[20] Bird remains included the Andean guan (Penelope montagnii), Anatidae, Ralidae and the scaly-naped parrot (Amazona mercenaria).[20] The invertebrates comprised Drymaeus gratus, Plekocheilus coloratus, Plekocheilus succionoides, fresh water oysters and fresh water crabs of the family Pseudothelfhusidae, possibly Neostrengeria magropa.[22]

In terms of species of flora, Aguazuque has provided evidence of early agriculture, based on seeds of Cucurbita pepo.[23] Other plant remains were analysed as Hieronyma macrocarpa, Oxalis tuberosa, Dioscorea trífida and various remains of Bromeliaceae, Rubiaceae and Gramineae. Species of mushrooms suggest their addition to the diet of the hunter-gatherers of Aguazuque.[24]

Stone mortars were used to grind pigments, prepare food and as pieces for the dead, evidenced in various burial sites at Aguazuque

Within the area of Aguazuque, fifty-nine burial sites have been discovered, consisting of single, double and mass graves. The bodies were buried on either the right or the left side, or lying on their backs. As was common in the later Muisca mummification culture, the bodies were interred with their arms crossed over the thorax and the legs folded onto the abdomen.

One of the collective sites contained the remains of 23 adults (men and women) and children.[25] It has been theorised that these people fell victim to epidemics, of which in the remains no traces were found.[26] The burial sites showed evidence of ritual and beliefs in afterlife; the bodies were surrounded by stone tools, such as scrapers and mortars, and some pieces were decorated with red or black colours. Food offerings, such as the meat of the white-tailed deer, guinea pigs and Tayassu pecari accompanied the buried.[27] An isolated body was adorned with colourful painted pieces of rock.[28] Similar to what has been found in Tequendama, some of the buried people may have been characterised by rituals of cannibalism.[29] This is evidenced further by the discovery of mutilated and coloured skeletal remains in Aguazuque.[30]

Paleopathological analysis has provided information on the people; the average brain volume was around 1,400 cubic centimetres (85 cu in), spread from 1,240 cubic centimetres (76 cu in) to 1,480 cubic centimetres (90 cu in) and the body length around 160 centimetres (63 in).[31] Osteoarthritis has been found in 73% of the individuals and other diseases such as syphilis, treponematosis, osteoperiostitis and osteoperosis were common.[32] Different from remains of similar age found on the Altiplano, such as Gachalá, Nemocón and Tequendama, where no evidence of caries was discovered, in Aguazuque the human dental remains showed ample evidence of caries.[33] Electron paramagnetic resonance of tooth enamel has provided an age of 3256 ± 196 years BP.[34]

Burial sites of animals have also been found, where turtles, parrots and foxes were located in isolated small graves.[35]

Aguazuque is situated close to the Bogotá River, on the right bank (north), just east of the Salto del Tequendama

The evidence for human settlements at Aguazuque consists of circular slightly excavated structures, surrounded by vertically inward inclined bones of deer, or poles of wood. The round areas had a diameter of between 2 metres (6.6 ft) and 4 metres (13 ft) and contained ash and carbon remains on the floor. Using animal and shell pigments, the floors were painted red or covered with sandstone fragments and volcanic ash. The remains of the houses were mostly circular, and near them were many fireplaces.[36]

The oldest evidence for settlement has been dated to 5025 ± 40 years Before Present (around 3000 BCE). This layer is followed by younger occupation dated at 3850 ± 35 years, 3400 to 2800 BP and the second-youngest zone at 2725 ± 35 years BP. The uppermost layer has been disturbed by modern agricultural activity and provided no dates. The different layers of Aguazuque were similar in character in terms of the tools found, and in the abundance of deer, the main meat for the inhabitants of the Bogotá savanna. The sequence of the layers from bottom to top based on the abundance of guinea pig remains, showed that their presence as domesticated animals varied through time. The domestication of guinea pigs is also evidenced in nearby Tequendama.

The percentage of hunted deer was highest in the uppermost layer where the caiman bones have also been found, suggesting a time of greater interaction with the lower altitude tropical zones of the Andes. The early evidence for agriculture has been found in the middle section of the sequence, as has been discovered in Zipacón where the agricultural activity has been dated at 3270 years BP.[37] Only in the uppermost beds, the evidence of ceramics has been found, that could be dated to Early Herrera; around 2800 years BP.[38]

• Correal Urrego, Gonzalo. 1990. Aguazuque - evidencias de cazadores, recolectores y plantadores en la altiplanicie de la Cordillera Oriental - 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.
• Groot de Mahecha, Ana María. 1992. Checua: Una secuencia cultural entre 8500 y 3000 años antes del presente - Checua: a cultural sequence between 8500 and 3000 years before present, 1-95. Banco de la República. Accessed 2016-07-08.