Muisca economy

Their rich economy and advanced merchant abilities were widely known by the indigenous groups of the area and described by the Spanish conquistadores whose primary objective was the acquisition of the mineral resources of Tierra Firme; gold, emeralds, carbon, silver and copper.

The system of trade was well established providing both the higher social classes and the general population abundances of gold, feathers, marine snails, coca, yopo and other luxury goods.

Later research, in many cases nuancing or even refuting the scriptures of the early Spanish writers, has been conducted by Carl Henrik Langebaek, Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff, Sylvia Broadbent, Jorge Gamboa Mendoza, Javier Ocampo López and others.

Roads were present to connect the settlements with each other and with the surrounding indigenous groups, of which the Guane and Lache to the north, the Panche and Muzo to the west and Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua to the east were the most important.

According to the calendar they had specific times for sowing, harvest and the organisation of festivals where they sang, danced and played music and drank their national drink chicha in great quantities.

The Muisca mummified the most respected members of their community and the mummies were not buried, yet displayed in their temples, in natural locations such as caves and even carried on their backs during warfare to impress their enemies.

Their art is the most famous remnant of their culture, as living spaces, temples and other existing structures have been destroyed by the Spanish who colonised the Muisca territories.

Accounts of the Spanish conquistadores show the Muisca had a highly advanced and specialised economy based on a variety of sources of income.

[7] Agriculture was the main source of income for the Muisca who were generally self-sustaining due to the fertility of the soils of the Altiplano, especially on the Bogotá savanna.

When the lakes dried up, they left leveled fertile soils which were used by the Muisca to cultivate a large variety of crops, mainly maize, tubers, beans.

The geography of the area allowed for micro-ecological regions providing farmlands on the fertile plains and in higher altitude terrains such as mountain slopes.

Quinoa and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) were cultivated on the highest altitudes, maize and coca in the temperate regions and yuca, arracacha, pineapples, tobacco and cotton in the low-lying valleys with a warmer climate.

The dramatic variations in temperature and rainfall together with the irrigation from the rivers Suárez, Chicamocha, Opón and Carare provided a sophisticated and diverse economic system.

Raw materials for the production of golden and tumbaga objects, cotton cloths and ceramics were mostly traded with neighbouring indigenous groups, or the result of extraction within the Muisca Confederation, such as clays from the many rivers on the Altiplano.

[23] Other important clay and ceramic producing settlements were Soacha, Cogua, Guatavita, Gachancipá and Tocancipá on the Bogotá savanna and Tutazá, Ráquira, Sutamarchán (Boyacá) and Guasca and Suesca to the north of the flat plains.

[24][25] The production of pottery was the task assigned to the Muisca women who produced various ceramics such as anthropomorphic vases, cups and mugs, the typical bowls called múcura, pans, the large pots for salt extraction (gacha) and jars with two, four or six holds.

A range of objects was made of the precious minerals; crowns, nose rings, pectorals, earrings, diadems, tunjos (small anthropomorphic or zoomorphic offer pieces), brooches, scepters, coins (tejuelo) and tools.

As paint the Muisca women used indigo, woodlice (purple), saffron (gold), plants of the acanthus family and Bocconia frutescens (orange) and other natural inks.

The town of La Tora, present-day Barrancabermeja, was important for trade with the Caribbean coast and the major source for the highly regarded marine snail shells, elaborated with gold by the Tairona.

Products as yopo, bee wax and honey, cotton, fish and fruits were traded with the Llanos peoples Guayupe, Achagua and Tegua.

[33] Also the precious colourful feathers of exotic birds, used for the Muisca crowns were traded with the Llanos, that provided animal skins such as jaguars for the hats of the caciques as well.

While archaeological evidence suggests the trade was mainly inside the Muisca terrain, the low preservation degree of certain objects may well have biased that conclusion.

One of the most important of those ferias were held close to the banks of the Magdalena River, to the west of the Muisca territories in Panche and Muzo terrains.

[14] Here, gold and tropical fruits as avocadoes, guayabas, ice cream beans, star apples and various members (guanabana, chirimoya and others) of the Annona family were obtained, traded for mantles, emeralds and salt.

[36] The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into intensive agriculture and mining that created a change in the landscape and culture of the Muisca.

[37] The indigenous inhabitants were forced to work the farmlands and mines for the Spanish, who imported slaves from Africa in addition to the Muisca labour.