[1] They were closely related to the Muisca people of the Colombian Andes, who spoke Muysccubun, a version of Chibcha.

The Timoto-Cuicas were not only composed of the Timote and the Cuica groups, but also of smaller tribes including the Mucuchíes, the Miguríes, the Tabayes and the Mucuñuques.

Most scholars agree that the Timoto-Cuicas arose as a distinct tribal group, with the Timotes and the Cuicas as the main components of largely the same identity.

The Timotes were mostly present in the area of today’s Mérida state in Venezuela, the mountainous Andean region, with the sub-group of Cuicas living slightly to the north, in the llano plains.

This skillful method of cultivation allowed the Timoto-Cuicas to grow an abundance of vegetables – the earliest sources mention the growing of potatoes and corn, as well as beans, sweet yucca and several indigenous plants: cassava, mecuy, quiba, guaba and agave.