People That Time Forgot: Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Abstract

The first inhabitants of the site of the Colonial town of Villa de Leyva were Native Americans and not the Spanish Conquerors of the Eastern Andes of Boyacá. New data now suggest a resident population of Muisca already there perhaps for centuries before the city’s founding. Research suggests potential archaeological evidence of domestic groups practicing intensive agriculture including raised field cultivation. Additionally, hydraulic features, sanctuary architecture, and unique ritual artifacts associate with a nearby mountain temple aligned with the astronomical-meteorological observatory at El Infiernito connected by a possible processional pilgrimage route. These findings underscore the complex relationship of socioeconomic factors, cosmic ontogeny, and natural environment for understanding the degree of political centralization in evolution of Muisca chiefdoms.