Pre-Columbian Period
Pre-Columbian Colombia, was host to a broad range of indigenous peoples, with a population size ranging from 850,000 to four million – according to historian estimates. Additionally, these indigenous populations had varying levels of civilization: on one end of the spectrum, there existed hunter-gatherer groups living in the tropical rain forest, and on the other advanced groups such as the Tairona and Muisca, living at high altitudes. In between, there were several organized indigenous groups called chiefdoms, that were frequently at war with each other and supposedly practiced cannibalism.
The Tairona, one of the two more advanced civilized groups, inhabited the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and had complex societies, with chiefdom hierarchies, stone road systems, advanced agricultural (composed of irrigational and terrace systems), well established trading systems, and artifact production.…