Herrera Period

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The Bogotá savanna, home to the people from the Herrera Period

File:Tumba dolménica Infiernito.JPG

Dolmen at El Infiernito, site from the Herrera Period

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Pictographs at Piedras del Tunjo Archaeological Park, site from the Herrera Period

The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. The Herrera Period predates the age of the Muisca people, who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the Spanish conquest and postdates the prehistory of the region in Colombia. The Herrera Period is usually defined as ranging from 800 BCE to 800 AD, although other classifications do exist, see below.

Ample evidence of the Herrera Period has been uncovered on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and main archaeologists contributing to the present knowledge about the Herrera Period are scholars Ana María Groot, Gonzalo Correal Urrego, Thomas van der Hammen, Carl Henrik Langebaek Rueda, Silvia Broadbent, Marianne Cardale Schrimpff and others.

Etymology

The Herrera Period is named after Lake Herrera (Laguna de la Herrera) where archaeologist Silvia Broadbent performed the first excavations on the Herrera Period in 1971. Lake Herrera is one of the many remnants of the ancient Lake Humboldt, a Pleistocene lake that existed on the Bogotá savanna. The lake with an approximate surface area of 280 hectares (30,000,000 sq ft) is situated at an altitude of 2,550 metres (8,370 ft) within the boundaries of the Cundinamarca municipality Mosquera, close to Madrid and Bojacá. The site of Lake Herrera (Laguna de la Herrera) is close to the archaeological site of Aguazuque.

Background

The region of the Herrea Period and later Muisca Confederation, the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; high plateau of the central Colombian Andes has been inhabited since 12,400 years BP. The earliest evidence for inhabitation (lithic tools) are found in El Abra and Tequendama. This lithic period is roughly defined as from 12,400 to 1000 BCE.

Agriculture started around 5000 years before present which led to the development of more complex societies, of which the Herrera Period is one of many in the Andean civilizations. Early evidence of inhabitation has been found in Zipacón and is dated at 3270 BCE. From the Herrera Period ceramic has been found.

The people from the Herrera Period performed agriculture, as evidenced in among others the Thomas van der Hammen Reserve, named after Dutch geologist and botanist Thomas van der Hammen.

The Late Herrera Period coincides with the Nahuange Period (200-900) of the Tairona.

Archaeological sites

Archaeological evidence of the Herrera Period has been found in numerous places on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, among others in Sopó, Soacha, Usme, Iza, Gámeza, Facatativá (Piedras del Tunjo Archaeological Park), Moniquirá (El Infiernito), Chía, Chita, Chiscas, Soatá, Jericó, Sativasur, Covarachía, Sativanorte and El Cocuy.

The site in Soacha is one of the most important finds from the Herrera Period, dating from 400 BCE onwards, into the age of the Muisca. At the site the remains of 2200 individual people, 274 complete ceramic pots, stone tools, seeds of cotton, maize, beans and curuba, 634 fragmented and intact spindles and 100 tunjos not used for offerings have been found in Soacha.

Classifications

Over the years and based on new findings, various authors have defined periods of Herrera and Muisca. Also regional variations exist, listed below.

Author	Name	Start age	End age	References
Romano, 2003	Early Herrera	900 BCE	1 BCE
	Late Herrera	1 BCE	700
	Early Muisca	700	1100
	Late Muisca	1100	1600
Kruschek, 2003	Herrera	800 BCE	800
	Early Muisca	800	1200
	Late Muisca	1200	1600
Boada, 2003	Herrera	300 BCE	200
	Early Muisca	200	1000
	Late Muisca	1000	1600
Cárdenas & Kleef, 1996	Herrera	1500 BCE	800
	Muisca	800	1600
Peña, 1991	Early Herrera	14th century BCE	4th century BCE
	Middle Herrera	4th century BCE	1st century AD
	Late Herrera	6th century AD	10th century AD
	Early Muisca
	Late Muisca
Langebaek Rueda, 1986	Herrera
	Muisca
	Modern
Cardale Schrimpff, 1981	Herrera	400 BCE	200
	Muisca	1400	1500

Regional variations

Western slopes of the Eastern Ranges

Author	Name	Start age	End age	References
Argüello, 2004	Herrera	800 BCE	800
	Pubenza	800	1000
	Late Period	1000	1550
	Modern	>1550
Cardale Schrimpff, 1976	Period I	750	1200
	Period II	1200	1550

Boyacá

Author	Name	Start age	End age	References
Langebaek, 2001	Herrera	400 BCE	700
	Late Herrera	700	1000
	Early Muisca	1000	1200
	Late Muisca	1200	1600
	Modern	>1600
Boada, 2007	Late Herrera	700	1000
	Early Muisca	1000	1300
	Late Muisca	1300	1600