Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Paiaeoecology , 25(1978): 179--190 179

© Elseviex Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

PREHISTORIC MAN ON THE SABANA DE BOGOT/I,: DATA FOR AN

ECOLOGICAL PREHISTORY

THOMAS VAN DER HAMMEN and GONZALO CORREAL URREGO

Hugo de Vries Laboratory, University o f Amsterdam, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, BogoM (Colombia)
(Accepted for publication October 20, 1977)

ABSTRACT

Van der Hammen, T. and Correal U., G., 1978. Prehistoric man on the Sabana de Bogotg:
data for an ecological prehistory. Palaeogeogr,, Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 25:
179--190.

Recent data on the prehistory, stratigraphy, palynology, archeozoology and paleo-

ecology of the high plain of Bogot~ (especially from the E1 Abra and Tequendama rock
shelters) are resumed for a first outline of the ecological prehistory of the area. Early
man possibly entered in the area already before the beginning of the Late Glacial, but
anyhow during the Guantiva Interstadial, when rock shelters in the area were used as
temporal hunting camps. During the E1 Abra Stadial (ca. 11,000--10,000 B.P.) the high
plain was near the forest limit and was covered by a sub-pfiramo scrub vegetation with
areas of open grass p~ramo. The deer Odocoileus was very a b u n d a n t in that period and
formed the principal source of meat for early man; by that time the people had more
stable, or at least seasonal, camps in the rock shelters of the area. Their implements,
E1 Abrian as well as the more elaborate Tequendamian stone artifacts, also indicate
that they were more or less specialized hunters.
At the beginning of the Holocene the area is forested, and from 10,000 B.P. there is
a gradual adaptation to the new circumstances. Besides stone, bone is used for the
preparation of artifacts and an increasing abundance of spokeshaves indicates the
increasing importance of wood-working. Although deer still forms the principal source
of meat, the increasing abundance of bones of small rodents and of snails indicates a
gradual increase of "gathering" activities.
The relatively dry period between 5,000 and 3,000 B.P. corresponds to a decrease of
human presence in the area, but shortly after 2,500 B.P. the first signs of agricultural
activities and ceramics are found, associated with a somewhat more humid climate.

RESUMEN

El hombre prehist6rico en la Sabana de Bogotd: datos para una prehistoria ecol6gica.

Datos recientes sobre la prehistoria, estratigrafh, palinolog~a, arqueo-zoologl~a y

paleoecologla de la altiplanicie de Bogot~ (especialmente de los abrigos rocosos de E1
Ahra y Tequendama) forman la base para un primer bosquejo de una prehistoria
ecol6gica del ~rea.
E1 hombre prehist6rico entr6 en el ~rea posiblemente antes de principiar el
180

Tardiglacial, pero de todas maneras durante el interestadial de Guantiva, cuando los

abrigos rocosos en el ~rea fueron utilisados como campamentos temporales de cacerfa.
Durante el estadial de E1 Abra (ca. 11,000--10,000 A.P. ) la altiplanicie se hallaba cerca
al lfmite del bosque y era cubierta con una vegetaci6n arbustiva de sub-pfiramo con
~reas abiertas con praderas de p~ramo. E1 venado Odocoileus era muy abundante en este
per~odo y formaba la fuente principal de carne para el hombre, que por entonces ten~a
campamentos mils estables, o por lo menos estacionales en los abrigos rocosos del ~rea.
Los artefactos lfticos que utilisaban eran del tipo Abriense y del m~s elaborado tipo
Tequendamense y indican tambi6n que se trataba de casadores m~s o menos
especializados.
En el principio del Holoceno el £rea se cubre con bosque y desde 10,000 A.P. hay una
adaptacidn gradual del hombre a l a s nuevas circunstancias. A1 lado de piedra, se utilisa
tambi6n hueso para hacer artefactos y el progresivo aumento del porcentaje de raspadores
concavos indica que trabajo de madera se vuelve gradualmente rn~s importante. Aunque
el venado todavia era la fuente principal de carne, la abundancia progresiva de huesos de
pequefios roedores y d e caracoles indica un incremento gradual de actividades de
recoleccidn.
El per~odo relativamente seco entre 5,000 y 3,000 A.P. corresponde a una disminuci6n
de la presencia humana en el area, pero poco despu6s de 2, 500 A.P. se encuentran los
primeros vestigios de agricultura y de cer~mica, asociados con un clima algo n~s h~medo.

INTRODUCTION

The E1 Abra r o c k shelter II was the first site in Colombia where a

stratigraphic pre-ceramic sequence with stone artifacts was found (1967) and
the first time that the presence of man in the Late Pleistocene of Colombia
could be proved (Correal et al., 1970). Later excavations in the same area and
studies of the stratigraphy and palaeoecology of the E1 Abra corridor and
rock shelters confirmed t h e earlier findings and many more data were
obtained (Hurt et al., 1976; Van der Hammen, 1978; Schreve-Brinkman,
1978; IJzereef, 1978; this issue).
Further exploration in 1970 showed that this was b y no means the only
site: several other pre-ceramic sequences were localized in and around the
Sabana de Bogota. The Tequendama site was then found and excavated the
same year. Apart from a sequence of artifacts of the E1 Abra t y p e , another
group of stone implements was found (in the Late Pleistocene), in addition
to bone artifacts, abundant mammal bones and human (pre-ceramic) burials.
It was the first time that indubitably pre-ceramic human skeletons were
found and could be dated. At the same time more refined excavation
techniques permitted the reconstruction of occupation levels (Correal and
Van der Hammen, 1977).
On the basis of the data obtained from the study of the vegetational
history, t h e stratigraphy and the faunal remains on the one hand, and on the
artifacts and occupation levels on the other, it now appears to be possible to
give a first sketch of an ecological prehistory for the area of the high plain of
Bogot~ and the surrounding Eastern Cordillera. The data we shall use for this
purpose are supplied b y the multidisciplinary studies of the E1 Abra and
 181

Tequendama sites, and b y the more general investigation of the Quaternary

stratigraphy, vegetational history, and palaeoecology in Colombia (see, e.g.,
Van der Hammen, 1973, 1974; Van Geel and Van der Hammen, 1973).
Here we shall only deal with the period during which clear signs of human
presence in the area were left behind, and with the cold period immediately
preceding it (the Pleniglacial).
All these studies were sponsored b y the Netherlands Foundation for the
Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO).

THE PLENIGLACIAL

During the Lower and Middle Pleniglacial (ca. 55,000--28,000 B.P.) an

extensive lake was present in the central part of the high plain. The level of
this lake was subjected to rather strong fluctuations during successive
intervals, owing to differences in the effective annual rainfall. Sometimes the
water rose so high that it was in touch with the rocks of the surrounding
mountains, leaving almost no marginal marshy zone. Sometimes, however,
the lake level became so low that the lake retracted to the central part of
the high plain (in the wide part b e t w e e n Bogot~ and Facatativ~i, with Funza
as approximate centre) exposing a broad zone of poorly drained, flat,
former lake:bottom sediments where open marshy vegetation or cart could
develop.
During the preceding period, the early part of the Last Glacial
(ca. 100,000--55,000 B.P.), with rather long and warm interstadials, there
were extensive forests of alder (Alnus) and encenillo (Weinmannia) on the
extensive plains surrounding the central lake, and on the slopes of the
surrounding mountains oak forests (Quereeta) and encenilk) forests
(Weinmannieta) were present.
During t h e entire Pleniglacial (ca. 55,000--ca. 14,000 B.P.) the climate
was generally colder, so that open grass p~ramo or shrubby subp~ramo
vegetation prevailed on and around the high plain, only giving w a y to
forests on the lower parts of the slopes or alder (Alnus) carr on the plain
during the slightly warmer interstadials. Glaciers were present in what are
now mostly p~ramo areas, extending downward to elevations as low as
ca. 3,200 m. Although these glaciers did n o t reach the high plain of Bogot~
(situated between ca. 2,550--2,600 m), fluvioglacial gravels were deposited
by the rivers reaching the Sabana de Bogot~ from the glacial nuclei.
After having attained its last relatively high level somewhere b e t w e e n
ca. 40,000 and ca. 35,000 years ago, the Sabana lake drained at a fast rate
and b y ca. 30,000 years ago it had disappeared, leaving an immense, badly
drained plain covered here and there with minor ponds and pools, through
which the river Bogot~i and its affluents cut their w a y to the former outlet
of the lake near Soacha (Alicachin) in the SW of the high plain. The primary
cause of the disappearance of the Sabana lake was probably considerable
erosion of the stream bed of the outlet b y the huge water masses released
182

during the preceding period; in the second place the effective rainfall
probably decreased in the upper part of the Middle Pleniglacial.
During the Upper Pleniglacial (ca. 28,000--ca. 13,000 B.P.) the climate
became very cold and around ca. 20,000 B.P. it, moreover, became very dry.
The Tequendama waterfall, which during the Middle Pleniglacial must have
been much wider and must have carried much more water, may have shrunk
at that time to less than its present size. From ca. 20,000 B.P. onward, the

Z_ PLENIGLACIAL ~._ GUANTIVAINTERSTAD[AL

~ roek
roea

~water
~aqua

~humic clay
~arcilla humlca

2 ~ silty"loessic"loam
~ limo"loesico"
m

1 4

2 3

3 2

°I
]~_ EARLY HOLOCENE
HOLOCENOTEMPRANO
4

5 1 la

0 5 10 15 20 25m

Fig.1. R e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f rock shelter E1 Abra 2 and the area in front o f it (transecti0ns).

I = Pleniglacial; II = Guantiva Interstadial (ca. 1 2 , 5 0 0 - - 1 1 , 0 0 0 B.P. ;); III = E1 Abra
Stadial (ca. 1 1 , 0 0 0 - - 1 0 , 0 0 0 B.P.); IV = Early Holocene.

glaciers started to retreat considerably, probably not so much because of a

warming of the climate as because of the low precipitation (i.e., snowfall).
The vegetation of the high plain of Bogot~ between ca. 20,000 and 14,000
B.P. was a dry grass p~ramo with very little open water, if any at all. A
reconstruction o f the situation is given in Fig.l-I as a transection in front
of the rock shelter E1 Abra I. The gully in front of the shelter, formed
after the disappearance of the lake, is dry. Dark humic soils have formed
since then on the surface of the lake sediments and a silty, yellowish soil
is formed under the dry grass p~ramo vegetation with Espeletia. Rock
fragments have fallen from the escarpment and have slid d o w n the slope of
the valley. We do not know for certain if this environment was suitable for
an abundance of game animals and for human habitation, but it seems as if
 183

water was t o o scarce and the climate t o o e x t r e n ~ to be in any w a y optimal.

Optimal environments for man in the mountains may have been present at
lower levels, around ca. 2,000 m (altitudinal forest limit), and at a still lower
level in some inter-Andean valleys. As regards the possible presence of
Mastodon (Haplomastodon) at that time and during the Late Glacial, we
have been able to date the skeletons of these animals as Middle to Upper
Pleniglacial between ca. 40,000 and 15,000 B.P. Nevertheless it is not at
all unlikely that t h e y were still present in the area during the uppermost
Pleniglacial and the Late Glacial.
A few flakes and artifacts (amongst t h e m t w o choppers) were found in
the E1 Abra rock shelters in layers corresponding with the Upper Pleni-
glacial. However, as long as no more abundant and directly 14C<iated
material is foun~l, not much can be said a b o u t the presence of man in the
area o f the Sabana de Bogota.
Extremely interesting finds including large choppers and chopping
tools on terraces of the Magdalena valley might represent an early tradition,
b u t nothing definite can be said a b o u t their age and t h e y might represent
local adaptations or survivals of a culture of Late Glacial or Holocene age.
However, the prospects of finding satisfactorily datable artifacts of Late
Pleniglacial age in Colombia seem to be favourable.

THE LATE GLACIAL (ca. 14,000--10,000 B.P.)

Shortly after 14,000 B.P. the climate started to ameliorate. The first
minor fluctuation, the Susac~ Interstadial, happened b e t w e e n that time and
ca. 13,000 and it was registered in a pollen diagram from P~ramo de
Guantiva (Boyacd). In the high plain of Bogot~ this phase has not been
established, b u t it is in that time interval that the climate already became
somewhat more humid. Between ca. 13,000 and ca. 12,500 B.P. a subsequent
cold spell of only short duration was registered in P~ramo de Guantiva. The
glaciers in the valleys had retired b y that time to an elevation of ca. 3,900 m
(Sierra Nevada del Cocuy; Gonzalez et al., 1966) and made a halt. Then,
finally t h e climate ameliorated appreciably. A warm period, the Guantiva
Interstadial, lasted from ca. 12,500 to 11,000 B.P. and was followed by the
last cold stadial of the last glaciation, the E1 Abra Stadial (ca. 11,000--10,000
B.P.).

THE GUANTIVA INTERSTADIAL (ca. 12,500--11,000 B.P.)

Some 12,500 years ago the climate ameliorated so much that the area of
the high plain of Bogot~ and its surroundings could be invaded b y forest.
This was caused principally b y a considerable rise of the average annual
temperature, b u t in addition the effective precipitation increased strongly.
Notwithstanding t h e fact that the higher temperature caused a higher
evaporation, the increased rainfall could lead to a considerable rise of the
184

water table, so that ponds and pools were formed, almost leading to the
re-establishment o f the erstwhile large Sabana lake. Considerable parts of
the flat surface o f the high plain were covered b y alder (Alnus) cart or
locally b y Myrica and Symplocos scrub or open marshy vegetation. The
lower slopes of the mountains surrounding the high plain became covered
b y forests of encenillo (Weinmannia). Farther to the north oak (Quercus)
formed an important element in these forests. Soils on the drier places had
disappeared through erosion and solifluction in the foregoing cold periods,
and on these bare soils Dodonaea was one of the pioneer shrubs.
The situation in front of rock shelter E1 Abra II is sketched in Fig.l-II.
The gully in front of the escarpment is filled with water and lake clays are
deposited; on the surrounding flat surface, with high water table, alder
forest is growing. The rock shelter is dry and a slightly darker and more
humic soil is formed inside the shelter and on the fiat surface. It is clear
that this environment was relatively favourable, with plenty of water.
Dense forests, however, are not t o o favourable for animals like deer and
larger rodents; t h e y probably abounded in the somewhat more open
vegetation t y p e s and higher up the slopes of t h e mountains in the area of
the forest limit and subp~ramo.
The presence of man in our area during the Guantiva Interstadial is
proved b y the finds of chert flakes and some artifacts in the corresponding
layers (C3) in the E1 Abra rock shelters. The artifacts are of the E1 Abra
t y p e ("edge-trimmed tool tradition"), characterized b y the preparation of
the working edge on only one side b y percussion, and made of tabular
fragments or r o u n d e d pebbles of the local grey to yellowish Upper
Cretaceous chert; in one case a unifaced rectangular scraper of black chert
was found. The presence of tools such as obtuse-angled end-scrapers and
spokeshaves suggests that some tools were made of wood, a material
abundantly present in t h e surrounding forests.
The remnants left b y man living in the area during the Guantiva
Stadial are n o t very abundant. They were probably hunters that lived
in the upper zones of t h e Andean forest and subp~ramo, and the rock
shelters studied to date (El Abra and Tequendama) were apparently only
visited as t e m p o r a r y hunting camps.

THE EL ABRA STADIAL (ca. 11,000--10,000 B.P.)

Approximately 11,000 years ago t h e climate once more became con-

siderably colder. The forest partly disappeared again from the high plain
and was replaced b y subp~ramo vegetation: open areas and low forest
with abundant representatives of the Compositae. The open water in the
gully in front of rock shelter E1 Abra II disappeared partly and it was
invaded b y marsh Vegetation (see Fig.l-III). The local vegetation in the
marsh and near the gully contained Cyperaceae, Hydrocotyle, Geranium,
Caryophyllaceae and later Papilionaceae (Vicia) and Azolla. This lowering
 185
of the water table (as in Laguna de Fuquene) has to be explained b y a
decrease of effective precipitation. The sudden appearance and increase of
Azolla in the water might possibly indicate some pollution because of the
activities of man in the nearby rock shelter and its surroundings.
At the transition to the Holocene (around 10,000 B.P.) some volcanic
ash was deposited, found as "soft yellow fragments" in the gully and rock
shelters. Because of t h e cold climate, exfoliation of the rocks occurred and
even large blocks fell d o w n from the ceiling of the shelters and from the
excarpment.
Because of t h e relatively unfavourable conditions for conservation, only
few faunal remains were found in the corresponding strata in E1 Abra. In
the Tequendama rock shelters, however, such remains are very abundant in
this period; especially abundant are the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus) and
brocket deer (Mazama), a species of c o t t o n tail (Sylvilagus) and the rodents
Sigmodon (a species of c o t t o n rat) and Cavia (guinea pig). Other animals
found are Dasypus (armadillo), Tayra (tayra) and Potos (kinkajou). Many
of these animals abound in forest-limit conditions (or subphramo,
respectively) and there is no d o u b t that the high plain formed an excellent
hunting ground during the E1 Abra stadial. In Tequendama 40% of the
individuals found were deer and 30% rodents.
If the weight of meat per individual and per species is taken into
account, it is obvious that deer were b y far the principal source of meat for
the Tequendama people of that time.
The few artifacts f o u n d in E1 Abra are of the Abrian type. In Tequendama,
however, apart from these "Abrian" artifacts, other types were found
("Tequendamian") with fine superficial retouch obtained b y a pressure
technique, such as a fragment of a stone projectile point, a bifacial leaf, a
bifacial strangulated instrument, an oval, keeled scraper ("limace") etc.
Other ones show fine secondary retouches on t h e outer border towards the
working edge. The form of some implements suggests a cognisance of the
blade technique (cores with primary striking platform). Of the total of
artifacts, more than 50% are cutting instruments, 30% scrapers and 7%
perforators. Spokeshaves are very rare. (Data from Correal and Van der
Hammen, 1977). The implements seem to indicate that w o o d working was
scarce and that the Tequendamians of that time were relatively specialized
deer hunters.
While the Tequendama rock shelters were densely inhabited during the
E1 Abra stadial, the E1 Abra rock shelters were apparently only visited
occasionally and may have served as temporal hunting camps for
Tequendamian people or similar contemporaneous groups.

THE E A R L Y AND MIDDLE HOLOCENE (ca. 10,000--2,500 B.P.)

Around 10,000 B.P. the climate started to ameliorate more definitely.

The average annual temperature rose, causing also an increase of evaporation,
186
and consequently t h e marsh in the gully in front of Abra II dried up (see
Fig.l-IV). Forest invaded t h e area again, alder (Alnus) dominating on the
lower and wetter places. On the drier soils of the high plain Myrica
abounded locally and near E1 Abra the forest contained Myrtaceae,
Melastomataceae, Viburnum (very abundant), Ilex and (in the under-
growth) Borreria. Weinmannia was probably also locally abundant on the
plain, b u t it was certainly c o m m o n on the lower slopes of the surrounding
mountains. The relative abundance of Dodonaea may indicate local
disturbance b y man leading to soil erosion in and ground the rock shelters.
While a considerable part of the high plain must have been densely
forested, in the lower lying areas open marshy vegetation must have
abounded and somewhat more open dry vegetation types were certainly
c o m m o n in t h e dry southern and western parts.
The E1 Abrian people of that time and their contemporaries from the
Tequendama r o c k shelters adapted themselves to this predominantly
sylvan w a y of life. Their set of implements is basically of "Abrian"
technique, and contained scrapers, knives and spokeshaves that could have
served for b o t h wood-working and hide-scraping industries, apart from
bone artifacts. Any indication of stone projectile points is lacking and we
may assume that the projectiles were tipped with w o o d e n points. As
regards the animal bones found in E1 Abra IV, the level older than 7,000
B.P. contained 50% of individuals of Odocoileus and 50% of Cav/a, b u t
the total number of finds was low. The succeeding layers (ca. 7,000--
2,500 B.P.) contained many more bones, of which a b o u t 70% individuals
are Cavia, and ca. 16% are deer (Odocoileus and Mazama). Other remnants
f o u n d were of Didelphis, Sylvilagus, Sigmodon and Dasypus.
In Tequendama the Early Holocene layers contained 75% of individuals
of rodents and 15% of deer. Accordingly, there was a general trend towards
a considerably higher percentage of rodents in the diet, although it should
be borne in mind that the greater part of the meat was still provided b y
deer-hunting. Yet, in Tequendama, there is also an increase of t h e remains
of gastropods. The combined evidence from tools and kitchen waste
indicates that t h e adaptation to a sylvan life led from a relatively specialized
hunting culture to a somewhat more varied, partly hunting and partly
gathering w a y of life.
In E1 Abra, the presence of man seems to be more permanent n o w (although,
maybe, seasonal). The carefully prepared clay-lined fire pits point in that
direction, while the artifacts and flakes b e c o m e much more abundant than
before. It is interesting to note that the bones from larger and fleshier cuts
of meat are absent or under-represented; this may be an indication of
butchering of killed game in other sites than the rock shelters.
While the density of population in t h e Sabana de Bogot~ seems to have
been relatively high in the period ca. 10,000--5,000 B.P., there seems to be
a fall of density after that date (ca. 5,000--2,500 B.P.; see Correal and Van
der Hammen, 1977). There are several indications from the vegetational
 187
history that this was a relatively warm and dry period in Colombia (Van der
Hammen, 1974). This may have lead to a scarcity o f water and the dis-
appearance of open marshy areas as hunting grounds, causing a reduction or
displacement of the population.
In the Tequendama rock shelters a number of burials were found from
the period 10,000--5,000 B.P. The skeletons from some of t h e m were
directly dated b y the radiocarbon method. For the physical description of
the skulls and skeletons and their comparison with other early American
skeletons, we may refer here to Correal and Van der Hammen (1977). The
extreme molar wear and other mandibular characteristics point to a tough
and hard diet, as may be expected in groups of hunters-gatherers. The life
span must have been relatively short (45--50 years) and the infant-mortality
index high.

THE LATE HOLOCENE (ca. 2,500 B.P. to present)

Around 3,000 B.P. the climate in the area became slightly cooler and an
increase of effective precipitation led to the formation of ponds in some
places and probably to an increase in size of open marshes. Water again
b e c o m e more abundant in the high plain of Bogota.
Shortly after 2,500 B.P. the first agricultural activities in t h e area began
and slightly later deforestation became noticeable. We do not know where
these farming indians, w h o were probably the ancestors of the later Muiscas
(Chibcha-indians), came from. Theoretically it is even possible that t h e y are
a u t o c h t h o n o u s hunting-gathering people that adopted agriculture. In this
respect it is interesting that there is a continuity of the "Abrian" artifact
types and techniques, albeit in a somewhat impoverished form. However,
there are manifest racial differences b e t w e e n the pre-ceramic and the
ceramic population (Correal and Van der Hammen, 1977). The Abrian
artifacts and techniques have, moreover, a much wider distribution than
those of the Sabana de Bogota and have been found in other parts of the
Eastern Cordillera and in the Magdalena valley. We may conclude from this
that the n e w agriculturalists used an older stone-working technique they
had:inherited from their own ancestors elsewhere in Colombia or from the
original pre-ceramic population of the Sabana de Bogota, with which t h e y
may have mixed.
Maize was t h e principal crop of the Muiscas and most probably already
of the people of 2,500 B.C. They used manos for grinding, made ceramics
from the beginning, and used polished axes.
It seems that the earlier ceramic phase, found on the Tequendama site,
is lacking in E1 Abra, where only classic Muisca-pottery was found. The
relative a m o u n t of Cav/a in the faunal remains of E1 Abra of this period
remained approximately the same (ca. 70% of the individuals). However, a
clear morphological change in the pelvic girdle and a shift in the age pattern
indicate domestication of the Cavia.
188
The pollen diagrams show an increasing deforestation of the area, that
culminated in the centuries following the Spanish conquest, when cattle
raising and large landownership were introduced into the Sabana. This
period (since ca. 1,550 A.D.) is represented in the rock shelters by the
bones of introduced domesticated animals like cows, sheep, goats and
chickens, and by colonial pottery and other objects. In the period since
ca. 1,550 A.D. the influence of m a n o n the ecosystems became locally
disastrous, because of inadequate management. The soil on the slopes of
mountains and hill sides was washed away, which led to deep erosion and
"desertification" in many places.

CONCLUSIONS

On the high plain of Bogot~ a clear relation between the changing

environment and human population and cultures can be established. The
presence of man in the area could be established with reasonable certainty
from 12,500 B.P. onward and possibly even before that time. We do not
know very much about these people, who made chert artifacts of the
Abrian type and certainly lived principally from hunting in a vegetation
type corresponding with the upper Andean forest or the subp~ramo. These
people may only. have visited the area occasionally, temporarily, or seasonally
During the last cold phase of the Last Glacial, the E1 Abra stadial
(ca. 11,000--10,000 B.P.), relatively specialized deer hunters lived
permanently or seasonally in the area, "exploiting" the abundant game of
the uppermost zone of the Andean forest and the subp£ramo, then lying
at the level of the high plain (ca. 2,550--2,600 m altitude). The tools of
thesejpeople were especially suitable for cutting and scraping (of meat and
hides), and they apparently used stone projectile points./
When around 10,000 B.P. the Holocene began, the tree line moved far
up the mountain slopes and the area came to lie well within the Andean
forest belt. Although open marshy or open dry areas existed, people had
to adapt themselves to the new environment consisting of dominating,
closer forest vegetation and probably a Smaller deer population. Part of the
equipment of the more specialized hunters and part of the technique (like
superficial pressure flaking) was lost or became disused, while the percentage
of spokeshaves, indicating an increasing importance of Wood-working
(probably including the manufacturing of wooden projectile points),
gradually increased. Basically having a forest culture, they hunted and
gathered, and used artifacts of stone, wood, and bone. They hunted deer,
captured or gathered small rodents, and gathered gastropods and probably
also fruits and roots. With time gathering seems to have gained in
importance.
Around 5,000 B.P. the climate became considerably drier. Water
became scarcer and probably also the game animals. It seems as if this
rendered the area less suitable for human habitation and it could support
 189

only considerably fewer people. The population seems to have declined

noticeably in that period.
Around 3,000 B.P. the average annual temperature decreased slightly
and the effective precipitation became higher, water thus becoming more
abundant in the area. In the course of this first millennium B.C., maize
culture extended throughout the Cordillera. As far as we know now, it
probably arrived at the Sabana de Bogot~ shortly after 2,500 B.P.
Deforestation started and hence inundation became probably more frequent
and more serious. Deer abounded again in this partly anthropogenic park
landscape, and the crops were locally cultivated in something like raised
fields. Metallurgy and polishing techniques were known. Wood, bone and
stone implements were prepared; the techniques of manufacturing of the
stone and the bone artifacts (the first of the Abrian type) were inherited
from their pre-ceramic ancestors or from the original preceramic inhabitants
of the Sabana de Bogota.
The way the Muiscas exploited their environment (including the cultivation
of crops) did not completely destroy it in most cases. However, when after
ca. 1,550 A.D. the Spaniards abolished most of the indigenous organisation
and the Indian agriculture declined on the high plain, large landownership
and extensive cattle raising had disastrous results for the environment.
Because of soil erosion certain areas in the Sabana de Bogota, and around
Tunja, Fuquene and Villa de Leiva, etc., became virtually converted into
deserts.
The pre-ceramic Indians exploited their environment without causing
much harm to it. The indigenous food-producing communities of the
ceramic period changed their environment more fundamentally, but did not
destroy it. The European systems of food production changed the ecosystems
drastically and led in many places to complete destruction.

REFERENCES

Correal, G. and Van der Hammen, T., 1977. Invest'igaciones arqueol6gicos en los abrigos
rocosos del Tequendama; 11,000 ahos de prehistoria en la altiplanicie de Bogota.
(With English summaries and translations.) Banco Popular, Bogota. (Also in: The
Quaternary of Colombia, 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam.)
Correal, G., Van der Hammen, T. and Lerman, J. C., 1970. Artefactos l~ticos de abrigos
rocosos en E1 Abra, Colombia. Rev. Colomb. Antropol., 14: 9--53.
Gonzalez, E., Van der Hammen, T. and R. F. Flint, 1966. Late Quaternary glacial and
vegetational sequence in Valle de Lagunillas, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia.
Leidse Geol. Meded. 32: 157--182.
Hurt, W. R., Van der Hammen, T. and Correal, G., 1976. The E1 Abra rock shelters,
Sabana de Bogota, South America. Occas. Pap. Monogr., Ind. Univ. Mus., Bloomington,
2. (Also in: The Quaternary of Colombia, 2. Elsevier, Amsterdam.)
Schreve-Brinkman, E. J., 1978. A palynological study of the Upper Quaternary sequence
in the El Abra corridor and rock shelters (Colombia). Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol.,
Palaeoecol., 2 5 : 1 - - 1 0 9 (this issue).
Van der Hammen, T., 1973. The Quaternary of Colombia: introduction to a research
190

project and a series of publications. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 14: ,

1--7.
Van der Hammen, T., 1974. The Pleistocene changes of vegetation and climate in
tropical South America. J. Biogeogr., 1 : 3--26.
Van der Hammen, T., 1978. Stratigraphy and environments of the Upper Quaternary of
the E1 Abra corridor and rock shelters. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 25:
111--162. -
Van Geel, B. and Van der Hammen, T.~ 1973. Upper Quaternary vegetational and
climatic sequence of the Fuquene area (Eastern Cordillera, Colombia). Palaeogeogr.,
Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 14: 9--92.
IJzereef, G., 1978. The faunal remains from the E1 Abra rock shelters. Palaeogeogr.,
Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 25: 163--177.