In pre-Hispanic America, metal objects were symbols that were associated with religion, power and society. The most prized properties of the metal were its colour, shine, sound and smell. Quimbaya goldsmiths were masters at working gold and copper alloys so as to get different colours, and they dominated polishing techniques which enabled them to produce shiny surfaces.

The lost wax method

Casting using the lost wax method was the basic process the goldsmiths used for making most objects. Necklace beads in the shape of a human face were made using this technique, as well.

1. The goldsmith carved the design of the bead in a matrix made of clay and ground charcoal.
2. He then placed a thin sheet of beeswax on top of this, cutting it to the shape of the object; he carved it and added external details.
3. He added a wax funnel, through which he then poured the metal.
4. He covered everything with a layer or mould of clay.
5. When the mould was dry, he heated it so he could remove the wax from inside.
6. He melted the metal in a pottery crucible or heat-resistant container placed in the embers of a fire in a pottery furnace. He poured the liquid metal into the hot mould.
7. When the mould was cold, he broke it so he could remove the object. The wax model appeared, transformed into metal.
8. He cut the wax funnel off and polished the surface with fine sand, smooth stones or other materials.

Metal containers were made with a nucleus

These goldsmiths were masters at making hollow objects by casting, using the lost wax method with a nucleus. They followed this process when making containers for keeping lime in:

1. The goldsmith moulded the nucleus into the shape of the object in a mixture of clay and ground charcoal.
2. He covered it with a layer of wax, to which he added a funnel. He fitted a number of supports, so he could keep the nucleus in place during the casting.
3. He coated the nucleus with a layer or mould of clay.
4. He poured the metal into the mould after heating it and removing the wax.
5. He broke the mould and removed the supports and the nucleus material. He repaired the openings where the supports had been with plugs or rivets of the same metal, which he then hid by polishing them.

Goldsmiths also made hammered objects

The goldsmiths were also masters of hammering and embossing techniques, which demanded great skill and a detailed understanding of how different metals behaved.

1. When the goldsmith was making a hammered object, he took a metal button or ingot, placed it on a stone anvil, and hit it with a hammer until he got a sheet.
2. Metal goes hard and brittle when it is hammered. To get the sheet malleable again so he could continue with the process, he heated it up once more, until it was red-hot.
3. He submerged the sheet in water to cool it down, and then hammered it again.
4. When he was making a helmet, he hammered the sheet alternately on a concave and then a convex wooden form until he achieved the necessary hemispherical shape. From time to time he heated the metal up until it was red-hot.
5. The embossed decoration was done with the object resting on a soft surface such as resin, pitch, or a bag filled with sand. He drew the design and then embossed it using different types of tools. He alternated between working on the inner and outer faces.

The work of the potters

Agricultural groups in the mid-Cauca region used clay to make objects for a variety of purposes in their everyday lives and in the ritual. The pottery objects in this museum reflect not only an extensive knowledge and mastery of pottery but also great creativity and aesthetic sense. The shapes of objects and the techniques used underwent change with the passing of time, and there were local variations within the region. The potter started his work by extracting the clay from the source of his raw material. He kneaded it to make it more homogeneous, and cleaned it of impurities. Sometimes he added sand or other materials, in order to give it greater consistency and prevent breakage during firing. He formed the object by rolling or shaping, using moulds or a combination of different techniques, and decorated it with incisions, impressions, paint or modelled ornaments. He often polished the surface with smooth stones. When the object was dry, he fired it in a furnace, controlling both the firing temperature and time.

Archaeological heritage is made up of the property and possessions of past cultures, and the human and organic remains associated with those cultures. This heritage belongs to the communities and to the whole nation, and is protected by the constitution and the law. Archaeological heritage is a legacy of the past which enables us to discover our origins, build our identity, and recognise ourselves as a group. Archaeology works to recover, research, preserve and divulge this heritage.

A science in search of origins

Archaeology studies material culture and the remains left behind by human groups in the past, in order to discover how those groups lived and thought, how their lives and thoughts changed with the passing of time. Material culture refers to objects, constructions and other tangible manifestations of what people produced in order to meet their individual and collective needs. To find out about past societies, the archaeologist investigates objects in their context - in other words, in their surroundings and in relation to other remains nearby and the place where he finds them. This relationship enables him to make inferences about the activities that were once engaged in at the place. Indiscriminate grave plundering in the mid-Cauca region has removed large numbers of objects from the past from their natural surroundings, and has therefore caused irreparable damage in terms of valuable information about the lives and culture of the peoples who made those objects being lost.

The study of ancient metals

Archaeometallurgy is the specialist branch of archaeology which studies the metal objects of past societies in order to discover the raw materials and techniques that were employed for making them and the activities they were used for. This research involves carrying out sophisticated analyses with complex technologies, such as a metallographic microscope, which produces enlarged images of the internal structure of objects.

The beginnings of archaeology in the mid-Cauca region

The first archaeological research in the mid-Cauca region was undertaken by the archaeologist Luis Duque Gómez (1916 - 2000) between 1941 and 1943. Duque and other colleagues were commissioned at the time by the National Ethnological Institute, which is today known as the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, to "look for the Quimbayas". As part of their mission, they studied collections of pre-Hispanic objects, gathered data about archaeological deposits, and undertook exploratory work and digs at a housing site in Supía, in cemeteries in Riosucio, Armenia and Montenegro, and on rubbish dumps and at other sites where there were remains of ancient settlers in La Tebaida.

The work of the archaeologist

Many remains or objects from the past are found in the subsoil today as a result of the natural formation of the ground and human activities. Archaeologists dig meticulously, using special techniques which enable them to recover objects and information about their context. In the laboratory, the archaeologist cleans, marks, analyses and classifies the objects, and other information he has gathered from the dig. By studying these and the context, he reconstructs the activities that were once performed at the site or in the sector, together with aspects of life in the past. The archaeologist's work is ruled at all times by research questions, methods, and scientific techniques.

Cultural relations between South Western and Northern Colombia

Archaeological evidence exists that between 500 B.C. and 1000 A.D., various societies in south western Colombia were in contact with each other, bartered prestigious goods, and shared certain symbols. Traces of these contacts can still be seen in the mid-Cauca valley. Each of these societies created its own, individual styles in its gold, pottery and stone work, yet at the same time, these styles shared a number of common, regional features.

Schematised anthropomorphous and anthropozoomorphous breastplates and necklace beads were made of gold throughout the south west, and are often found in the mid-Cauca valley. The same applies to the twin-spouted pottery jugs known as alcarrazas.

Between the years 0 and 1000 A.D., people living in central and northern Colombia and lower Central America were in contact with each other, as well. Metallurgy styles and techniques like casting, the use of tumbaga, depicting realistic human figures or animals with their tails raised, and breastplates with diverging spirals, were shared between these groups, who lived in what are today known as Panama and Costa Rica.