The hills of the upper- and mid-Calima river region and the flat soils of the Cauca valley in Valle del Cauca province are home to remains of settlements dating back almost 9,000 years: ancient houses, fields where crops were once grown, and the cemeteries and paths of societies that were initially hunters and gatherers but which later became farmers, potters and goldsmiths. Archaeologists have divided this history into periods which go by the names Pre-Ceramic, Ilama, Yotoco - Malagana, and Sonso.

Very little is known about the social, political and economic organisation of the societies that lived in the Calima region during the Ilama period, in the fourteen hundred years before the Christian era. It is not clear, for example, whether they used goldwork. Their artistic expressions nevertheless suggest power and hierarchy relations. Their pottery vessels stress links between human beings and nature, the everyday world and the supernatural. People's physical aspects, their hairstyles and ornaments, their everyday duties and activities, can be seen in those pottery vessels in the form of men carrying containers or women breastfeeding their children.

Feline figures, armadillos, owls and doves, all of them found in the Calima region, were realistically portrayed by potters. Other fantastic beings, probably mythical, combine human, feline, amphibious, bat and snake features, perhaps in an attempt to capture the strength, bravery, ferocity and agility of these animals.

The population of the Calima valley increased during the first thousand years of the Christian era. Homes were built on platforms on the hillsides, paths were opened up, and areas of forest were cleared to make way for the growing of crops, using raised ridges and drainage channels. Leaders were surrounded by specialists who produced luxurious, showy objects for them from gold and other materials, and when those leaders died, the objects were buried with them as part of their funerary regalia.

The ornaments found as part of the regalia in one tomb relate the chieftain who wore it to feline figures. The hanging plates on the nose ring resemble the jaguar's spots, the upper and lower extensions are the animal's limbs, and the centre plate its face.

The power of the leaders in these societies was probably not inherited, but rather had to be acquired through personal effort, and new leaders accordingly demonstrated their authority by acquiring prestigious luxury objects that emphasised their economic and political supremacy. These objects went out of circulation when their owner died, as they were buried with him, and whoever took over the job had to start his own process of demonstrating power.

Fine gold was ideal for making these ornaments, because it is malleable and can be hammered, embossed, cut and polished to create objects that reflect light and sounds. Fusion welding or granulation was used on rings and nose rings from the Calima region, as it was on the Pacific coast.

But it is its symbolism rather than the technology that explains the sacred metal's importance. Everlasting, shining and yellow, gold is related in the American indian cosmos to the sun, which renews life every day. By clothing themselves in gold, chieftains indicated to the community that their power brought about fertility and life.

The figures of men and women show the ornaments and headdresses that were typical of the Yotoco - Malagana period in the Calima region. Earlobes were stretched so that earrings in the form of reels could be worn, and large metal plates were hung from these. A single gilded human face, uniform and enigmatic, is repeated time and again on diadems that were worn on the forehead, on breastplates, and on pendants whose use is not very clear. It is an emblematic face with a nose ring in the form of a feline figure and reel-shaped earrings with pendants. This icon expressed values, beliefs and ideals of beauty, and acted as support for the power and rank of those who wore it.

The community gathers for the ritual to express the social, political, economic and religious links that bind it together. Sacred objects, poporos and masks, the use of drinks and plants associated with divinity, dancing, chants and ceremonies are all features of the most important moments in the lives not only of individuals but of the social group as a whole.

Poporos are the containers that are used for keeping the lime in that is used in the ritual chewing of coca leaves. They come in human or feline shapes, or are shaped like animals, birds, alligators or vegetables such as corn cobs, gourds and marrows.

Masks, sticks and musical instruments transformed those taking part in the rituals into fantastic and powerful beings. The goldsmiths of Yotoco Period societies in Calima portrayed these masked characters on the small sticks that were used for removing lime from poporos, which were cast using the lost wax technique.

In 1992, a chieftains' cemetery dating back to the year 200 A.D. on the plains of Valle del Cauca province was destroyed and looted. Archaeological digs nearby revealed information about life in those days, but everything to do with the circumstances in which this important cemetery developed and about the people who were buried in it was lost for ever.

On digs near housing sites, archaeologists found kneeling female figurines. They were part of groups of offerings which were perhaps related to fertility and biological and social reproduction.

Gold and pottery objects of high quality and great size were common at Malagana. They appear to have been made solely for use as funerary regalia, because there are no signs of wear and tear on them. A number of bodies were buried in the rich Malagana cemetery wearing several superimposed masks: symbols of death, some of these look like skulls while on others, the face that is depicted is lifeless.

The politics, economy and ideology of late period societies in the Calima region all changed. The population increased, and leaders no longer manifested their power by possessing luxury objects, but rather by controlling economic production. People went on building their homes on platforms and using the raised field agricultural system, with drainage channels.

Wooden sarcophagi and regalia consisting of everyday working items like harpoons, lances and darts made of palm reflected the changed meaning of material objects. When this sarcophagus - which has been dated by the carbon 14 method as coming from 1250 A.D. - was being restored, textile, wood and vegetable remains were found, along with cotton seeds. The marks were also revealed where the lid had been fixed on outside. The organic material had been preserved due to the fact that the tombs were flooded with stagnant water, with no oxygen and therefore no bacteria to cause them to decay.

Calima and the Gold Museum Exhibition

Ilama: Nature and Society

Social Inequality in the Yotoco - Malagana Period

Life and Death during the Sonso Period