The origin of the people who lived in the Nahuange period is still a mystery. No ancient sites prior to 3000 B.C. have been found in the region of hunters and gatherers without pottery. There are isolated signs that some of the villages of groups of farmers who settled mainly in the Lower Magdalena region during the thousand years before the birth of Christ were in the area around the Santa Marta Great Salt Marsh. However, it is not yet known whether there was any relationship between the people who lived in these early settlements and those of the Nahuange period, which commenced around 200 A.D.

Small communities of goldsmiths, farmers and fishermen appear to have settled around 200 A.D. in the coastal areas at the foot of the northern and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and even near the Great Salt Marsh. The main sites that have been investigated so far are in the lower reaches of the Córdoba and Gaira rivers, in the bays that are today part of the Tairona National Park, and at the mouth of the River Buritaca. They built villages in these areas on raised ground near the sea, although virtually always on the banks of the numerous rivers and streams that flowed down from the mountains. The fact that they settled on the coast suggests that they exploited the wide range of resources that were available offshore, on the beaches and in the nearby marshes, rivers and hills, which complemented a diet based on crops they grew. From an economic and ecological point of view, the coastline of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is not wholly uniform, and the way these groups subsisted was therefore not uniform, either.

People living in the bays at the foot of the northern slopes and in the lower part of the River Gaira had to adapt to different conditions over a long period of time. Prior to 500 A.D., the area around the present village of Gaira was a vast mangrove swamp, dominated by red mangrove trees (Rizophora mangle). The sea level was a little over a metre higher than it is today, and the inhabitants exploited the resources that were available in these environments. Their diet included various species of fish, crabs and molluscs. Continent-wide climate changes around 500 A.D. led to the sea level falling, with the immediate result that the mangrove swamps disappeared, and the effects of this were probably catastrophic for the people who depended to a large extent on these resources. They therefore had to reorientate their subsistence strategies, and they gradually developed an agricultural economy based around the fertile soils of the Gaira valley. This is where Mamorón was located, a site that was inhabited from 550 A.D. until about 900 A.D.

The effect that the falling sea level had on the bays at the foot of the northern slope of the Sierra Nevada is not known, although it was probably not so drastic as around Gaira. This slope is noted for its rugged terrain and great ecological variety in a relatively small area. During the Nahuange period, most of the bays were settled by groups who exploited the different resources that were available locally. The agricultural potential of Cinto and Gairaca bays was no doubt taken advantage of for planting maize and other crops, while the shallow waters of Chengue bay meant that sea salt could be extracted, although the drought conditions that prevailed there made agriculture impossible. The greatest potential these bays offered would nevertheless appear to have been the opportunity for deep sea fishing. Archaeologists have found fish bones and weights from the nets that were used for these activities. On rubbish dumps from this period in Cinto bay, for example, only parts of fish bodies have been found, indicating that they were probably beheaded on the beach and then preserved as dried fish, thus making them easier to transport and barter with. This proves that bartering amongst communities that had settled in different ecological zones was a strategy that was used during the early period. Deer and rabbit bones, remains of tortoises and mollusc shells are similar indications of the diversified economy that existed during this period.

Tairona and the Gold Museum Exhibition

Territory and Subsistence

Paradise Found and Lost

A Powerful Shaman Elite