“Quimbaya, My Lord… Quimbaya…” (ca. 4th – 7th C AD)
If there is one highly notable thing about ancient South America, it’s that the continent was home to many, many indigenous cultures – all of which developed independently of each other, becoming specialists in various, distinct areas. One of these lesser known cultures, but certainly not any less talented, was the Quimbaya civilization of Colombia.
The Quimbaya were noted for their incredible talent in goldworking, which was revealed through their highly technical accuracy and exquisitely detailed designs. Their gold pieces also have a very distinct hue and shine, which comes from the inclusion of 30% copper with the gold, creating an alloy known as “tumbaga”.
The favored subjects of Quimbaya gold art pieces were men and women in sitting positions, almost always with closed eyes and rather placid expressions. Gold funerary masks were also created with the same general expression on the face, and these were often placed inside the sarcophagus of a deceased individual – gold was believed to have been a sacred thing, and very useful for achieving safe passage into the afterlife.
The Quimbaya generally lived around the Cauca River in Colombia, and although it is believed that they probably settled there sometime in the first century AD, the culture did not really reach its height until the 4th to 7th centuries. Then during the 10th century, the Quimbaya disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared… leaving behind purely archaeological evidence of a civilization with advanced cultural development, a structured chiefdom, and groups of people dedicated to specialized trades, such as pottery, goldwork, trade relations, the military, and religious duties.
Beyond this, little else is known – except for one thing: the Quimbaya were drug addicts. Many of their gold figurines have flasks around the neck, or are even flasks themselves, and held a substance called lime. Lime was chewed together with coca leaves in order to release their “active stimulant” – and anyone who knows even a bit of plant biology will probably recall that coca leaf is the raw material used to manufacture a more commonly known drug: cocaine.
Of course, the Quimbaya believed that this stimulant helped them to bring about a state of clear and contemplative thinking, and may have been an important part of the culture’s religious beliefs – the drug was probably used during fertility rituals, in order to commune with ancestral spirits and ensure the continued regeneration of essential plant and animal life in their land. Why would this be the case? There are actually several present-day people groups in Colombia, such as the Kogi, who utilize coca for a very similar purpose!
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