TUMACO-LA TOLITA CULTURE: CHARACTERISTICS, CERAMICS, LOCATION - HISTORY - 2024

The Tumaco-La Tolita culture was an indigenous society of pre-Columbian times, which developed from the island area of ​​La Tolita in Ecuador to Tumaco, in Colombia. They existed from the year 600 a. Until the year 200 of our era; it developed and reached its maximum cultural expression before the arrival of the Incas to this territory.

They were characterized by being a society that was based on ceremonial worship and with an artistic eye that other civilizations in America did not have. The art of the Tumaco-La Tolita civilization is considered one of the most developed of the entire pre-Columbian period of America.

Art of the Tumaco-LaTolita culture

The archaeological discoveries that have been made in the region cover a large number of styles, among which the gold figures and masks with anthropomorphic characteristics stand out.

According to discoveries made, it is possible to determine that this culture had a social organization that revolved around art and religious ceremonies.

General characteristics

Economy

The economy of this civilization revolved around agriculture, as was common for the American tribes of the time. From the harvested products its system of exchange of goods was developed; particularly corn and cassava were harvested.

Corn was one of the most common foods in the American territory and, also, the easiest food to grow.

However, the inhabitants of this civilization also used to practice hunting for food. On the other hand, given its great proximity to the sea, fishing was one of the most feasible ways to obtain food in an almost unlimited way.

Society

The society of this region used to be divided according to the social rank occupied by each of its inhabitants. It should be noted that this form of organization is the one used by the societies of this region in general, but each specific town had particular characteristics.

This type of division brought with it a stratification according to the type of profession that each inhabitant of the culture exercised. On the lower side of the social stratum were farmers, artisans and those who worked with gold; these trades were seen as basic professions.

In high society were the tribal chiefs, chiefs and various regional governors. Each urban center in the area that this civilization occupied had a different leader, and they acted independently of each other.

Crafts and goldsmithing

Crafts were one of the most popular cultural expressions in the Tumaco-La Tolita culture. In fact, craftsmanship in all its forms is what separated this civilization from the rest of the tribes in the same region. Their techniques were quite advanced for the time and the works they created had deep social significance.

Goldsmithing was also a fairly popular practice for the society of this culture. They worked mainly with gold, which led to the discovery of a large number of figures of high value in the archaeological sites of these regions of Colombia and Ecuador.

Through goldsmithing and crafts, the Tumaco-La Tolita culture expressed its cultural diversity and recreated social and religious symbols that identified their society.

They also created figures with erotic significance, which made reference to the various fertility rituals that this civilization used to perform frequently.

Ceramics

The ceramic creations of this culture presented elements related to their society. In many cases, figures playing a religious role were represented, but it was also common to make statues physiognomically similar to the inhabitants of civilization.

The ceramics of this civilization were very well made, which helped them to positively endure the passage of time. It was used to make many objects, including artifacts that the inhabitants of the region used in their daily lives.

In addition, ceramic tools were used in the elaboration of structures, for pieces of rituals and religious ceremonies.

More expensive

The importance of the masks lies in their detailed and original way of working with gold and silver, reflecting in turn the high social hierarchy as well as the intensity of their religious and ceremonial life.

Generally, the marcaras were made of gold and tumbaga. Its dimensions are approximately 17.5cm in length and 13.6cm in width.

There are several carved sculptures, the most common were in the shape of a human head, with round details and the upper part cut horizontally. Sometimes their eyes and mouth were open.

They were simple figures, but carefully worked and with very varied details depending on the pieces.

Due to the theft by hunters and the trafficking of archaeological artifacts that has taken place in recent centuries, of the total of 40 tolas (golden pampas) known to exist on the island of La Tolita, only 16 remain.

The Tumaco were skilled potters and are considered one of the best pottery cultures on the American continent.

In the ceramics of Tumaco we can see represented various aspects of a daily and religious nature, such as the theme of motherhood, women, eroticism, diseases and old age.

Location

The name of this culture may vary, depending on the type of source from which the information is obtained. Some archaeological records refer to this culture as La Tolita, while others speak of the Tumaco culture. Both concepts are correct; the region occupied by this civilization is more complex than the original term suggests.

The Tumaco-La Tolita culture was not homogeneous in its entirety. This civilization is actually a group of various small societies that had very similar characteristics to each other. These occupied the region of La Tolita, Monte Alto, Selva Alegre, Tumaco and Mataje. The population growth of these groups gave rise to culture.

In other words, the territorial space that this culture came to encompass is larger than its name appears. In its entirety, the culture extends from Esmeraldas (a river located in Ecuador) to Calima, in Colombia.

However, for practical purposes, reference is made to the most important population and cultural groups, located in Tumaco and La Tolita.

Religion

As was customary for most of the South American tribes of the time, the Tumaco-La Tolita culture presented an exclusively polytheistic religion. They also believed in animism, and souls were a crucial part of their religious culture.

Shamans played an important role within the religion of this civilization. A series of cults were held, which were inspired almost entirely by animals and creatures of nature. It was common to use the jaguar, the eagle or the alligator as species to worship them, as they were believed to represent deities on Earth.

Shamans also acted as priests within the religious culture of this civilization. This priestly activity was quite extensive and large structures were built to serve as cult centers, which were presided over by the shamans of the society.

In rituals it was common to use hallucinogenic substances, such as mushrooms, which were found in the same region occupied by this civilization.

References

1. Tumaco-La Tolita Societies: Pacific Coast of Colombia and Ecuador, P. Castaño, 1992. Taken from banrepcultural.org
2. People & Culture of Ecuador - Coastal Region, Quito Adventure, (nd). Taken from quitoadventure.com
3. Pre-Columbian Ecuador, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from Wikipedia.org
4. La Tolita, Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, (nd). Taken from precolombino.cl
5. Did the flowering of the La Tolita culture 3000 BP result from a natural disaster ?, JF Durmont in European Journal of Geography, 2010. Taken from openedition.org