Editing Muisca (section)

== History of the Muisca ==
Subgroupings were identified chiefly by their allegiances to three great [[Muisca rulers]]: the ''hoa'' in [[Tunja|Hunza]], ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]] and southern [[Santander Department|Santander]]; the ''psihipqua'' in [[Bacatá|Muyquytá]] and encompassing most of modern [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]], the western [[Llanos]]; and the ''iraca'', religious ruler of [[Sogamoso|Suamox]] and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.

The territory of the Muisca spanned an area of around {{convert|25000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} from the north of Boyacá to the [[Sumapaz Páramo]] and from the summits to the western portion of the [[Cordillera Oriental (Colombia)|Eastern Ranges]]. Their territory bordered the lands of the [[Panche people|Panche]] in the west, the [[Muzo people|Muzo]] in the northwest, the [[Guane people|Guane]] in the north, the [[Lache people|Lache]] in the northeast, the [[Achagua people|Achagua]] in the east, and the [[Sutagao people|Sutagao]] in the south.

At the time of the Spaniard invasion, the area had a large population, although the precise number of inhabitants is not known. Estimates vary from 1 million to over 3 million inhabitants. Their [[Muisca economy|economy]] was based on [[Muisca agriculture|agriculture]], [[halite|salt]] mining, [[Muisca economy#Trade|trading]], [[metalworking]], and [[manufacturing]].

Due to Spanish colonization, the population of the Muisca drastically decreased and assimilated into the general population. The descendants of the Muisca are often found in rural municipalities including [[Cota, Cundinamarca|Cota]], [[Chía, Cundinamarca|Chía]], [[Tenjo]], [[Suba (Bogotá)|Suba]], [[Engativá]], [[Tocancipá]], [[Gachancipá]], and [[Ubaté]].<ref>Wiesner García, 1987</ref> A census by the Ministry of Interior Affairs in 2005 reports a total of 14,051 Muisca people in Colombia.<ref name=CensusMuisca/>

Much of the historical knowledge about the Muisca comes from [[List of Muisca and pre-Muisca scholars|the testimony of conquisadores and colonists]]: [[Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada]]; Spanish poet, soldier, and [[Catholic priest]] [[Juan de Castellanos]] (16th century); [[Bishop]] [[Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita]]; and the [[Franciscan]] [[Pedro Simón]] (17th century). 

More recently, [[Javier Ocampo López]] and [[Gonzalo Correal Urrego]] have contributed notable scholarship.

{{see also|Muisca Confederation#Prehistory|Herrera Period|History of Bogotá}}
Knowledge of events up until 1450 is mainly derived from mythological contexts. Thanks to the ''Chronicles of the West Indies,'' we have descriptions of the final period of Muisca's history before the Spanish arrival.
[[File:Alb.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Petroglyph]]s of [[El Abra]] (~11,000 BCE)]]
[[File:Museo del oro, Bogotá man whose eyes and mouth have been made from double strips.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A Muiscan ceramic figure.]]

=== Archeology ===
Excavations in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense (the highlands of [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]] and [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]] departments) show evidence of human activity since the [[Archaic Period (Americas)|Archaic Period]] at the beginning of the [[Holocene]]. Colombia has one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the Americas: [[El Abra]], which is estimated to be approximately 13,000 years old. Other archaeological traces in the region of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense have led scholars to talk about an [[El Abra]] Culture: In [[Tibitó]], tools and other lithic artifacts date to 9740 BCE; on the Bogotá savanna, especially at [[Tequendama Falls]], other lithic tools dated a millennium later were found that belonged to specialized hunters. Human skeletons were found dating back to 5000 BCE, and an analysis demonstrated that the people were members of the El Abra culture.

=== Muisca era ===
Scholars agree that the group identified as Muisca migrated to the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the [[Formative stage]] (between 1000 BCE and 500 CE), as shown by evidence found at [[Aguazuque]] and [[Soacha]]. Like the other formative-era cultures of America, the Muiscas were transitioning between being hunter-gatherers and becoming sedentary farmers. Around 1500 BCE, groups of agrarians with ceramic traditions came to the region from the lowlands. They had permanent housing and stationary camps, and worked the salty water to extract salt. In [[Zipacón]], there is evidence of agriculture and ceramics; the oldest settlement of the highlands dates to 1270 BCE. Between 800 BCE and 500 BCE, a second wave of migrants came to the highlands. Their presence is identified by multicolor ceramics, housing, and farms. These groups were still in residence upon the arrival of the Spanish invaders. They left abundant traces of their occupation that have been studied since the 16th century, allowing scientists to reconstruct their way of life. The Muisca may have integrated with more ancient inhabitants, but the Muisca were the ones who molded the cultural profile and the social and political organization. Their language, a dialect of [[Chibcha language|Chibcha]], was very similar to those peoples of the [[Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta]] ([[Kogi people|Kogi]], Ijka, [[Wiwa people|Wiwa]], and [[Kankuamo people|Kankuamo]]) and the [[Sierra Nevada del Cocuy]] ([[U'wa people|U'wa]]).

==== Wars ====
{{main|Muisca warfare}}
''Zipa'' [[Saguamanchica]] (ruled 1470 to 1490) was in a constant war against aggressive tribes such as the [[Sutagao people|Sutagao]], and especially the [[Panche people|Panche]], who would also make difficulties for his successors, [[Nemequene]] and [[Tisquesusa]]. [[Kalina people|Kalina Caribs]] were also a permanent threat as rivals of the ''zaque'' of [[Tunja|Hunza]], especially for the possession of the [[salt mine]]s of [[Zipaquirá]], [[Nemocón]] and [[Tausa]].