Poporo is a device used by

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

cultures in present and

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

for storage of small amounts of

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

produced from burnt and crushed sea-shells. It consists of two pieces: the receptacle, and the lid which includes a pin that is used to carry the lime to the mouth while chewing

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...

leaves. Since the chewing of coca is sacred for the indigenous people, the poporos are also attributed with mystical powers and social status. In Colombia, poporos are found in archaeological remains from the

Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

, and Quimbaya cultures among others. The materials used in the early periods are mainly

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

and carved stone. In classic periods

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

tumbaga ''Tumbaga'' is the name for a non-specific alloy of gold and copper given by Spanish Conquistadors to metals composed of these elements found in widespread use in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica in North America and South America. The term is believe ...

are the most frequent: an example of this is the

Poporo Quimbaya Poporo is a device used by indigenous cultures in present and pre-Columbian South America for storage of small amounts of lime produced from burnt and crushed sea-shells. It consists of two pieces: the receptacle, and the lid which includes a p ...

exhibited in the Gold Museum which is a national symbol. At the present time, the indigenous people of

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

still use poporos made with the dried fruits of a plant of genus

cucurbita ''Cucurbita'' (Latin for gourd) is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as ''cucurbits'' or ''cucurbi''), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and ...

(totumo), in the traditional way.

Poporo Quimbaya

One particularly famous poporo, the Poporo Quimbaya, is a

artpiece of the classic quimbaya period, currently exhibited in the Gold Museum in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Its primary use was as a ceremonial device for chewing of

leaves during religious ceremonies. It was made around 300 CE with a

lost-wax casting Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is ...

process. It is believed that the artpiece was stolen from a

burial chamber A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could a ...

in the early 1930s, on Loma del Pajarito ("Birdie Hill") near Anori in the Antioquia department, where, at the time, the

grave robbing Grave robbery, tomb robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a grave (burial), grave, tomb or crypt to steal commodities. It is usually perpetrated to take and profit from valuable artefact (archaeology), artefacts or personal property. A ...

of indigenous tombs was very common, often ending with destruction of important archeological pieces in order to extract the gold. In 1939 the

Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...

, the central bank of Colombia, purchased the Poporo Quimbaya, in an effort to preserve it from destruction. This began a larger project of preservation of pre-Columbian goldwork that led to the creation of the Gold Museum in Bogotá. The Poporo Quimbaya is an unusual piece, made of

, with oddly minimalistic lines, that give it a modern look. It is one of the most recognized pre-Columbian artpieces, being often used as a symbol of the indigenous pre-Columbian culture. It has been depicted in the Colombian currency, in coins and bills. A reproduction served as the winner's trophy for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the

Tour Colombia The Tour Colombia, called earlier Colombia Oro y Paz is a stage professional cycling race held annually in Colombia since 2018. It is part of UCI America Tour in category 2.1. Winners See also * Vuelta a Colombia * Vuelta a Colombia Femeni ...

cycling race.

A poporo made of copper alloy with details

File:Copper object.JPG, Full view File:Poporo – side A.jpg, With the pin outside File:Poporo – head of the pin.jpg, Head of the pin Image:Poporo_by_Turista_Perene.jpg, Poporo Quimbaya and pestle

Notes

External links

The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on poporo
"The use of the poporo,"
Tairona Heritage Trust {{DEFAULTSORT:Poporo History of Colombia Colombian culture Archaeological artifacts National symbols of Colombia Indigenous sculpture of the Americas Coca