Liborio Zerda
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Liborio Zerda (
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 ...
,
Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the national flag wa ...
, 10 July 1834 (other sources state 1830 or 1833)Liborio Zerda
-
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 a ...
- Bogotá, Colombia, 9 November 1919) was a Colombian
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and Muisca scholar. Zerda has been important in the natural sciences of the late 19th and early 20th century in Colombia, publishing many articles about various topics, from medicine to chemical analysis, radioactivity and the popular drink
chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...
.Biography Liborio Zerda
-
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 a ...
Doctor Liborio Zerda
/ref> Zerda was contemporaneous with other Muisca scholars, and influenced by them;
Joaquín Acosta Tomás Joaquín de Acosta y Pérez de Guzmán (December 29, 1800February 21, 1852) was a Colombian explorer, historian, chorographer, and geologist. A native of Colombia in South America, he served in the Colombian army and in 1834 attempted ...
and
Ezequiel Uricoechea Ezequiel Uricoechea Rodríguez (Bogotá, 9 April 1834 – Beirut, 29 July 1880) was a Colombian linguist and scientist. He is considered one of the first Colombian scientists and a pioneer in Spanish-language linguistics. Biography Urico ...
. He analysed the work done by
José Domingo Duquesne José Domingo Duquesne (Bogotá, 23 February 1748 - idem, 30 August 1822) was a Colombian clergyman, theologist, scientist and writer. Polyglot Duquesne spoke Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, Italian and Chibcha.Muisca numerals 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 ...
and published in 1883 his major work ''El Dorado'' about the
mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
''
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'', that he situated not in
Lake Guatavita Lake Guatavita (Spanish: ''Laguna Guatavita'') is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes in the municipality of Sesquilé in the Almeidas Province, Cundinamarca department of Colombia, northeast of Bogotá, the capital of ...
as is currently accepted to have been the site of the inauguration of the new ''
zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the n ...
'', but in the
Siecha Lakes The Siecha Lakes are three glacial lakes located in the Chingaza Natural National Park in Cundinamarca, Colombia. The Andean lakes are considered sacred in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the area before the Spanish conquest of the Mu ...
in the
Chingaza Natural National Park Chingaza National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Chingaza) is located in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, northeast of Bogotá, Colombia in the departments of Cundinamarca and Meta. The elevation in the park, to the ea ...
. Liborio Zerda taught at the ''Colegio del Rosario'' in Bogotá for 60 years and died on 9 November 1919 in the Colombian capital.


Biography

Liborio Zerda was born on 10 July 1830, 1833 or 1834 in the capital of the then
Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the national flag wa ...
, Bogotá. He attended the ''Colegio de San Bartolomé'', a strict school that prohibited their students to walk on the streets at night, enter houses with a bad reputation, playing games or read obscene books. His interest for
natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s was born at the ''Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario'', where Zerda, as student of
Joaquín Acosta Tomás Joaquín de Acosta y Pérez de Guzmán (December 29, 1800February 21, 1852) was a Colombian explorer, historian, chorographer, and geologist. A native of Colombia in South America, he served in the Colombian army and in 1834 attempted ...
, took classes in
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
and
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
. Liborio Zerda studied Medicine at the Universidad Central in the capital, graduating in 1853. He became a medical practitioner in Bogotá right after finishing his studies and in 1854 gained his specialisation in
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
and military medicine. After the foundation of the ''Comisión Corográfica'' in 1850, led by Italian
Agustín Codazzi Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi (alternatively known in Latin America as Agustín Codazzi; 12 July 1793 – 7 February 1859) was an Italo-Venezuelan soldier, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of Barinas (1846–1847 ...
, Zerda founded the ''Sociedad Caldas'' in 1855. In 1859 Zerda joined the ''Sociedad de Naturalistas Neogranadinos'', which was founded by Muisca scholar
Ezequiel Uricoechea Ezequiel Uricoechea Rodríguez (Bogotá, 9 April 1834 – Beirut, 29 July 1880) was a Colombian linguist and scientist. He is considered one of the first Colombian scientists and a pioneer in Spanish-language linguistics. Biography Urico ...
. In this society, Liborio Zerda analysed mineralogy, while teaching courses on chemistry and physics. In those times, the studies of natural sciences were not yet well developed in Colombia. Zerda published about the "new" phenomenon of radioactivity. In 1865 Zerda founded the ''Escuela de Medicina Privada'', precursor of present-day private medicine schools. During the first years of this school, Zerda published about
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 ...
and
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
use in Bogotá (''Estudios sobre la Coca y el Opio bogotano''), drinking water analysis (''Análisis de las aguas potables de Bogotá'') and oils (''Método para blanquear y purificar los aceites grasos''). A year later, he published his first book, about horse medicine; ''Hipiátrica, tratado de medicina del caballo''. 1867 was the year of foundation of the Universidad Nacional, that housed a faculty on natural sciences (''Escuela de Ciencias Naturales''). Zerda published about the chemical analysis, mainly of
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
, common on the
Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alti ...
, with works titled ''Análisis de sal gema, sal compactada, sal cristalizada y de agua de las principales fuentes salinas de la República'', ''Determinación de la presencia del iodo en el pescado del río Funza'', ''Análisis químico y estudio de las aplicaciones medicinales de varias aguas minerales naturales'' and ''Análisis sobre muestras de hulla de la Sabana de Bogotá, Zipaquirá y Riohacha''. For this publication, Zerda was awarded the ''Medalla de Oro en la Exposición Nacional''. In 1891 Zerda wrote the ''Catálogo de la colección mineralógica'' and published about
snake venom Snake venom is a highly toxic saliva containing zootoxins that facilitates in the immobilization and digestion of prey. This also provides defense against threats. Snake venom is injected by unique fangs during a bite, whereas some species are a ...
. During the later 19th century, Zerda published about
chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...
, the
alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
of the
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 ...
that was popular at the time, with a publication called ''Estudio químico patológico e higiénico de la chicha, bebida popular en Colombia''. He also wrote about ions, electrons and
radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
(''El radium y sus propiedades maravillosas'') and the illnesses flies spread (''Las moscas transmisoras de enfermedad''). His work on chicha revealed the danger of
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
infected with a fungus. Zerda died on 9 November 1919 in his city of birth Bogotá.


About the Muisca

The interests of the intellectual Zerda were not restricted to the natural sciences. He published papers about the
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
of the Muisca, their habits, traditions and
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
. His book ''El Dorado'', published in 1883 and reprinted in 1947, is one of the first
anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, historical and ethnographical studies on the original inhabitants of the
Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Range ...
and northern areas of the Altiplano. Liborio Zerda analysed the work by
José Domingo Duquesne José Domingo Duquesne (Bogotá, 23 February 1748 - idem, 30 August 1822) was a Colombian clergyman, theologist, scientist and writer. Polyglot Duquesne spoke Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, Italian and Chibcha.language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
and
numerals A numeral is a figure, symbol, or group of figures or symbols denoting a number. It may refer to: * Numeral system used in mathematics * Numeral (linguistics), a part of speech denoting numbers (e.g. ''one'' and ''first'' in English) * Numerical d ...
of the Muisca. The Chibcha language was almost extinct by the late 19th century and the revival of it by Zerda has aided in later analyses of the language. On the Muisca numerals, Zerda discovered the importance of
frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
in the Muisca culture. He stated that the frog represented the times of draught on the Altiplano. An extended frog or one without legs symbolises rest, happiness and the
harvests Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
. Frogs with a human head stand for intelligence. An eagle with a frog in its claws symbolised summer. The frog was known from the
Muisca calendar The Muisca calendar was a lunisolar calendar used by the Muisca. The calendar was composed of a complex combination of months and three types of years were used; rural years (according to Pedro Simón, Chibcha: ''chocan''), holy years (Duquesne, Sp ...
, that was first analysed by Duquesne. Zerda theorised that the well-known publication of Duquesne (''Disertación sobre el origen del calendario y jeroglíficos de los moscas'') was merely a summary of the larger work ''Anillo astronóomico de los moscas''. Zerda did not analyse the work done on the Muisca calendar by famous naturalist
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
, who met Duquesne in Colombia in the early 19th century. Liborio Zerda wrote about a stone that represented the calendar, a similar stone as the Choachí Stone, which was found later. It has been thought possible by researcher
Manuel Arturo Izquierdo Peña Manuel Arturo Izquierdo Peña is a Colombian anthropologist who has contributed to the knowledge of the Muisca and other pre-Columbian cultures, among others San Agustín, Colombia. His main work has been on archaeoastronomy of the Muisca calend ...
that the stone Zerda described was actually a mould used in the famous goldworking of the Muisca, to produce ''
tunjo A ''tunjo'' (from Muysccubun: ''chunso'') is a small anthropomorh or zoomorph figure elaborated by the Muisca as part of their art. ''Tunjos'' were made of gold or ''tumbaga''; a gold-silver-copper alloy. The Muisca used their ''tunjos'' ...
s''.Izquierdo Peña, 2009, p.84 In the later chapters of ''El Dorado'', Zerda draws comparisons between the origins of the
indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
with Africa and Asia, based on metalworking and
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s. In his work, he described the ritual of ''
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'' in
sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
Lake Guatavita Lake Guatavita (Spanish: ''Laguna Guatavita'') is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes in the municipality of Sesquilé in the Almeidas Province, Cundinamarca department of Colombia, northeast of Bogotá, the capital of ...
, represented in the golden
Muisca raft The Muisca raft (''Balsa Muisca'' in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the Golden Raft of El Dorado, is a pre-Columbian votive piece created by the Muisca, an indigenous people of Colombia in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The piece ...
, which was found after Zerda's death in
Pasca Pasca is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia located in the Andes. It belongs to the Sumapaz Province. Pasca is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. It borders Fusag ...
, Cundinamarca. The book also treats other indigenous tribes of Colombia, such as the Panche and others and formed the basis for the 20th century anthropological studies of the Muisca. In the view of Zerda, the Muisca were a
neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
culture and their ancient roads were built by an earlier, superior civilisation. Deeply influenced by the ethnological works of
Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...
, De Mortillet and Broca, Zerda proposed a long chronology of the history of the Muisca. He defended the period of Spanish conquest to educate the primitive Muisca to a higher level. Zerda proposed the sacred
Siecha Lakes The Siecha Lakes are three glacial lakes located in the Chingaza Natural National Park in Cundinamarca, Colombia. The Andean lakes are considered sacred in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the area before the Spanish conquest of the Mu ...
were the actual site of ''El Dorado'', later found to have been
Lake Guatavita Lake Guatavita (Spanish: ''Laguna Guatavita'') is located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes in the municipality of Sesquilé in the Almeidas Province, Cundinamarca department of Colombia, northeast of Bogotá, the capital of ...
. Liborio Zerda's research revealed the diet of the Muisca people was formed by the deer species '' Cervus virginianus'', '' Cervus mexicanus'' and '' Cervus simplicicomis'', and fish from the
Funza Funza () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, of the department of Cundinamarca. Funza is situated on the Bogotá savanna, the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense with the urban centre at an altit ...
and other
rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
(''
Eremophilus mutisii ''Eremophilus mutisii'' is a species of catfish ( order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae, and the only member of its genus. This fish grows to about 30 centimetres (12 in) and originates from the Bogotá River basin, which i ...
'' and ''
Grundulus bogotensis ''Grundulus'' is a genus of characins found in Colombia and Ecuador in South America. There are currently three described species. Species * ''Grundulus bogotensis'' (Alexander von Humboldt, Humboldt, 1821) * ''Grundulus cochae'' César Román- ...
''). The fish provided a source of
iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
for the Muisca. In 1885, Zerda described a
mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...
of a young girl, found in a cave on the Toquilla paramo within the municipality of
Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...
, at altitude. The mummy was decorated with golden objects and wrapped in cotton mantles. The body was organised in a
squatting position Squatting is a versatile posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the ground or a horizontal object. ...
. He also wrote about
Cuchavira Cuchavira or Cuchaviva is the rainbow deity, protector of working women and the sick in the religion of the Muisca. The Muisca and their confederation were one of the advanced civilizations of the Americas and in the fertile intermontane valley t ...
, god of the rainbow of the Muisca.Villa Posse, 1993, p.12


Works

This list is a selection.Works by Liborio Zerda
-
WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...


Books

* 1883 - ''El Dorado; estudio histórico, etnográfico y arqueológico de los Chibchas, habitantes de la antigua Cundinamarca, y de algunas otras tribus'' * 1880 - ''Monografía del caucho'' * 1873 - ''Análisis industrial de diez y seis clases de ulla de los contornos de la sabana de Bogotà y una de Riohacha, practicado por Liborio Zerda'' * 1866 - ''Hipiátrica, tratado de medicina del caballo''


Articles

* 1910 - ''Reglamento para las escuelas normales'' * 1906 - ''Fisica molecular'' * 1906 - ''Hipotesis. Propuesta para explicar la radioactividad'' * 1906 - ''Metodos para reconocer si una materia es radioactiva'' * 1903 - ''Utilidad del estudio elemental de anatomia y fisiologia aplicables a las bellas artes'' * 1893 - ''Acuerdo celebrado entre el gobierno y la consiliatura del Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario'' * 1892 - ''La balsa del dorado'' * 1889 - ''Estudio quimico, patologico e higienico de la chica,'' ic''bebida popular en Colombia'' * 1889 - ''La ptomaina de la chicha'' * 1881 - ''El eucalyptus'' * 1881 - ''Construccion de un anfiteatro en el patio principal de San Juan de Dios'' * 1871 - ''Programa de la clase de Metalurjia i esplotacion de minas'' * 1868 - ''Escuela de ciencias naturales. Programa de física matemática i médica''


Trivia

* The
Universidad del Rosario Universidad del Rosario (officially in es, Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario) is a Colombian university founded on Roman Catholic principles, in 1653 by Fray Cristobal de Torres. Located in Bogotá, due to its important place in Col ...
in Bogotá has named an investigation prize after Liborio ZerdaPremio Liborio Zerda
/ref>


See also

*
List of Muisca scholars This list contains Muisca and pre-Muisca scholars; researchers, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and other investigators who have contributed to the current knowledge of the Muisca and their ancestors of the prehistory of the Altiplano ...
*
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 ...
*
Muisca numerals 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 raft The Muisca raft (''Balsa Muisca'' in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the Golden Raft of El Dorado, is a pre-Columbian votive piece created by the Muisca, an indigenous people of Colombia in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The piece ...
, ''
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
''


References


Notable works by Zerda

* *


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zerda, Liborio 1834 births 1919 deaths Colombian ethnographers Colombian medical researchers Muisca scholars People from Bogotá _ Muisca mythology and religion