Timoto–Cuica people were an

Indigenous people of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

composed primarily of two large tribes, the Timote and the Cuica, that inhabited in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

region of Western

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

.Mahoney 89 They were closely related to the

Muisca people The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca s ...

of the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n Andes, who spoke Muysccubun, a version of

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

. The Timoto-Cuicas were not only composed of the Timote and the Cuica groups, but also of smaller tribes including the Mucuchíes, the Miguríes, the Tabayes and the Mucuñuques.

Culture and society

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Venezuela had an estimated indigenous population of one million, with the Andean region being the most densely populated area. The two groups lived in what are today the states of Mérida, Trujillo and

Táchira Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...

. Most scholars agree that the Timoto-Cuicas arose as a distinct tribal group, with the Timotes and the Cuicas as the main components of largely the same identity. They possessed advanced technology and thrived as a civilization much more developed than the nomadic tribes further east. The Timotes were mostly present in the area of today’s Mérida state in Venezuela, the mountainous Andean region, with the sub-group of Cuicas living slightly to the north, in the llano plains. The chief characteristic of the Timoto-Cuicas culture was their focus on agriculture, primitive industry and trade. They focused heavily on the terraced cultivation system, by creating irrigated platforms on the hillsides of the region – a system often seen in the Andean civilizations. Society was complex with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks. Their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part and depended on growing crops. Regional crops included potatoes and ullucos.Venezuela
''Friends of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum''. (retrieved 9 July 2011) By creating large ‘steps’, reinforcing them with stone and irrigating them with a system of channels, they managed to succeed in creating an efficient agricultural system. This skillful method of cultivation allowed the Timoto-Cuicas to grow an abundance of vegetables – the earliest sources mention the growing of potatoes and corn, as well as beans, sweet yucca and several indigenous plants: cassava, mecuy, quiba, guaba and agave. They left behind works of art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing.

Gallery

Placa de los Nikitaos y carámica de los Kuikas.jpg, Plaque and ceramics of the Nikitao and Cuica tribes Momia de los Isnumbíes.jpg, Mummy from the Isnumbí people, Diocesan Museum of Mérida Habitación de los indios.jpg, Room of the natives of Apartaderos Indios Mucuchíes.jpg, Mucuchí people, who were part of the Timoto tribe Indias Mucuchíes.jpg, Mucuchí women Mucuchíes de Misteke.jpg, Mucuchí people from Misteke, Venezuela

References

Bibliography

* Mahoney, James
"Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish American in Comparative Perspective."
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. .

External links

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De los timoto-cuicas a la invisibilidad del indigena andino y a su diversidad cultural
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Timoto-Cuica People Indigenous peoples of the Andes Indigenous culture of the Americas Indigenous peoples in Venezuela Pre-Columbian cultures Extinct Indigenous peoples of the Americas