The archaeological remains of the Alto Magdalena region in Southwestern Colombia have been intensively investigated by different researchers in the last couple of decades. Whereas at first the...Show moreThe archaeological remains of the Alto Magdalena region in Southwestern Colombia have been intensively investigated by different researchers in the last couple of decades. Whereas at first the focus was only on the central area, San Agustín, this has expanded over the years to encompass many other sites and features located throughout the Alto Magdalena. The people living in this area began forming settlement concentrations and practicing agriculture from 1000 BC onwards. The population continued growing and various developments and changes took place, while other aspects remained more or less the same until the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century. The research focus was, and to some extent still is, predominantly on the impressive sculptures found in this region. These sculptures, more than 400 in number and varying greatly in size, style, iconography and context, were made between AD 1 and AD 900 from stone extracted from the region. They were often part of the funerary architecture, and the effort needed for their construction, their size, and impressive, durable appearance, together with the bright colors they had, gave them most likely a central place in the lives of the ancient inhabitants. From the 18th century onwards, researchers have tried to interpret these sculptures. Together with shifting research traditions and theoretical frameworks in the general field of archaeology, the interpretations of the sculptures have changed considerably, ranging from bishops and demons to underlying jaguar-themes and beliefs of the sculptors, and cosmological structures present in the society. However, no definitive new insights have yet been reached. Applying newly developed theoretical concepts, for example from the field of memory, might offer different and enlightening ways of looking at the material remains of the Alto Magdalena, resulting in new ideas about the legitimization of power, the creation of collective beliefs, the forging of social bonds, the infusion of ideas into the sculptures by the common people, the continuing interminglement of deceased ancestors through the sculptures, and the ongoing function and role of formerly built sculptures for later inhabitants. Such new perspectives may result in better understandings of the sculptures and the role and meanings they could have had.Show less
