{"id":31419,"date":"2016-05-17T22:42:36","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T03:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/the-muisca-what-do-you-know-about-this-colombian-indian-tribe\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T18:43:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:43:44","slug":"the-muisca-what-do-you-know-about-this-colombian-indian-tribe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/en\/the-muisca-what-do-you-know-about-this-colombian-indian-tribe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Muisca | A forgotten Indian tribe in Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you think of Indian tribes in South America, the Incas probably come to mind first. Logical too, since the land of Incas once stretched from the southernmost tip of Colombia to the northwestern part of Argentina<\/strong><\/a> and Chile, an area no less than 4,000 kilometers long. The Incas also left behind extraordinary structures, of which Machu Picchu<\/strong><\/a> is perhaps the most famous. Besides the Incas, we know much less about indigenous peoples in the rest of South America. For example, do you have any idea what Indian tribes Colombia was inhabited by before the Spaniards set foot on land? Read on and discover the Muisca!<\/p>\n

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Who are the Muisca?<\/h2>\n
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About 300 to 400 years before our era, the Muisca<\/strong> migrated from Central America to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador<\/strong>. Initially the tribe settled on the Atlantic coast, but the arrival of warlike Carib Indians from Brazil and the Caribbean islands drove the Muisca to the upper Andes.<\/p>\n

The Muisca founded present-day Bogot\u00e1 and called it Bacat\u00e1<\/strong>. Together with the Tairona Indians, they belong to the Chibcha: once the largest ethnic group in Colombia. The political-social organization of the Muisca is known as the best in South America after that of the Incas.<\/p>\n

In 1536, the Chibcha were discovered by European conquistadors, marking the end of the pre-Columbian period (the time and culture before the arrival of Columbus). (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\t\t