List of Muisca and pre-Muisca sites
# List of Muisca and pre-Muisca sites

This is a list of Muisca and pre-Muisca archaeological sites; sites on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, where archaeological evidence has been discovered of the Muisca and their ancestors of the Herrera, preceramic and prehistorical periods.

Over the course of the centuries and mainly in the 21st century, many sites with evidences of Muisca and pre-Muisca presence have been found and reported.

The possibly oldest evidence of human settlement in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes has been discovered just west of the former Muisca territories, at Pubenza in Tocaima, Cundinamarca. Eight stone tools have been found with bone remains, consisting of among others Haplomastodon and turtles, which have been dated at 16,400 ± 420 years BP. Due to the location at an inundated platform, it is unclear if the bones and thus age were in situ.

## Background

| Stage | Start age | End age |
| - | - | - |
| Prehistory | | 10,000 |
| Preceramic | 10,000 | 2800 |
| Herrera | 2800 | 1200 |
| Muisca | 1200 | 479 |
| Colonial period | 479 | 206 |
| Colombia | 206 | |

The Altiplano Cundiboyacense, with its valleys of Sogamoso-Duitama, Tunja and Ubaté-Chiquinquirá and the southeastern flatlands of the Bogotá savanna, as well as the Tenza Valley to the east, was inhabited for 12,000 years by indigenous peoples. At the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres (9,700 sq mi) was populated by the Muisca, organised in a loose confederation; the Muisca Confederation.

While various classifications of the archaeological history of the Andean high plateau exist, the most commonly accepted sequence, in years BP, is shown to the right.

## Timeline of inhabitation

Timeline of inhabitation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia :

* Altiplano Muisca Confederation

## List of Muisca and pre-Muisca sites

| Site name | Municipality | Department | Start | End | Oldest date years BP | Finds | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| El Abra | Zipaquirá | Cundinamarca | Prehistory | Herrera | 12,560 | Rock art Stone tools | |
| Tibitó | Tocancipá | Cundinamarca | Prehistory | Herrera | 11,850 | Stone & bone tools Carbon | |
| Sueva | Junín | Cundinamarca | Prehistory | Herrera | 11,180 | Rock shelter | |
| Tequendama | Soacha | Cundinamarca | Prehistory | Spanish conquest | 11,120 | Stone tools Domestication of guinea pigs | |
| Piedras del Tunjo | Facatativá | Cundinamarca | Prehistory or Preceramic | Muisca | unknown | Rock art Stone tools | |
| Galindo | Bojacá | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | Herrera | 8800 | Open area settlement | |
| Checua | Nemocón | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | Herrera | 8500 | Stone tools | |
| | Nemocón | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | | 7630 | Rock shelter Main salt producing town | |
| Piedra del Indio Chía I-VIII Moon Temple | Chía | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | | 5140 | Rock art Burial site Religious place | |
| | Zipaquirá | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | | 5140 | Main salt producing town | |
| Aguazuque | Soacha | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | Herrera | 4065 | Stone tools Burial grounds Human remains Guinea pigs, deer | |
| Lake Herrera | Madrid Mosquera Bojacá | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | Herrera | 3410 | Stone tools Ceramics | |
| SO10-IX | Sativanorte | Boyacá | Preceramic | Preceramic | 3386 | Muisca mummy | |
| | Zipacón | Cundinamarca | Preceramic | | 3270 | Rock shelter Rock art Oldest agriculture | |
| El Infiernito | Villa de Leyva | Boyacá | Preceramic | Muisca | 2975 | Archaeoastronomical site Muisca mummy | |
| | Pasca | Cundinamarca | Herrera | | 1400 | Muisca raft | |
| | Buenavista | Boyacá | Herrera | | 1396 | Nose piece and pectoral dated at 620 & 990 AD | |
| | Suesca | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | 150 Muisca mummies Petrographs Ceramics | [2][3][4] [5][14] |
| | Gachantivá | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy Muisca copper mines | |
| | Gachancipá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy | |
| | Ubaté | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy | |
| | Tenjo | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Tibacuy | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Berbeo | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petroglyphs | |
| | Sáchica | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| Ocetá Páramo | Monguí | Boyacá | | Muisca | | Petroglyphs Birth sites Myths | |
| Payará | Tausa | Cundinamarca | | | | | |
| | Choachí | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Choachí Stone | |
| | La Calera | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Chipaque | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Cogua | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Cota | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Cucunubá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Guachetá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Guasca | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Guatavita | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Machetá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Madrid | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Mosquera | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | San Antonio del Tequendama | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | San Francisco | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Sibaté | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Subachoque | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Tena | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Tibiritá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Tocancipá | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Une | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Bosa | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Usme | Cundinamarca | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy Petrographs | [2][3][4] [5][14] |
| | Boavita | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy | |
| | Tasco | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy | |
| | Tópaga | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy | |
| | Gámeza | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca mummy Petrographs | [2][3][4] [5][14] |
| | Belén | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Iza | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Mongua | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Motavita | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Ramiriquí | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Saboyá | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Tibaná | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Petrographs | |
| | Sutamarchán | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca ceramics production | |
| | Tinjacá | Boyacá | Muisca | | | Muisca ceramics production | |
| Sun Temple | Sogamoso | Boyacá | Muisca | September 1537 | | Most important Muisca temple | |
| Cojines del Zaque | Tunja | Boyacá | Muisca | Early colonial | | Religious place | |
| Hunzahúa Well | Tunja | Boyacá | Muisca | Early colonial | | Mythological place | |
| Goranchacha Temple | Tunja | Boyacá | Muisca | Early colonial | | Temple of Goranchacha | |
