Parc archéologique de San Agustín

"The rich, verdant valley of the Magdalena River in Colombia is home to the largest collection of pre-Colombian statuary in South America. It is an area of tremendous beauty, with a history extending back thousands of years--much of it still a mystery. Scattered throughout the area are numerous burial mounds, carved megaliths, and religious statues whose impassive gaze across the green carpets of vegetation is both fascinating and faintly disturbing. The most important sites within the river valley are those around the small town of San Agustin, and this area has now been turned into a 193-square-mile (500-sq-km) park- Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín. Excavation of the sites began in the 1930s and to date more than 500 statues, dolmens, and tombs have been discovered, with the probability of many more still to be unearthed. The tombs form two groups: those of important people within the early cultures, and those of less importance. The big burial mounds that would have housed prestigious figures are guarded by large and fierce carved figures, mostly anthropomorphic, or by carved animals such as snakes, frogs, and birds. Tombs of "common" people were placed under the floors of their huts, and are less obvious. Some smaller artifacts that have been excavated show signs of color, and would originally have been painted with dyes, primarily in reds and yellows. Other sculptures appear to represent deities that are commonly ascribed as solar gods, which are male figures, and others as lunar gods, female figures. The whole area of the Magdalena river valley is of enormous cultural and historical value. Due to the wide date range during which the area was occupied the tombs and sculptures display the evolution of different early cultures as well as their approach to and perceptions about death."