Timoto–Cuica people: Difference between revisions

|image = =Opfernder Venezuela Timoto-Cuica Slg Ebnöther.jpg

|image_caption = Masculine figure from [[Trujillo (state)|Trujillo]] c. 500 [[AD]]

|population = extinctUnknown

|pop1 = extinctSmall

|languages = [[Timote-Cuica language|Timote-Cuica]]

'''Timoto–Cuica people''' were an [[indigenousIndigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenousIndigenous grouppeople of the Americas]] composed primarily of two large tribes, the '''Timote''' and the '''Cuica''', that inhabited in the [[Andes|Andean]] region of westernWestern [[Venezuela]].<ref name=mahoney>Mahoney 89</ref> They were closely related to the [[Muisca people|Muisca]] of the [[AndesColombia]]n Andes, who spoke [[Chibcha language|Muysccubun]], a version of [[Chibcha language|Chibcha]]. The Timoto-Cuicas were not only composed of the TimotoTimote and the Cuica groups, but also of smaller tribes including the Mucuchíes, the Miguríes, the Tabayes, and the Mucuñuques.

[[File:Timote-Cuica languages.png|thumb|200px175px|left| Timoto and Cuica toponyms]]

[[File:Campo de Mérida.JPG|thumb|left|Timoto-Cuica territory, in present-day [[Mérida State(state)|Mérida]], Venezuela]].]]

[[Pre-Columbian era|Pre-Columbian]] Venezuela had an estimated indigenous population of one million,<ref name=mahoney/> with the Andean region being the most densely populated area. The two groups lived in what are today the states of [[Mérida State(state)|Mérida]], [[Trujillo State(state)|Trujillo]], and [[Táchira State|Táchira]]. 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.<ref name=mahoney/> 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 [[ullucoullucus|ullucos]]s.<ref name=art>[http://en.amigosprecolombino.es/cultures/central-america-and-intermedia/venezuela Venezuela] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904200841/http://en.amigosprecolombino.es/cultures/central-america-and-intermedia/venezuela |date=2011-09-04 }} ''Friends of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum.''. (retrieved 9 July 2011)</ref>

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. They are credited with having invented the [[arepa]], a staple in [[Venezuelan cuisine|Venezuelan]] and [[Colombian cuisine]].

Momia de los Isnumbíes.jpg| Mummy from the Isnumbí people, Diocesan Museum of Mérida

Indios Mucuchíes.jpg| Mucuchí Peoplepeople, who were part of the Timoto tribe

Indias Mucuchíes.jpg| Mucuchí women

Mucuchíes de Misteke.jpg|[[Mucuchíes|Mucuchí]] people]] from Misteke, Venezuela

* Mahoney, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=p1_m-Y-5FJEC&pg=PA89&dq=Timoto&hlpg=en&ei=TvMYTuOOF-fZiAKoirnRBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Timoto&f=falsePA89 "Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish American in Comparative Perspective.''"] New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-521-11634-3}}.

* {{in lang|es}} [http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/123456789/18495/1/articulo3.pdf De los timoto-cuicas a la invisibilidad del indigena andino y a su diversidad cultural]

* {{in lang|es}} [http://www.italcambio.com/bille_mone/html2/caciques/historiaCaciques.htm Caciques de Venezuela)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124143501/http://www.italcambio.com/bille_mone/html2/caciques/historiaCaciques.htm |date=2009-11-24 }}

* [http://www.austria.gob.ve/content.php?contecual=32&contepert=1&lan=en Get to know Venezuela] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041833/http://www.austria.gob.ve/content.php?contecual=32&contepert=1&lan=en |date=2016-03-04 }}