Archaeology of Ancient Colombia

The Archaeology of Ancient Colombia reveals the hidden archaeological history of Colombia's first inhabitants from the Ice Age through the middle Holocene, documenting their remarkable achievements in in colonizing and adapting to diverse environments, forest management, plant domestication, developing mortuary and social rituals;, innovating pottery and navigation; and creating enduring rock art traditions that continue to influence Indigenous communities today.

This book provides the first comprehensive synthesis of Colombia's earliest human history, previously available only in fragmented publications. It delivers this through three interconnected perspectives: spatio-temporal analysis of migration routes and chronology; examination of human adaptability through subsistence strategies and landscape modification; and exploration of symbolic worldviews through archaeological evidence and ethnographic analogies. Archaeological data is balanced with interpretation, allowing readers to understand both the evidence and its significance in this pivotal region for understanding continental human expansion and cultural development

This book is for students and researchers of archaeology, anthropology, and history seeking an accessible synthesis of pre-Columbian Colombia. It is also well-suited for courses on early human migration in South America, archaeological methods, environmental adaptation, and the emergence of complex societies in the Americas.

Francisco Javier Aceituno Bocanegra is a Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Antioquia (Colombia). He trained as a prehistoric archaeologist at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), where he earned his PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology with a dissertation on the early peopling of the Colombian sub-Andean forests. His research focuses on the early peopling of Colombia, Early Holocene archaeology, human adaptation to tropical environments, and the processes of plant domestication in northern South America. His work is providing key insights into how northern South America—including the Colombian Amazon—was first settled, as well as evidence supporting Colombia as an early center of plant domestication. He has participated in archaeological projects in the Andean region, the Caribbean, and the Colombian Amazon, the latter as part of the international project The Last Journey. He has also collaborated with research initiatives in Spain, Panama, Argentina, and Peru. Dr. Aceituno is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, particularly on Colombian archaeology, and has served as a reviewer for leading scientific journals such as PNAS and PLOS ONE.