page_title: San Agustín culture
section_title: Archaeology
hierarchical_section_title: San Agustín culture / Archaeology
caption_attribution_description: Español: Tumba policromada
context_page_description: The San Agustín culture is one of the ancient Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia. Its beginnings go back at least to the fourth millennium B.C. Several hundred large monolithic sculptures have been found here.
  There is an ongoing scientific study into the culture's origins and nature. For its period, the San Agustín culture displays considerable development in agriculture, ceramics, goldsmithing, and sculptural art. The site of the culture lies mostly within the Parque Arqueológico Nacional de Tierradentro and the San Agustín Archaeological Park.
context_section_description: Statues and tombs appear as ceremonial centers, isolated from each other. Historical tradition has bestowed these places with names such as Mesitas, Lavapatas, Ullumbe, Alto de los Ídolos, Alto de las Piedras, Quinchana, El Tablón, La Chaquira, La Parada, Quebradillas and Lavaderos.
  Some of the tombs are lined with large slabs with monolithic sarcophagi inside and are covered with artificial mounds that reach up to 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter and 5 metres (16 ft) in height. Others contain statues over 4 metres (13 ft) in height and several tons in weight.
  The most outstanding lithic work is called "Fuente de Lavapatas", in the rocky bed of the ravine of the same name, where there is an elaborate ceremonial fountain with three pools and numerous serpentine and batracomorphic figures in low relief, surrounded by tiny channels through which water flows. It has been suggested that the site was dedicated to the worship of aquatic deities and to the practice of healing ceremonies.
caption: Tumba policromada
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Windows", "Image DateTime": "2006:01:27 15:11:00", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "302", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6561", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1183", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1771"}