Muisca Chief Anointed with Gold Dust

Since the 1500s, the Legend of El Dorado has described a Lost of City of Gold, a myth that drove hordes of conquistadors into South American jungles in pursuit of riches. Rediscovered records and artifacts have now revealed the remarkable origin story of this legend. It began with Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada’s campaign into the highlands of Colombia, where he encountered a thriving society rich in gold and emeralds, the Muisca confederation of tribes.

Within Colombia's mountainous southwest, high in the Alto Magdalena river basin, are the ancient remains of a network of tribal chiefdoms. Many of the locals in this area still get around on horseback, which is also a great way to travel between the archeological sites. This is a steep, mountainous landscape, of dense jungle checkered with coffee and banana plantations. Through the last century much of the forest has been cleared to make way for this farmland, and in the process dozens of ear...

Although largely unknown to most travelers, one of the most influential ancient cultures of South America is that of Chavín. It served as an important pilgrimage site from roughly 1200-500 B.C.E. As it rose in prominence, artwork bearing its religious symbols began appearing throughout the central Andes and down to the Peruvian coast. This expansion points towards a widespread transformation of the Andean belief system within the archeological timeline, in what's been dubbed the Early Horizon.