Abstract

COLORADO YEPES, Camilo Andrés. The Border as a Colonial Invention: A Reinterpretation of Cultural Boundaries in a Region of the Eastern Andes of Colombia. Front. hist. [online]. 2024, vol.29, n.1, pp.183-205.  Epub Jan 01, 2024. ISSN 2027-4688.  https://doi.org/10.22380/20274688.2484.

Within the framework of studies on the indigenous social organization in the Eastern Andes of Colombia, the ethnic affiliation of its inhabitants for the late pre-Hispanic and early colonial periods (11th-16th centuries AD) has been debated. Research in the region has proposed that the border between the Cundiboyacense plateau and the Santander massif served as a frontier between two groups, conceptualized as Muyscas and Guanes. However, it is possible to criticize this stance through an analysis based on the articulation of archaeological and documentary sources. This approach highlights the prevailing cultural diversity in the territory and allows to propose that the bi-ethnic model constitutes an invention, supported by the perspective of the European conquerors.

Keywords : coloniality; borders; ethnicity; Eastern Andes of Colombia.

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