Abstract

PACHAJOA, Harry; RODRIGUEZ, Carlos A  and  ISAZA, Carolina. Old age in the art of the pre-Hispanic Tumaco-La Tolita populations from the Pacific Colombian-Ecuadorian Coast. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2009, vol.57, n.1, pp.57-62. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. Aging is a natural process which happens to all living beings and is characterised by being irreversible, progressive, heterogeneous, deleterious and multifactorial. This process has been represented in art as being part of the esthetic expression of ancient cultures around the world. Objective. Describing evidence of aging and old age found in Colombia on several ceramic pieces from the Tumaco- La Tolita culture in collections housed in the Universidad del Valle's Julio César Cubillos Archaeological Museum in Cali, the Universidad de Antioquia's University Museum in Medellin and the Banco de la Republica's Gold Museum in Bogotá. Materials and methods. Around 2,000 ceramic pieces from the Tumaco-La Tolita culture from collections housed in different museums in Colombia were analysed, evaluating artistic representations demonstrating aging and old age. Result. Nearly 50 ceramic pieces represented physical changes compatible with aging processes. Result. There were near 50 pieces of ceramics that were representing physical Changes compatible with processes of aging. Conclusions. The constant representation of elders in Tumaco-La Tolita art might indicate a concept of human beings which is very different from that of modern western culture (and in Indian communities today) where the elders were respected by the community and were a symbol of knowledge and wisdom.

Keywords : archaeology; culture; indigenous population; ceramics; art.

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