The name El Abra is taken from a large hacienda of that name at the foot of the western portion of the rock formation. The eastern side of the outcropping sandstones is accessible. Climbing activities at these Rocas de Sevilla are organised.[1]
The first research in the place was conducted in 1967, and the stratigraphy of lithic instruments, bones and vegetal charcoal with radiocarbon dating established the date of the settlement in 12,400 ± 160 years BP.[2][3]
El Abra and other prehistoric sites on the Bogotá savanna
In the late 1960s, the Indiana University collaborated in a deeper research. In 1970, the Dutch Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (NWO-WOTRO) discovered four new preceramic sites and the analysis of lacustrine sediments allowed a more accurate understanding of the paleoclimate and flora.
About 12,500 years ago, a gradual rise of temperature allowed the return of Andeancloud forest and the settlement of many animal species, making hunting easier. Artefacts of this period are called abriense: flint (tool)s, and chopper cores. As the climate was more benign, the cave system was gradually abandoned.
Dated 11,000 BP, it is characterized by a new cooling of the climate, recession of the forests and a last period of extending glaciations. From this period the archaeological site of TequendamainSoacha shows lithic instruments (Tequendamenses tools) with a more smooth manufacture, many of them made with materials brought to this place from the Magdalena River valley, such as quartzite. At Tequendama, evidence for domestication of guinea pigs has been uncovered.
Around 10,000 years BP, the last glaciation ended and the Andean forests appeared again. The lithic instruments show a rise in recollecting activities, with rodents and vegetables consumed, and lower amounts of large animals hunted. The El Abra caves were abandoned gradually, while other nearby rock shelters like Nemocón and open area settlements as Checua were populated.
In Aguazuque, around 5,000 BP, agriculture was established on elevated terraces, grinding stone instruments can be observed in association with itinerant habits. The abriense type instruments disappear.
While access to the western Zipaquirá part of the rock formation is restricted as it is located on private lands, the eastern area in Tocancipá is accessible and around 20 climbing routes have been constructed. The climbing is comparable but more challenging than the famous routes of Suesca, due to the overhanging character of the formation.[1]
Gómez Mejía, Juliana (2012), "Análisis de marcadores óseos de estrés en poblaciones del Holoceno Medio y Tardío incial de la sabana de Bogotá, Colombia - Analysis of bone stress markers in populations of the Middle and Late Holocene of the Bogotá savanna, Colombia", Revista Colombiana de Antropología (in Spanish), 48: 143–168, doi:10.22380/2539472X.1019
Correal Urrego, Gonzalo (1980), "Estado actual de las investigaciones sobre la etapa lítica en Colombia", Antropológicas, 2, Bogotá: Colombian Anthropologic Society: 11–30
Hurt, Wesley; Hammen, Thomas van der; Correal Urrego, Gonzalo (1976), "La ecología y tecnología de los abrigos rocosos en El Abra, Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia", Boletín de la Sociedad Geográfica Colombiana, XXX, 109, Bogotá: 1–21
Hammen, Thomas van der (1992), "El hombre prehistórico en la Sabana de Bogotá: datos para una prehistoria ecológica", Historia, Ecología y Vegetación, Bogotá: Corporación Araracuara: 217–231, ISBN958-95379-4-4
Colombia
