ARQUEOLOGíA REGIONAL EN TIERRADENTRO, CAUCA, COLOMBIA

research carried out for more than 5 years into settlement patterns in the tierradentro region, cauca department, has provided information of the sequence of social change from early ceramists up to after the spanish conquest. this paper makes available information regarding settlement patterns, demographic change and relations between human occupation and landscape for a period that encompasses more than 2.000 years of history. it is claimed that the well known manifestations of social hierarchy (mound, statuary) is not the result of population pressure or the need to control the most fertile lands at the regional level. comparisons between tierradentro and the neighboring zone of san agustin are provided