San Agustín Archaeological Park Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
San Agustín Archaeological Park
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A tomb platform with supporting statues
Location	San Agustín, Huila Department, Colombia
Includes	San Agustin Alto de los Idolos Alto de las Piedra
Criteria	Cultural: (iii)
Inscription	1995 (19th Session)

The San Agustín Archaeological Park is a very important historical place in Colombia. It is located near the town of San Agustín in the Huila Department. This park has the biggest collection of religious statues and huge stone sculptures in all of Latin America. It is also thought to be the world's largest ancient burial ground, or necropolis.

The park is home to the remains of the ancient San Agustin culture. Because of its importance, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. We don't know exactly when the statues were made, but experts believe it was between 5 and 400 AD. The people who carved these amazing statues are still a mystery, as much of the site has not yet been explored.

History of the Park
Where is San Agustín Park?
- Other Important Sites
Amazing Statues
Returning the Statues
Gallery
See also

History of the Park

The first time these statues were written about was by a Spanish monk named Fray Juan de Santa Gertrudis. He visited Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru as a missionary in the mid-1700s. In 1756, he passed through San Agustín.

Fray Juan wrote about the statues in his four-book series called Maravillas de la naturaleza, which means Wonders of Nature. His writings helped to make these incredible sculptures known to the world.

Where is San Agustín Park?

The San Agustín Archaeological Park is found in the upper part of the Magdalena River basin. This area is in the eastern foothills of the Colombian Massif. This is where three large mountain ranges of Colombia begin.

The park is about 520 kilometers (about 323 miles) from Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. The ancient cultural sites are spread out over more than 50 square kilometers (about 19 square miles). These sites are on flat areas on both sides of the canyon formed by the Magdalena River. The main park itself is a smaller area with many graves and over 500 statues.

The San Agustín Archaeological Park includes several important spots:

The Lavapatas spring
The Plank
The Alto de Lavapatas
The Chaquira
The Alto de las Piedras
The Alto de los Idolos

Other Important Sites

Besides the main park in San Agustín, there are two other important archaeological sites nearby. These are the Heights of the Idols (Alto de los Ídolos) and the Heights of the Stones (Alto de las Piedras). They are located in the town of Isnos, which is a few kilometers from San Agustín.

The Alto de los Ídolos is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Isnos. It has the tallest statue of all the parks, which stands 7 meters (about 23 feet) high. The Alto de las Piedras park is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from Isnos. It is famous for its "Double I" (or "Doble Yo") statue.

Statues in Mesita B of the park

Amazing Statues

The statues at San Agustín show features of both humans and animals. You can see animals like crocodiles, bats, and jaguars. The statues usually have short legs. Around 300 statues have been found so far.

These sculptures were once painted in bright colors. The main colors used were yellow, red, black, and white. Today, only a few of them still show traces of their original paint.

The statues come in different sizes. The tallest one is about 7 meters (23 feet) tall. Many experts believe these statues were used for funerals. In other parts of the archaeological site, where large burial mounds are found, there are more serious-looking figures. These include snakes, frogs, and birds. They were placed to guard the graves and protect the dead in the afterlife.

Some statues show gods and goddesses. There are figures of sun gods, who are male, and moon goddesses, who are female. These statues and carvings help researchers understand a little about what this ancient civilization thought about life and death.

Returning the Statues

In 1913, a German expert named Konrad Theodor Preuss led an archaeological dig at the park. He worked for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. He took 21 smaller sculptures from the site. These statues were brought to Berlin in 1919 and became part of the museum's collection.

In 2022, the government of Colombia officially announced that they want these statues back. They are asking the Humboldt Forum, which is the museum that now has the statues, to return them to Colombia.