None of Colombia's native peoples develop a system of writing comparable to that of the Mayas, and much less will the Spaniards encounter a native empire such as that of either the Aztecs or Incas.

By 1500, the most advanced of the indigenous peoples are two Chibcha groups: the Taironas and the Muiscas.

The Taironas, who appear to have been fairly late arrivals from Central America, inhabit well-organized towns connected by roads on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the far north of Colombia, rising just to the east of Santa Marta, Colombia's oldest city.

Politically, they have progressed beyond the stage of local chieftainships, forming two larger, and rival, confederations.

They are also the only people to construct works of engineering such as stone temples and stone-paved roads.