San Agustín Archaeological Park- A Must See For Sculpture Lovers

Location

The San Agustín Archaeological Park is located on the Department of Huila and is supposed to be the only place in the world which is actually decorated by 500 impressive stone figure which are engraved in harmony to the myths of sculptors belonging to the Indian sub-continent.

History

Almost all of the figures were an element of the funerary belongings of the very old population belonging to the area and were also connected to funerary resources, the religious authority of the deceased, and as the paranormal world.

The colossal nature of the stone figures and the various tombs is a mirror image of the multifaceted consideration scheme regarding the unidentified civilization engraved and commemorate on the stone.

The San Agustín Archaeological Park is considered to be the live sample that belongs to the pre-Hispanic cultures that are settled in the region of Colombia for about fifteen centuries. As it is known to all they are the inhabitants that are based on agriculture. From the sarcophagi, the tombs and the stone statues, we can conclude that those were people who were having a huge degree of its expansion. Also they articulated their spiritual and supernatural beliefs through the medium of the sculptures.

The enormous statues which were engraved in stone follows the various principles of abstraction, designs, symbolism as well as the management of space and also the volume that any of the modern day designer would desire.

According to various researches made by the people of San Agustín, they were pushed by the violent attackers. The locals were forced to go away from their homelands and thus take a refuge in the Orinoco and the Amazon regions. They did disappear sometime around the 1300 and 1400 AD.

Various statues in the park

The San Agustín Archaeological Park has a huge example of information engraved on the stone. The most famous ones are as mentioned below:

The Double SelfThis statue represents the guardians as well as the warrior which were engraved on the stone. The design of the statue is in the naturist style and the dual being. Their representative authority puts together the masculine as well as the feminine, and thus signifies the supernatural power of a spiritualist.

There is a structure where you will come across an Eagle who is grasping a snake with the help of its claws; this symbolizes the creation as well as the political legacy and also the power.

There is also one more famous structure that shows the El Partero who represents the male mid wife and is also known as the El Obispo which means the bishop. There is a huge stone anthropomorphic structure that shows a child being delivered. The height of the figure is around four meters tall, and the structure weighs a number of tons. The statue’s lower part is shown as a female delivering baby that is a mother is giving birth to her. This structure is a total anonymity. The male midwife looks in the direction of the rising of the sun. It is stated that this structure thus represents life.

La Fuente de Lavapatas is the most pretentious art work that represents the Agustinian cultures. It is a fountain. This fountain has a number of pool as well as canals engraved on the streams bedrock. This carnation is quite complex. Besides the pools and canals there are many human faces as well as toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards, chameleons, snakes and various other shapes are also carved. In the San Agustin culture this fountain is supposed to a consecrated site for the various religious celebrations as well as the ritual bath. The canals, pits as well as the ditches through which the following water makes it way interweave and forms a maze out of which not a single drop of water gets away. The Fuente de Lavapatas is considered as a genuine work of art that proves the information on hydraulics as well as the high level of engineering that was possessed by the ancient sculptors.

How to reach

Take a flight for Neiva’s Benito Salas airport .From Neiva to reach San Agustin you can use the roadways and drive for around four hours to reach the park. You can take direct flights from various cities to Bogotá or any other cities in Colombia.

Accommodation

The number of hotels located in the city as well as in its surrounding provides hot-water, electricity, bar services as well as the television. Most of them have telephone service. If you plan to live in the interiors, then the facilities are comparatively less. 10 euros a day is the minimum amount required to fulfill your basic requirements.

Best times for visiting

Almost all of the international tourists come down here at the end of the year that is around November- December and also March and April. The place is worth visiting during its major season that lasts from June to early September.

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