Formation of the Muisca Confederation

Timeline

1. c. 1000–1200Cundinamarca Highlands · ColombiaNumerous autonomous chiefdoms (cacicazgos) were spread across the highlands, living by farming, fishing and hunting, and gold smelting; each was ruled by hereditary chiefs (with titles such as zipa, saga, etc.), and no unified political structure had yet formed.
2. 1208–1250Bacatá and Hunza · CundinamarcaThe two great chiefdoms of Bacatá (ruled by the zipa) and Hunza (ruled by the saga) formed an alliance through intermarriage and military cooperation, integrating most of the highland's secondary chiefdoms; the alliance was a loose federation, with the two centers often in competition but still jointly honoring religious ceremonies and trade rules.
3. c. 1250–1450Muisca territory · CundinamarcaThe confederation controlled trade networks in salt, gold, and cotton cloth, and developed worship of the sun god Sué along with complex calendrical rituals; by the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the Muisca Confederation was one of the most densely populated and best-organized indigenous polities in the northern Andes.