Tairona was a Pre-Columbian culture of Colombia, which consisted in a group of chiefdoms in the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of ...

How did Tayrona get its name?

But like populations today there were probably many different groups within what is known as the Tayrona civilization. The word 'Tayrona' or 'Tairona' can be translated as 'males' or 'sons of the Tiger'. Before the arrival of the Spanish ships the Tayrona flourished along the shores of the Caribbean sea.

Who were the Tairona people?

Tairona, Indians of the northern Colombian Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, known only from occasional references in Spanish colonial writings and from archaeological study. The Tairona used stone to build houses, tombs, bridges, and terraced platforms.