Sinú

Biography:

The Zenú or Sinú is a pre-Columbian culture in Colombia, whose ancestral territory comprises the valleys of the Sinú and San Jorge rivers as well as the coast of the Caribbean around the Gulf of Morrosquillo. These lands lie within the departments of Córdoba and Sucre. The Zenú civilization peaked from about 200 BCE to about 1600 CE, constructing major waterworks and producing gold ornaments. The gold that was often buried with their dead lured the Spanish conquistadors, who looted much of the gold. With the arrival of the Spaniards, the tribe almost died out due to excessive taxation, forced labor, and western diseases. The Zenú language disappeared around 200 years ago. However, the 2018 Colombian Census showed 307,091 Zenú people in Colombia.