pre-columbian art cultures The admiration provoked by the finding of unimagined treasures on the arrival of the Spanish conquerors ensured later expeditions aimed at obtaining great quantities of gold from the various regions of the New World, where ancient cultures flourished. Thanks to significant progress in archaeology, many of their sites have been found and data determined. Colombia has a complicated topography and climatic variety due to the three mountain chains into which the Andes divide on entering Colombian territory. Inhospitable paramos alternate with high, cold climate plateaus and hot valleys with exuberant vegetation. The continental position with coasts on two oceans gives rise to extensive areas of jungle and tropical plains in the eastern part of the country. Thus, different human groups inhabited the diverse ecological areas, and artefacts which remain show societies with specialists like goldsmiths indicating high artistic achievements. They enjoyed great prestige in the indigenous societies. There are seven major goldworking zones in Colombia, which go by the names of Tairona, Sinú, Muisca, Quimbaya, Calima, Tolima and Nariño, and four additional regions whose gold is less well known, Tumaco, Cauca, Tierradentro and San Agustín.