tolima The name Tolima is given to an archaeological zone where many tribes lived. Among them were the Pijaos, warriors famed for their cruelty, who, under their chief Calarca, fiercely resisted the Spanish conquest. This area is situated in the hot valleys of the rivers Saldaña and Coello, the foothills of the cordillera of the central Andes and in the wide, hot plains of northern Tolima. The abundance of alluvial gold encouraged goldworking. The pieces were made by the lost wax process. A characteristic is the flat, angular representation of the human figure. Gold pieces with anthropomorphic figures on pendants, and zoomorphic representations on medallions, tweezers and delicate necklaces are evidence of their style of working.