section_path: South America/Tairona confederation
section_name: Tairona confederation
paragraph_text: Tairona confederation
  
  The Tairona civilization thrived in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in northern Colombia. Studies suggest that the civilization thrived from the 1st century CE until the Spanish arrival in the 16th century. The descendants of the Tairona, such as the Kogi were one of the few indigenous groups in the Americas to have escaped full colonial conquest and retain a majority of their indigenous cultures.