1. Lake Tacarigua basin as an ecological cradle.
The settlement of the basin was not accidental; The environment offered a privileged ecological niche in the coastal mountain range.
Endurance and fertile environment. With no natural outlet open to the sea, the lake accumulated rich mineral alluvium washed down from the surrounding mountains, creating deep and fertile agricultural soils.
Abundant biomass. The lake's shallow waters supported an abundance of fish, freshwater snails, slime and waterfowl, allowing communities to be sedentary and develop surpluses of maize, bitter cassava (Manihot esculenta) and beans.
2. Mound engineering and urban planning stilts.
To overcome the lake's seasonal floods without losing their homes or crops, the Valencian settlers deliberately altered the topography.
Mound construction. They accumulated tons of clay, organic remains, bones and ceramic fragments to build raised platforms up to several meters high above flood-prone areas.
functional purpose. On these heights they built their common huts of bahrak and dakim, protecting the foreshores from the moisture of the earth. Agricultural fields and areas intended for ceremonial cemeteries were organized around the mounds.
3. "Venus of Tacrigua" and ceremonial ceramics.
The most representative material characteristic of this culture is its pottery production, classified archaeologically within the Valencoid series.
Coming from Tarrigua. Burnt clay figurines with hypertrophied heads, horizontal "coffee bean" shaped eyes, cylindrical headdresses and wide hips.
Idols associated with female fertility, motherhood and the regeneration of agricultural land.
to accompany
Large spherical pottery with anthropomorphic or zoomorphic lids.
secondary burial practice.