Liborio Zerda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1834-07-10)10 July 1834 |
| Died | 9 November 1919(1919-11-09) (aged 85) Bogotá,Colombia |
| Education | Medicine |
| Alma mater | Universidad Central |
| Known for | El Dorado,numerals,chicha |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine,history |
| Institutions | Colegio del Rosario (1858-1918) |
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Liborio Zerda (Bogotá,Republic of New Granada, 10 July 1834 (other sources state 1830 or 1833)[1][2] - Bogotá, Colombia, 9 November 1919) was a Colombianphysician andMuisca scholar. Zerda has been important in the natural sciences of the late 19th and early 20th century in Colombia, publishing many articles about various topics, from medicine to chemical analysis, radioactivity and the popular drinkchicha.[1][3]
Zerda was contemporaneous with other Muisca scholars, and influenced by them;Joaquín Acosta andEzequiel Uricoechea. He analysed the work done byJosé Domingo Duquesne on theMuisca numerals and published in 1883 his major workEl Dorado about themythicalEl Dorado, that he situated not inLake Guatavita as is currently accepted to have been the site of the inauguration of the newzipa, but in theSiecha Lakes in theChingaza Natural National Park.
Liborio Zerda taught at theColegio del Rosario in Bogotá for 60 years and died on 9 November 1919 in the Colombian capital.
Liborio Zerda was born on 10 July 1830, 1833 or 1834 in the capital of the thenRepublic of New Granada, Bogotá. He attended theColegio de San Bartolomé, a strict school that prohibited their students to walk on the streets at night, enter houses with a bad reputation, playing games or read obscene books. His interest fornatural sciences was born at theColegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, where Zerda, as student ofJoaquín Acosta, took classes inchemistry,geology andmineralogy. Liborio Zerda studied medicine at theUniversidad Central in the capital, graduating in 1853. He became a medical practitioner in Bogotá right after finishing his studies and in 1854 gained his specialisation insurgery and military medicine.[1][3]
After the foundation of theComisión Corográfica in 1850, led by ItalianAgustín Codazzi, Zerda founded theSociedad Caldas in 1855. In 1859 Zerda joined theSociedad de Naturalistas Neogranadinos, which was founded by Muisca scholarEzequiel Uricoechea. In this society, Liborio Zerda analysed mineralogy, while teaching courses on chemistry and physics. In those times, the studies of natural sciences were not yet well developed in Colombia. Zerda published about the "new" phenomenon ofradioactivity.[3]
In 1865 Zerda founded theEscuela de Medicina Privada, precursor of present-day private medicine schools. During the first years of this school, Zerda published aboutcoca andopium use in Bogotá (Estudios sobre la Coca y el Opio bogotano), drinking water analysis (Análisis de las aguas potables de Bogotá) and oils (Método para blanquear y purificar los aceites grasos). A year later, he published his first book, about horse medicine;Hipiátrica, tratado de medicina del caballo.[3]
1867 was the year of foundation of theUniversidad Nacional, that housed a faculty on natural sciences (Escuela de Ciencias Naturales). Zerda published about the chemical analysis, mainly ofsalt, common on theAltiplano Cundiboyacense, with works titledAnálisis de sal gema, sal compactada, sal cristalizada y de agua de las principales fuentes salinas de la República,Determinación de la presencia del iodo en el pescado del río Funza,Análisis químico y estudio de las aplicaciones medicinales de varias aguas minerales naturales andAnálisis sobre muestras de hulla de la Sabana de Bogotá, Zipaquirá y Riohacha. For this publication, Zerda was awarded theMedalla de Oro en la Exposición Nacional.[3] In 1891 Zerda wrote theCatálogo de la colección mineralógica and published aboutsnake venom.[1]
During the later 19th century, Zerda published aboutchicha, thealcoholic beverage of theMuisca that was popular at the time, with a publication calledEstudio químico patológico e higiénico de la chicha, bebida popular en Colombia. He also wrote about ions, electrons andradium (El radium y sus propiedades maravillosas) and the illnesses flies spread (Las moscas transmisoras de enfermedad). His work on chicha revealed the danger ofmaize infected with a fungus.[3]
Zerda died on 9 November 1919 in his city of birth Bogotá.[3]
The interests of the intellectual Zerda were not restricted to the natural sciences. He published papers about thehistory of the Muisca, their habits, traditions andreligion. His bookEl Dorado, published in 1883 and reprinted in 1947, is one of the firstanthropological, historical and ethnographical studies on the original inhabitants of theBogotá savanna and northern areas of the Altiplano.[1][3]
Liborio Zerda analysed the work byJosé Domingo Duquesne who in 1795 had written about thelanguage andnumerals of the Muisca. The Chibcha language was almost extinct by the late 19th century and the revival of it by Zerda has aided in later analyses of the language.[3]
On the Muisca numerals, Zerda discovered the importance offrogs in the Muisca culture. He stated that the frog represented the times of draught on the Altiplano. An extended frog or one without legs symbolises rest, happiness and theharvests. Frogs with a human head stand for intelligence. An eagle with a frog in its claws symbolised summer.[4] The frog was known from theMuisca calendar, that was first analysed by Duquesne. Zerda theorised that the well-known publication of Duquesne (Disertación sobre el origen del calendario y jeroglíficos de los moscas) was merely a summary of the larger workAnillo astronóomico de los moscas.[5] Zerda did not analyse the work done on the Muisca calendar by famous naturalistAlexander von Humboldt, who met Duquesne in Colombia in the early 19th century.[6] Liborio Zerda wrote about a stone that represented the calendar, a similar stone as theChoachí Stone, which was found later. It has been thought possible by researcherManuel Arturo Izquierdo Peña that the stone Zerda described was actually a mould used in the famous goldworking of the Muisca, to producetunjos.[7]
In the later chapters ofEl Dorado, Zerda draws comparisons between the origins of theindigenous peoples of the Americas with Africa and Asia, based on metalworking andceramics. In his work, he described the ritual ofEl Dorado insacredLake Guatavita, represented in the goldenMuisca raft, which was found after Zerda's death inPasca,Cundinamarca.[3] The book also treats other indigenous tribes of Colombia, such as thePanche and others and formed the basis for the 20th century anthropological studies of the Muisca.[1]
In the view of Zerda, the Muisca were aNeolithic culture and theirancient roads were built by an earlier, superior civilisation.[8] Deeply influenced by the ethnological works ofLubbock,De Mortillet andBroca, Zerda proposed a long chronology of the history of the Muisca. He defended theperiod of Spanish conquest to educate the primitive Muisca to a higher level. Zerda proposed the sacredSiecha Lakes were the actual site ofEl Dorado, later found to have beenLake Guatavita.[9]
Liborio Zerda's research revealed the diet of the Muisca people was formed by the deer speciesCervus virginianus,Cervus mexicanus andCervus simplicicomis,[10] and fish from theFunza and otherrivers (Eremophilus mutisii andGrundulus bogotensis).[11][12] The fish provided a source ofiodine for the Muisca.[13]
In 1885, Zerda described amummy of a young girl, found in a cave on the Toquillaparamo within the municipality ofAquitania, at 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) altitude. The mummy was decorated with golden objects and wrapped in cotton mantles. The body was organised in asquatting position.[14]
He also wrote aboutCuchavira, god of the rainbow of the Muisca.[15]
This list is a selection.[16]
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