Checua
 Location within Colombia
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| Location | Nemocón, Cundinamarca |
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| Region |
Bogotá savanna Altiplano Cundiboyacense  Colombia
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| Coordinates | 5°07′12.1″N 73°52′35.3″W / 5.120028°N 73.876472°WCoordinates: 5°07′12.1″N 73°52′35.3″W / 5.120028°N 73.876472°W |
| Altitude | 2,577 m (8,455 ft) |
| Type | Open area settlement |
| Part of | Pre-Muisca sites |
| History | |
| Periods | Preceramic |
| Cultures | Preceramic |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Ana María Groot |
Checua is a preceramic open area archaeological site in Nemocón, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The site is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the town centre. At Checua, thousands of stone and bone tools, stone flakes and human remains have been found, indicating human occupation from around 8500 to 3000 years BP.
Main archaeologist for Checua is Ana María Groot, who published the results of her research in 1992.
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense has been inhabited at least since 12,500 years ago. The first human settlers migrated via the Darien Gap from Central America to South America and led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They populated the rock shelters of the high plateau in the Andes, then still with abundant as Cuvieronius, Haplomastodon, Equus amerhippus and giant sloths.
During this preceramic phase, the population shifted from rock shelters to open area settlement, of which Galindo and Checua are among the oldest. A later site in Soacha, Cundinamarca; Aguazuque is comparable to Checua.
During the second millennium before present, the population increased and settlements became bigger. This is evidenced in the findings at the salt mine of Nemocón.
Checua is located in a valley of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and its geology is determined by the Andean orogeny. Checua lies in the middle of a rich halite area, with salt mines in Nemocón, Zipaquirá and Tausa surrounding the site. The sedimentary sequence consists of the oldest outcropping units of the Villeta Group of Early Cretaceous age. This sequence is followed by the sandstone formations of the Guadalupe Group, Late Cretaceous in age. Overlying the Mesozoic section is the Maastrichtian to Paleocene Guaduas Formation. Due to the Andean tectonic movements, most of the Tertiary section is eroded or non-deposited and the Guaduas Formation is overlain by the Sabana Formation.
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