COCONUCO

Indian people of what is now the southern Colombian highlands at the time of the Spanish conquest, related to the modern Pez Indians. The Coconuco language is now extinct; the culture and tribal structure have also disappeared, although some Coconuco place-names and family names remain. The language was most closely related to Moguex and belonged to the Chibchan family. Little is known of the Coconuco culture, but it is considered to have been similar to that of the Pez (q.v.).