Prehistory Hunter-gatherer societies Palynological analyses performed by experts have determined that during the Superior
Pleistocene some 40,000–10,500 years ago, the valleys of El Dorado and Alto Calima had Andean forests and sub-Andean vegetation. The discovery of projectiles indicated that there were communities of
hunter-gatherers at the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the
Holocene. The extinction of the Pleistocenic megafauna in the beginning of the Holocene forced humans to adapt to their new environment, becoming hunter-gatherers. In the lower basin of the
Calima River (Sauzalito River, El Recreo River, and El Pital River), archaeologists found the oldest traces of hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Valley of the
Cauca River. According to these, in 5000 BC these societies already had some level of primitive agriculture and cultivated
maize. There is little information about the years between 3000 and 1500 BC. {{stack|clear=true
Ancient agricultural–pottery societies (1500 BC – 600 AD) In 1500 BC the first agricultural–pottery society, the
Ilama culture, appeared, extending along the
Calima River (in what is now the towns of
Restrepo and
Darién). Its society had a social structure of
cacicazgos ("chiefdoms") that prevailed until the
arrival of the Spaniards. The Ilama economy was based on migratory agriculture using
maize,
yuca, and beans; hunting; fishing; textile manufacturing; and metallurgy. The chief or
cacique was the head of the settlement and had
chamanes ("spiritual leaders"), warriors, farmers, hunters, pottery men, and goldsmiths. By 100 AD, the Ilama had developed into the
Yotoco, whom expanded the region of the Ilama further, down the Cauca River to the Pacific Ocean, and southward to the present-day region of
Santiago de Cali (Cali). The
Yotoco were a highly stratified society, headed by
caciques, who managed several settlements. They existed in the region until around 1200 AD. A rising population forced them to develop effective agricultural systems to meet food demand, which improved pottery and metalworking techniques. Yotoco agriculture — based on maize, yuca, beans,
arracacha, and
achiote, among other foods - was more diverse than that of the Ilama. The Yotoco experienced a decline beginning in the 6th century AD.
Pre-Columbian agricultural–pottery societies (600–1600) This archeological period is called the Late Period and is divided into Late Period I (6th to 13th centuries) and Late Period II (14th to 16th centuries). In Late Period I the Valle del Cauca region was inhabited by the early
Sonso culture, Bolo, Sachamate, and La Llanada. During Late Period II the region was inhabited by the late Sonso culture, Pichinde, Buga, and Quebrada Seca. Their development is attributed to population growth. Almost all the settlers in the area became subject to the rule of one main
cacique.
Arrival of the Spanish and conquest The first 67 Spanish explorers arrived in the area after founding the village of
Popayán, in an expedition from
Quito headed by
Sebastián de Belalcázar. In the Valle del Cauca the explorers founded the village of
Villa de Ampudia, named after one of them,
Juan de Ampudia. By orders of Belalcázar the village was then moved to the Riviera of the Cauca River, within the Gorrones indigenous people's territory. In 1536, a Captain Muñoz ordered the city to be moved to the Valley, where the Village of
Cali was founded on 25 July of that same year. Another Spanish explorer, , coming from the village of
Cartagena de Indias, entered Cali on 23 December 1538 with a second group of explorers, but he returned to Cartagena, leaving many of his men behind including
Pedro Cieza de León. A third group of explorers, led by Admiral
Jorge Robledo under orders of , advanced to the North of the Valle del Cauca and founded the villages of
Anserma (now part of
Caldas Department; 15 August 1539),
Cartago (9 August 1540), and
Antioquia (25 November 1541), and under command of
Pascual de Andagoya who came from
Panama to Cali with a fourth group of explorers.
Department of Valle del Cauca The Department of Valle del Cauca was created by decree number 340 on April 16, 1910, which created 12 other departments in Colombia. The Valle del Cauca Department was a result of the union of four former departments:
Cartago,
Buga, and
Cali. ==Government==