Costa Rica has been most influenced by the Spanish Conquest, and therefore, there are relatively few signs of its Pre-columbian culture left.  However, what signs there are, are some of the most amazing and mysterious anywhere!

The different Mexican and Northern Central American Cultures, such as the Mayas and Aztecs did reach as far down as Costa Rica.  The Nicoya area was the farthest extent of the Nahuatl speaking peoples, and served as the farthest outpost of the Aztec Empire.  In the east, the Cariari traded regularly with the cultures from Colombia and the Maya to the north.

However, at the time of the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, there were few native Costa Ricans and they were relatively poorly organized. So they offered slight resistance to the Spanish. They had no known written language (though there are numerous examples of intricate petroglyphs unique to Costa Rica) and left few large scale archaeological monuments.

Also it is almost certain that people were living in Central America prior to 20,000 BC, the first evidence (in the form of ceramics) is dated about 2000 BC which corresponds to what is called "Period III" by archaeologists. "Period IV", from 1000 BC to AD 500, was characterized by the establishment of villages and social hierarchies and the development of jade production, Ceramics and jade from Mayan areas indicate the influence of other peoples through trade. Skill in making pottery improved during Period V (AD 500 - 1000), and by the Period VI (AD 1000-1520) society had developed into a number of settlements, some with populations of about 20,000 ruled by a chief.

Most of these settlements were quickly destroyed by the Spanish conquest and its aftermath. Today the few remaining native groups are often known by the name of their last chief, as noted by the Spanish chroniclers. Particularly important in the Greater Nicoyan area are the Chorotegas.  The Chorotegas extend from Costa Rica up to Western Honduras.

The Nicoya area had just a dry season and a wet season; this led to a greater development in ceramics as compared to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, were water was easier to obtain and rarely had to be transported or stored. In addition, the many bays and safe anchorages of the Peninsula of Nicoya area fostered trading, this plus the much drier climate has left archaeologists with more artifacts than the Caribbean Coast.

The most important archaeological site in Costa Rica is the Monumento Nacional Guayabo, about 85km east of San José, in the province of Cartago. Guayabo is continuously under investigation by Dr. Michael Snarskis of the Tayutic Foundation and the National Museum of Costa Rica, as well as other archaeologist, and is thought to have been inhabited from about 1000 BC to AD 1400. It is believed to have been a regional capital with a sustained population of over 25,000.  There are substantial paved streets, stone aqueducts, and causeways stretching off into vast distances.  Most of the structures were built of wood and thatch, so only the stone mound foundations remain.  Significant gold and stone artifacts have been discovered there. Archaeologists believe Guayabo was an important religious and cultural centre, although minor compared to Aztec, Inca or Maya sites.  

Yet most curious, is its location, far removed from the trading routes on the Caribbean coast, and far distant from the Nicoya peoples in the west.  Yet they built hundreds and possibly thousands of miles of paved roadways leading to locations still unknown.  Examples can still be seem in the provincial capital of Cartago - 50 miles from Guayabo!  These roadways, in their own right, are of major significance, and remain an enigma!

Of all the excisting remnants of pre-Columbian culture, none are more mysterious than the stone spheres of the Diquis region, which covers the southwestern region of Costa Rica. Dotted throughout the area are perfectly shaped spheres of granite, some as taller than a human and others as small as a grapefruit. they can be seen on private residences thought the country, and a rare few in the Museo Nacional and various parks and gardens in San José, as well as still in Diquis region itself. Some undisturbed for centuries, have been found on Isla del Caño, 20 km offshore - west of the the southern Pacific coast. Who carved theses enigmatic orbs? What was their purpose? How did they get to the Isla del Caño?. There are few who have correctly answered these questions, but these puzzling granite spheres of southern Costa Rica underscore how little we know of this region's pre-columbian cultures.

Dr. Tim McGuinness
June 2005

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