Cult Traits in Southeastern Costa Rica and Their Significance

Abstract

The finding of ceremonial bone and shell objects at Puntarenas Farm, Jalaca, southeastern Costa Rica, along with ceramics of known Chiriqui or Red and Black ware, has thrown new light upon the extent of pre-Columbian trade and the penetration of cult traits from northern South America into lower Central America. Although no radiocarbon date has been obtained as yet, it is known that the manufacture of Chiriqui or Red and Black ware was continued into post-Columbian times.The presence in this region of shells found only on the Caribbean coast of Central America and not on the Pacific, as well as artifacts of manatee (Trichechus m. manatus Linn.) bone, also associated solely with the Caribbean littoral, indicate the extent and importance of trade. In the same sense, the appearance of the alligator-serpent motif on both coasts of the Nicoya Peninsula and on the western coast with ware related to Ulua Polychrome types and with an Ulua style alabaster vase, places a new northern boundary with respect to the diffusion of this cult motif. The Ulua Polychrome types and the Ulua style alabaster vase put a time horizon covering from A.D. 1000 probably to the Spanish arrival. The alligator-serpent concept, so familiar in the Amazon and Andean regions, the “eagle” or “condor” concept, the feline, the monkey, and the frog all emphasize the common base of lower Central American religion. Likewise they point to San Agustin as a cultural center of great importance in lower Central America.From the artistic point of view, the bone objects represent some of the most intricate carving yet known in eastern Central America. Both the style and subject matter place these figures in a different category from bone artifacts associated with Mesoamerican cultures.

Patterns of Disease and Culture in Ancient Panama

“…Although the social impetus behind this behavior is unclear, it is likely tied to a spiritual belief in an afterlife in which these mortuary offerings might be required especially for these immature members of society. Zoomorphic pendants and ornaments made from the teeth of animals may have represented the animal identifier of the individual's specific clan (Cooke 2004:281), or, alternatively, a mythical figure of regional religious significance (Stone 1963).…”

Celebrating Place Through Luxury Craft Production

“…The Lower Ulua Valley is located in a broad alluvial flood plain, with the Ulua River flowing more or less through the central part of the valley, emptying into the Caribbean Sea. The material correlates for the Classic period demonstrate strong ties to the central Maya lowlands (Joyce 1986, 1991, 1996; Sheptak 1987) as well as to the less complex communities in central Honduras and further south into Lower Central America (Joyce 1993b; Lange 1984, 1992; Stone 1963, 1972, 1977). Communication with both the central Maya heartland and communities to the south waxed and waned in antiquity, with ties to the region of Guanancaste in northern Costa Rica vibrant during the initial periods of the Late Classic, followed by a shift to stronger ties with the central Maya Lowlands via a Caribbean coastal network during the height of the Late Classic and into the Terminal Classic (Joyce 1986).…”

“…Outside the valley and its neighboring regions, Ulua marble vases mark close ties between Travesia and distant communities, and the rich contexts abroad affirm the high-status afforded to these vases by foreign centers. Vases have been found in central plaza areas at Uaxactun (Kidder 1947:36–37), Altun Ha (Pendergast 1982:43, 114–115, 1990:233, 236–238), and San Jose (Thompson 1939:167) in the central Maya Lowlands and in elaborate caches at Nacascolo (Stone 1963:357, 1977:59), Iguanita (Fredrick Lange, personal communication 2002), and Ortega (Ferrero 1981:88) in Guanacaste; this pattern of distribution at high-status sites follows that known for other Late Classic white-stone-vase traditions in Mesoamerica (Luke 2008). The distribution of Ulua-style marble vases at prestigious centers in the central Maya Lowlands, as well as at prominent sites in Guanancaste, confirms that prominent groups outside the valley had access to these vases.…”

“…To the south of the Ulua Valley, those vases from the prominent coastal hub of Nacascolo (Stone 1977:59, 1963:357), Vidor (Lange, personal communication 2000), Ortega (Ferrero 1981:88), and, reportedly, Iguanita (Lange, personal communication 2002) are diagnostic of the earlier phases of production. Vases with bird handles and scale borders have tripod supports, and those with feline handles lack the depth and fine-line sculpturing found on the larger cylindrical vases, particularly those with frontal zoomorphic heads in the main program and ring supports—completely undocumented in Guacanaste.…”

Basalt source characterization in the highlands of western panama using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis

“…Researchers in southern Central America tended to emphasize how competition over the acquisition of trade items was central to political development (Creamer and Haas, 1985;Helms, 1979;Hoopes, 2005), although this is no longer a consensus view (see Cooke, 2004;Cooke et al, 2003;Fitzgerald, 1996). In the pre-Columbian chiefly polities of southern Costa Rica and western Panama, non-local artifacts are found on Isla del Caño (Finch and Honetschlager, 1986), in various Diquís Delta sites (Badilla et al, 1997;Corrales, 2000;Stone 1963), Drago (Wake et al, 2004), La Pitahaya (Cooke, 1980;Linares, 1968) and at Rivas (Quilter, 2004). These goods (e.g.…”