Stratigraphic Excavations in the Eastern Lowlands of Costa Rica

Abstract

Although the eastern lowlands of Costa Rica have seen little scientific archaeology, recent stratigraphic test excavations have outlined a ceramic sequence of almost 1,500 years in the region. The earliest ceramic complex in this sequence, El Bosque, has been radiocarbon dated to the first few centuries after Christ. Stylistically, the El Bosque complex resembles material from contemporary periods in adjacent regions (Zoned Bichrome, Aguas Buenas), but also shares many ceramic modes with the Colombian site of Momil. A carbonized maize cob from an El Bosque midden is eight-rowed Pollo, an ancient race of South American maize. Evidence is presented supporting the hypothesis that aboriginal cultural traditions in eastern Costa Rica were basically part of a northern South American tropical forest pattern.

Arquitectura demostrativa y asamblearia en el contexto paisajístico del sitio arqueológico Guastomatal, Mansión de Nicoya, Costa Rica

“…Dentro de la información disponible para Costa Rica, Guastomatal encuentra correlación en sus elementos constitutivos particularmente con sitios del Caribe Central (Aguilar, 1972;Fonseca, 1981;Hartman, 1901;Skinner, 1926;Snarskis, 1978;Vázquez, 2006). Complejos arquitectónicos identificados en regiones de ese territorio comparten entre ellos tipos de rasgos constructivos, pero varianza en cuanto a tamaño y diseño específico, esto es: con similitud, pero sin esquema monolítico.…”

The Caribbean Lowland Evergreen Moist and Wet Forests

“…In the 1890s the Swedish archaeologist Carl V. Hartman also worked at Las Mercedes and sent many valuable objects to Sweden. This site is dated at about 1,000-2,000 years old and therefore does not provide insight into the earliest indigenous populations (Snarskis 1976). Many additional archaeologically valuable locations are scattered around the Caribbean lowlands, some of them currently under excavation and others undiscovered or untouched.…”

Turrialba: A Paleo-Indian Quarry and Workshop Site in Eastern Costa Rica

“…Both ceramics and lithics occur at Turrialba. Typologically identical pottery has been radiocarbon dated to the first few centuries after Christ elsewhere in the Atlantic watershed region of Costa Rica (Snarskis 1976). Initially, Turrialba was considered to be a single component ceramic site with a very atypical lithic industry.…”