Pre-Columbian Costa Rica (12,000BC to 1500AD)
According to popular belief, when Columbus and subsequent Spanish Conquistadores first arrived on Costa Rican shores they were met by a diminutive indigenous population of only around 25,000 people. Due to a lack of precious metals or stone, and no substantial indigenous workforce to exploit, these Spanish settlers were forced to till the land alone, becoming independent subsistence farmers rather than feudal lords or latifundistas, as in other parts of Central and South America, and thus there developed a “rural, classless democracy of peace-loving, white farmers who greatly valued freedom and family.” 2
Until very recently this served as the generally accepted version of colonial history, becoming part of a ‘national ideology’, the unifying myth of the nation, what historian Theodore Creedman has described as ‘leyenda blanca’ or white legend 3. Over the last few years archeological discoveries and research have led historians and sociologists to discredit and rewrite this ‘myth’, suggesting that it not only underplays the cruel treatment and exploitation of indigenous peoples, but also ignores the diverse cultural influences within the region, ‘over-exaggerating the whiteness of Costa Ricans’ and denying existing class differentiation and unequal division of wealth and power. 4
It is now thought that on the eve of conquest, in 1502, there were actually as many as 400,000-500,000 people living in the area that is Costa Rica, dispersed throughout the region in distinct cultural groups that show influences from both Mesoamerican and South American civilizations.
Archeologists have found evidence of hundreds of residential sites and thousands of artifacts that attest to the movement, migration and interaction of peoples throughout the surrounding areas and to important agricultural, social and stylistic divisions that correspond to these ethnic and cultural differences.
There is little evidence to indicate when exactly the region was first inhabited.
It is estimated that large waves of primitive people first reached the North American Continent between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, probably migrating from Asia, particularly Mongolia and Siberia to settle in the North West. Gradually, over many thousands of years, these people traveled southwards, eventually reaching Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of Argentina, adapting to the varied climates and environments they encountered.
Evidence of occupation in Costa Rica dates back to about 12,000BC. Remnants of rudimentary tools, particularly spearheads, attest to the influence of both North American and South American civilizations in the region, suggesting that early settlers arrived not only from the North but also from Andean America, revealing the intermingling of the two distinct cultures even at this early stage.
These first inhabitants of Costa Rica were nomadic hunter-gatherers, moving in small bands across a land dominated by tropical forest, hunting animals for the most part now extinct, as well as fishing and gathering fruit, nuts, grains and eggs, moving as food supplies became scarce or exhausted.
As these early peoples began to gain knowledge of plant species, to explore their potential uses in food consumption, medicines, fibers and construction materials, and to gradually select species for cultivation, a rudimentary form of agriculture was established. This in turn laid the foundations for a more sedentary existence, with more permanent settlements. The transition into agricultural production happened primarily between 4000 and 1000BC, with evidence of permanent settlements found in the area from about 2500BC onwards.
As experience and expertise, and consequentially, food supplies, increased, so populations grew, settlements became more complex and sophisticated and agriculture intensified. At this point the existence of an important social and agricultural divide, reflecting ethnic differences became evident, marking the region as the approximate boundary between Mesoamerica and Andean America.
Tribes living in the northwestern and central areas of the region showed Mesoamerican influence, growing grains, particularly maize and beans, crops typical of the semi-arid zones of Mexico, while contact with South America was evident among the semi-nomadic tribes of the southern Pacific and Caribbean, where slash and burn cultivation of yucca and other tubers, and pejibaye, a kind of palm nut, all common to South American regions was prevalent. The chewing of coca leaves, an Andean custom was also common.
Tools and instruments of labor developed according to these agricultural advances and geographical and ethnic differences. In the drier areas of Guanacaste and Nicoya ceramic vessels for storing water and grains have been found, along with elaborately carved metates – stones for grinding corn- all showing stylistic influences originating from Mesoamerican cultures, while artifacts found in the Caribbean regions show workmanship and decorative styles similar to those of the Andean cultures.
The technique of ceramic modeling itself is thought to have originated in Colombia or Venezuela and traveled up into Central and North America, again reinforcing the idea that Pre-Columbian peoples across the continents did not live in isolation but had regular contact and exchange through trade, migration and conquest.
Population growth and the increasing complexity of settlements allowed for a diversification of production into crafts as artisans began to fashion objects beyond those necessary for survival. In recent decades archeologists have found thousands of intricately worked artifacts throughout the country; jewelry, decorative ceramics, elaborately carved stone and jade figures, gold and silver work and woven textiles again show marked stylistic and technical differences corresponding to cultural movement and exchange. The use of materials not sourced in Costa Rica confirmed the existence of huge mercantile circuits throughout the region; Guatemala was probably the principal source of jade, while gold and silver are thought to have been imported from South America.
It is now thought that on the eve of conquest, in 1502, there were actually as many as 400,000-500,000 people living in the area that is Costa Rica, dispersed throughout the region in distinct cultural groups that show influences from both Mesoamerican and South American civilizations.
Archeologists have found evidence of hundreds of residential sites and thousands of artifacts that attest to the movement, migration and interaction of peoples throughout the surrounding areas and to important agricultural, social and stylistic divisions that correspond to these ethnic and cultural differences.
There is little evidence to indicate when exactly the region was first inhabited.
It is estimated that large waves of primitive people first reached the North American Continent between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, probably migrating from Asia, particularly Mongolia and Siberia to settle in the North West. Gradually, over many thousands of years, these people traveled southwards, eventually reaching Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of Argentina, adapting to the varied climates and environments they encountered.
Evidence of occupation in Costa Rica dates back to about 12,000BC. Remnants of rudimentary tools, particularly spearheads, attest to the influence of both North American and South American civilizations in the region, suggesting that early settlers arrived not only from the North but also from Andean America, revealing the intermingling of the two distinct cultures even at this early stage.
These first inhabitants of Costa Rica were nomadic hunter-gatherers, moving in small bands across a land dominated by tropical forest, hunting animals for the most part now extinct, as well as fishing and gathering fruit, nuts, grains and eggs, moving as food supplies became scarce or exhausted.
As these early peoples began to gain knowledge of plant species, to explore their potential uses in food consumption, medicines, fibers and construction materials, and to gradually select species for cultivation, a rudimentary form of agriculture was established. This in turn laid the foundations for a more sedentary existence, with more permanent settlements. The transition into agricultural production happened primarily between 4000 and 1000BC, with evidence of permanent settlements found in the area from about 2500BC onwards.
As experience and expertise, and consequentially, food supplies, increased, so populations grew, settlements became more complex and sophisticated and agriculture intensified. At this point the existence of an important social and agricultural divide, reflecting ethnic differences became evident, marking the region as the approximate boundary between Mesoamerica and Andean America.
Tribes living in the northwestern and central areas of the region showed Mesoamerican influence, growing grains, particularly maize and beans, crops typical of the semi-arid zones of Mexico, while contact with South America was evident among the semi-nomadic tribes of the southern Pacific and Caribbean, where slash and burn cultivation of yucca and other tubers, and pejibaye, a kind of palm nut, all common to South American regions was prevalent. The chewing of coca leaves, an Andean custom was also common.
Tools and instruments of labor developed according to these agricultural advances and geographical and ethnic differences. In the drier areas of Guanacaste and Nicoya ceramic vessels for storing water and grains have been found, along with elaborately carved metates – stones for grinding corn- all showing stylistic influences originating from Mesoamerican cultures, while artifacts found in the Caribbean regions show workmanship and decorative styles similar to those of the Andean cultures.
The technique of ceramic modeling itself is thought to have originated in Colombia or Venezuela and traveled up into Central and North America, again reinforcing the idea that Pre-Columbian peoples across the continents did not live in isolation but had regular contact and exchange through trade, migration and conquest.
Population growth and the increasing complexity of settlements allowed for a diversification of production into crafts as artisans began to fashion objects beyond those necessary for survival. In recent decades archeologists have found thousands of intricately worked artifacts throughout the country; jewelry, decorative ceramics, elaborately carved stone and jade figures, gold and silver work and woven textiles again show marked stylistic and technical differences corresponding to cultural movement and exchange. The use of materials not sourced in Costa Rica confirmed the existence of huge mercantile circuits throughout the region; Guatemala was probably the principal source of jade, while gold and silver are thought to have been imported from South America.
