Humans have lived in
Costa Rica for more than 10,000 years. However, a powerful nation or people
have never dominated it. No imposing stone structures comparable to the
Aztec and Mayan peoples to the north, or the Inca's Four Kingdoms to the
south existed in Costa Rica. When Columbus arrived, archeologists differ in
their estimates, but it is believed that between 100,000 and 250,000 people
lived here, though they were divided among tribes and settlements with
differing customs and languages. The largest known archeological site in
Costa Rica is Guayabo, near the present
city of Cartago. Guayabo dates from 1000
BCE (BC) and had an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 people as its peak
population.
Costa Rica's significant known prehistory begins around
this time. Settlements consisted mostly of smaller sedentary
communities. These people lived simply, producing pottery, stone, jade, and
gold artifacts, while living on hunting, gathering, and basic primitive
agriculture. By 300 BCE clear signs of rapid development do exist, due to
the introduction of maize and other crops from the north, which stimulated
cultural and population growth.
 300 BCE (BC) to 500 CE (AD)
Evidence points to increased immigration from the north along both east and
west coasts. People lived on maize and tubers, but they may have also
cultivated beans, peppers and squash. The abundance of a protein-rich and
high-fat vegetable diet made them less dependent on hunting and fishing. In
the latter portion of this period, natives began exploiting mollusks for
dying fabrics. There is evidence of clearly defined class structure.
Evidence suggests a trade route between Mexico and South America passed
through Costa Rica, with Nahuat (Aztec) influences in the west, and Maya in
the east. It is even probable that Mayan tax collectors visited Costa Rica
occasionally.
500 CE - 1000 CE
This period shows the increase of South American influence and a decrease in
Maya influence. There is evidence of a peaceful incorporation of southern
people and ideas into the area. On the Atlantic Coast and in the central
valley, there is evidence of sporadic warfare and competition for resources.
Head hunting and captive sacrifice may indicate pressure from
overpopulation. Ceramics became less important as art objects and more
utilitarian, while gold became more valuable, replacing jade.
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Chronological Chart: Prehispanic Costa Rica and Panama
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Precolumbian Regions
click map to enlarge |
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1000 CE - 1500 CE
At this time, some areas broke into small settlements, with villages banding
together under a strong leader who organized them for defensive strategy and
political control. More immigrants, fleeing from political upheaval in
Mexico, arrived and commerce appears to have increased greatly. Cotton was
colored with mollusk secretion based dyes and may have been exported
together with quetzal feathers, salt and cocoa. The villages had wooden
ceremonial structures, and they may have practiced human sacrifices. The
Spaniards found two distinct cultures, which we could call Eastern and
Western.
 THE WEST
The Western culture lived in the seasonal forests, more or less on the
Pacific side of Costa Rica. Maize, beans and squash were staple crops,
planted in rotation to prevent nitrogen depletion and helped by manual
irrigation and fertilization with organic waste (plant cuttings). Cocoa was
used as currency in markets run by women, where slaves were frequently sold.
In small villages most time was dedicated to farming, but in more populated
areas commerce was more important. Canoes and rafts, with oars and sails
were used, but most local transport was over land.
"Caciques", or chiefs, ran the western seasonal forest
communities and warriors fought with lances or bows and arrows. Military
patrols covered some areas at night. Most people lived in towns, small
groups of houses were rare due to the fear of attackers. Also the advantages
of larger social groupings were becoming apparent. Houses were rectangular
and built directly on the ground.
Nahuatl (Aztec) was the trade language used for tribal
contacts. Its influence is still detectable in the Guanacaste provincial
accent. Knowledge was recorded on deerskins or paper made of plant fibers.
Clothing was made from cotton and a variety of other fibers as well as
deerskin. In several tribes, nudity was common and feathers and tattoos
decorated the body.
The religion emphasized a caring relationship with the
forest; it had rain gods and their assistants such as Tamagastad and
Quiateot. Mazat was the god of deer hunting, Toste of rabbits, Cacaguat of
crops, etc. Slaves or prisoners were sacrificed to the gods and eaten
ritually. Day names honored the ocelot, eagle, buzzard, monkeys and deer.
Chiefs and priests who acted as confessors and teachers controlled religion.
Other cultural expressions were the ball game, ritual operas, and acrobatic
games. Women did the agricultural chores when not caring for the family or
helping in battle. Male adults were dedicated to the army, medicine and
rituals.
 THE EAST
The second culture was on the eastern, Caribbean side of Costa Rica. This
rainforest culture had a slash and burn agricultural system that produced
various tubers, pejibaye (palm fruit), and maize. Fishing was done with nets
and arrows. Domestic dogs were eaten and some animals, such as tapirs were
domesticated, but most meat came from hunting wild game like peccaries,
manatees, turtles and iguanas and armadillos. Salt, fish, maize and fabrics
were important commodities. Large canoes with 12 oars, and rafts with sails
and rudders were common.
Most people lived in a palenque (a round conical
structure, rising from the ground with a thatched roof covering), which was
a communal house with up to a hundred inhabitants. These were really
extended families that cooperated in order to cope with the strong military
pressure of the region. The houses were rectangular or rounded and often
built over posts as a response to the frequent floods.
 Particularly striking was their treatment of corpses. The
embalmed bodies were kept at home or near to it, protected from mice and
similar pests in sealed plant bags, then they were buried. Shamans might
have a jaguar as their totem or spirit guide (alter ego), but commoners
typically used the first animal seen each day as their animist symbol.
Divination stones were used before fishing and hunting. These stones also
aided against disease or snakebites. In the Talamanca region, the rainforest
gods demanded a give and take treatment. They gave its resources, but asked
exchange (usually in human health life - though some cheating was accepted).
Here the myth of after-death punishment for those careless enough to drown
existed. Coca leaves were used in ceremonies, during which slaves and
prisoners could be sacrificed (sometimes to be buried with their dead
master), but were not eaten. Vultures were regarded with respect because the
organizer god Sibφ took their form to teach dance to humans, as well as when
carrying the souls of warriors. Pre-Columbian warriors were promised heaven
if they behaved properly, not unlike modern religions. |
