History of Costa Rica tells us that prior to the Spanish Conquest, which started after Christopher Columbus arrived in 1502, Costa Rica was the home of at least eight different tribes who had totally different cultures and spoke different dialects. The number of indigenous settlements in Costa Rica was low compared to any other country in Central America. A lot of the Precolombian indigenous (which means before Columbus) abandoned their villages when the Spanish arrived and there is no record as to where they went, thus leaving us with little information about these part of the Costa Rica history. A great portion of the indigenous tribes that stayed were captured and slaved. Most of the indigenous of Costa Rica died under the harsh working conditions or were killed by European diseases to which their bodies had no immunity to. According to Costa Rica history the remaining indigenous tribes of Costa Rica that refused to be conquered escaped to the mountains, most of them went to the Talamanca Mountains and can still be found there. Currently the indigenous represents a 1% of the entire population of Costa Rica. These eight different tribus can be found in 22 indigenous reservoirs, which altogether have a total area of 1,240 square miles and inside them they have been able to keep a lot of their dialects, culture, and history alive.

 

Although the only written history of the indigenous cultures of the Precolombian Costa Rica was recorded by the Spanish and was not very thorough, these tribes did leave behind a great amount of their artwork which can provide an insight to their culture. In order to see their beautifully elaborate artwork visit the Museum of Jade. The Museum of Jade has the world’s largest collection of Precolombian Jade. The Museum of Gold in Costa Rica is another place you should visit to check the artwork of these intriguing tribes. The Museum of Gold has more than 2000 pieces of very elaborate gold artworks in display. Artworks in ceramic and in stone made during the Precolombian era are also magnificent.

 

Most of the artwork has been found in the Nicoya Peninsula. Guayabo National Monument is an important archaeological site, and certainly a mysterious part of the ancient history of Costa Rica. At about 52 miles east of San Jose, Costa Rica the Guayabo Monument is being investigated as it is thought that it was inhabited 1000 BC to AD 1400. This place still has streets, aqueducts, and causeways made out of stone. The rest of the buildings that were constructed in Guayabo have collapsed, but still a lot of information about the early Costa Rica history can be gathered from them. It is said that Guayabo might have been an important religious and cultural center in Central America.

One of the most interesting remnants of the Precolombian Costa Rica is the stone spheres. These stone spheres have been found in the Diquis region, which covers the southern half of Costa Rica, and they are perfectly round shaped spheres of granite. Some of these intriguing stone spheres are as tall as a person and some other are around the size of a baseball. The National Museum has several of them. Other San Jose parks and gardens also have them. These stunning stone spheres can also be found throughout the Diquis region. Even more mysterious are the stone spheres that have been found undisturbed on the Caño Island, which nobody knows how they got there or for what reason. Actually, nothing is known about these stone spheres from the Precolombian times, not even which tribe made them, how, or for what purpose.

So if you are up to making a city tour in San Jose, the National Museum, the Museum of Gold, and the Museum of Jade are worth the visit to check out the interesting artwork which unfolds interesting facts about the Precolombian history of Costa Rica. If the subject of archaeology is something that appeals to you then you definitely should go to the Guayabo National Monument to see some of the oldest stone records of Costa Rica history.