THE MYSTERIOUS STONE SPHERES OF COSTA RICA:

Diquis Spheres, Costa Rica. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

Do you remember the giant stone sphere that almost crushes Indiana Jones at the beginning of the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc? Well stone spheres much like it are real and are found in Costa Rica.

“On the small island of Isla del Caño and the Diquís Delta in Costa Rica are over 300 stone Petrospheres often referred to as the Diquís Spheres, that have been attributed to the now extinct Diquís culture. The Diquís culture emerged in the Valley of the Rio Grande de Terraba, where they established complex social, economic, and political systems to govern their society.” (Heritage Daily)

The Diquis culture encompassed southern Costa Rica and stretched into present day Columbia. (Marsden)

“Settlement of the region began during the Synancra period around 1,500 – 300 BC in the form of sedentary, small, and dispersed farming communities, which may have revolved around an egalitarian system with some levels of tribal organization.” (Heritage Daily)

They made use of the wheel on children’s toys, but apparently not otherwise. They were metal workers, working a gold-copper alloy they called Tumbaga made from local ores. (Marsden) The most impressive remains of the Duquis culture are the enigmatic stone spheres they created.

         Diquis Spheres, Costa Rica. Internet                  photograph, Public Domain.

“By the Aguas Buenas period between 300 BC – AD 800, the settlements developerks. During this period the earliest examples of sculptured stone appeared that includes stone cylinders, ‘barrels,’ spheres and depictions of characters.” (Heritage Daily)

“The spheres range in size from a few centimeters to over 2 meters (6.6 ft) in diameter, and weigh up to 15 tons. Most are sculpted from gabbro, the coarse-grained equivalent of basalt. There are a dozen or so made from shell-rich limestone, and another dozen made from sandstone.” (Wikipedia)

             Diquis Spheres, Costa Rica. Internet                  photograph,  Public Domain.

“They appear to have been made by hammering natural boulders with other rocks, then polishing with sand. The degree of finishing and precision of the working varies considerably. The gabbro came from sites in the hills, several kilometers away from where the finished spheres are found, though some unfinished spheres remain in the hills.” (Wikipedia)

“With the arrival of the Spanish to the region by the sixteenth century AD, no mention was given in contemporary accounts by the European explorers of large stone spheres in the communities they encountered.” (Heritage Daily)

The arrival of Spanish colonialism led to the disappearance of the Diquis culture, largely from smallpox and other introduced diseases, with the few survivors fleeing into the mountainous interior searching for safety. The main trace remaining of their advanced culture is the number of stone spheres found.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Heritage Daily,2021, The Mysterious Stone Spheres of Costa Rica, Heritagedaily, https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-mysterious-stone-spheres-of-costa-rica/139375

Marsden, David, Diques Culture, https://thecostaricanews.com/indigenous-culture-who-were-costa-ricas-diquis/

Wikipedia, Stone Spheres of Costa Rica, https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_spheres_of_Costa_Rica