Archaeologists from the National Museum of Costa Rica identified a new pre-Columbian stone sphere located at a private estate in the Finca 12 sector, in Palmar Sur de Osa, its original site.
The sphere measures 1.23 meters in diameter, is in perfect condition and is the first found in its original place since 2007. The find was made by farmworkers while they were preparing an internal path, who when they saw the object alerted the authorities of the National Museum
The sphere was buried and protruded slightly on the surface, it had been covered with earth from a nearby canal. “This could be the reason why this finding has been made until now,” said archaeologist Francisco Corrales.
Pre-Columbian settlement
In the surroundings, it was observed the presence of river stones that had been removed from their original site to build drainage ditches. According to a statement from the National Museum of Costa Rica, these were part of a pre-Columbian structure that could be the base of houses or cobblestones.
In the surroundings, a lot of fragmented ceramic material and some remains of stone tools were also found, all of the above reflects the presence of an ancient indigenous settlement”, explained Corrales.
The place where it was found is part of a large settlement, which was visited since the 1940s by archaeologists such as Doris Stone, Samuel Lothrop and Claude Baudez. The researchers recorded the presence of other spheres, stone structures and fragmentary material, to a wide extent. Later, these spheres were removed and the information associated with them was lost.
World heritage by UNESCO
The archaeologist explained that the discovery of this sphere and the study of its context will allow updating information about the settlement and the role that the artifact could have had in the ancient community that inhabited the place and its relationship with other nearby settlements such as Finca 6. Both sites which are part of the areas with stone spheres declared world heritage by UNESCO.
Due to the relevance and complexity of the place, the National Museum proposes to preserve the sphere in-site and to carry out investigations that allow a better understanding of the archaeological environment and design actions for conservation and cultural management.
The land owners and the officials of the National Museum will coordinate to jointly establish the site management proposal that guarantees the safeguarding of the discovered cultural resource.
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