Palmar Sur Archeological Excavations
Encyclopedia
The Palmar Sur Archeological Excavations are a series of excavations of a site located in the southern portion of Costa Rica
, known as the Diquís Delta. The excavations have centered on a site known as "Farm 6", dating back to the Aguas Buenas Period (300-800AD) and Chiriquí Period (800-1550 AD).
The Site is located in Palmar Sur
, southern Costa Rica
. The site is located on approximately 10 hectares of property that was previously owned by the United Fruit Company
in the alluvial plain of the Térraba River.
The rich alluvial soils of this region facilitated historical agriculture since the 1930s. The United Fruit Company dominated this southern region with banana plantations as early as the 1920s in Parrita and Quepos. The UFCO entered Palmar Sur in the 1930s under the name of Companía Bananera de Costa Rica in an effort to avoid antimonopoly legislature. Today the landscape is still carved into agricultural fields which are owned by co-ops and consist of plantain, banana, and palm plantations.
properties began in the 1940s with the work of Doris Zemurray Stone
and Samuel Lothrop. Lothrop's work focused on excavation at a handful of sites, one being Farm 4. His work aimed to document all archaeological sties containing "in situ" stone spheres and the number of spheres, their dimensions and made detailed maps illustrating both their arrangement and alignments.
After the work of Lothrop and Stone, research in the area took a hiatus for nearly fifty years. In the 1990s, Claude Baudez and a team of researchers set out to establish a ceramic chronology of the region by observing the change in ceramic styles over time. This was accomplished by examining the drainage ditches that were cut into the landscape by the UFCO. Research carried out by Ifigenia Quintanilla, under the direction of the MNCR from 1991-1996 was performed in the region under the project titled "Man and Environment in Sierpe-Terraba" focusing on settlement patterns, occupational sequences, and resources utilized in the region.
Francisco Corrales and Adrian Badilla, archaeologists with the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, have performed continuous research in the region since 2002. Their research began in 2002 and focused on four archaeological sites in the region containing stone spheres and of which comprise a "circuit". These sites include Grijalba, Batambal, El Silencio, and "Farm 6". The purpose of the project was to assess the cultural significance of the sites, to protect the cultural heritage, in addition to beginning research and studies at the sites. Corrales and Badilla produced a booklet entitled El Paisaje Cultural del Delta del Diquís which provides a quick overview on the history of the Diquís Delta, the history of banana plantations and the UFCO, the natural environment, archaeological sites in the region, and the importance of the Diquís region as an UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Research has continued in the region by Corrales and Badilla focusing on the archaeology and the Precolumbian political structure in the Diquís Delta. Research emphasis was on chiefdoms and their associated archaeological indicators. Their objectives were to study the archaeological sites containing stone spheres in the Diquís Subregion to gain an understanding of community configuration, activity areas, sequences of occupation, and the recording of monumental architecture.
de Turrialba is primarily the only archaeological site open for tourism. Tourism on a smaller scale is occurring at the site of Farm 6 but is open to visitors on an appointment basis. Those interested in visiting the site should contact archaeologists at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
to be put in touch with local guides in Palmar Sur. Future plans of the MNCR is to open the site to tourism on a larger scale and to include other sites nearby in the region.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, known as the Diquís Delta. The excavations have centered on a site known as "Farm 6", dating back to the Aguas Buenas Period (300-800AD) and Chiriquí Period (800-1550 AD).
Geographic Setting and Location
The archaeological site of Palmar Sur is located in the southern portion of Costa Rica, known as the Diquís Delta, and in the southern most part of the Puntarenas Province. The Diquís Delta is defined as the alluvial plain with the geographical boundaries of the Fila Grisera to the north and east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Osa Mountains comprising the southern boundary. This area is defined by two season: wet and dry. The dry season runs from December through March with the wet season comprising the remaining months.The Site is located in Palmar Sur
Palmar Sur
Palmar Sur is a town in Costa Rica, located next to Palmar Norte in the Osa region of Puntarenas Province. Palmar Norte and Palmar Sur are separated by the Rio Terraba. Palmar Sur has a regional airport that has daily flights arriving from San Jose on two regional airlines...
, southern Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The site is located on approximately 10 hectares of property that was previously owned by the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
in the alluvial plain of the Térraba River.
Site Description
The archaeological site of Farm 6 dates during the Aguas Buenas Period (300-800AD) and Chiriquí Period (800-1550 AD) and was a multifunctional site meaning that it was not only a settlement but also contained a cemetery, and had both monumental architecture and sculpture. Monumental architecture at the site consists of two mounds that are constructed with retaining walls made of rounded river cobbles and filled with earth. The site contains multiple locations where large stone spheres are found "in situ". Additionally, since many of the stone spheres in the region were removed from their original locations and serve as landscape decoration, the site has become a storage location for spheres that have been returned to the National Museum.Historical Background
Before the arrival of the Companía Bananera de Costa Rica, a branch of the United Fruit Company, and banana plantations in the 1930s, vegetation in this area offered a great deal of biodiversity in both plant and animal resources. Resources available to Precolumbian inhabitants in this alluvial plain consisted of riverine and ocean resources, including mangrove forests located in the Terraba and Sierpe Rivers.The rich alluvial soils of this region facilitated historical agriculture since the 1930s. The United Fruit Company dominated this southern region with banana plantations as early as the 1920s in Parrita and Quepos. The UFCO entered Palmar Sur in the 1930s under the name of Companía Bananera de Costa Rica in an effort to avoid antimonopoly legislature. Today the landscape is still carved into agricultural fields which are owned by co-ops and consist of plantain, banana, and palm plantations.
Early Researchers in the Region
Scientific research in the alluvial plain, particularly on United Fruit CompanyUnited Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
properties began in the 1940s with the work of Doris Zemurray Stone
Doris Zemurray Stone
Doris Zemurray Stone was an archaeologist and ethnographer, specializing in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the so-called "Intermediate Area" of lower Central America. She served as the director of the National Museum of Costa Rica and endowed numerous professorial chairs in U.S...
and Samuel Lothrop. Lothrop's work focused on excavation at a handful of sites, one being Farm 4. His work aimed to document all archaeological sties containing "in situ" stone spheres and the number of spheres, their dimensions and made detailed maps illustrating both their arrangement and alignments.
After the work of Lothrop and Stone, research in the area took a hiatus for nearly fifty years. In the 1990s, Claude Baudez and a team of researchers set out to establish a ceramic chronology of the region by observing the change in ceramic styles over time. This was accomplished by examining the drainage ditches that were cut into the landscape by the UFCO. Research carried out by Ifigenia Quintanilla, under the direction of the MNCR from 1991-1996 was performed in the region under the project titled "Man and Environment in Sierpe-Terraba" focusing on settlement patterns, occupational sequences, and resources utilized in the region.
Francisco Corrales and Adrian Badilla, archaeologists with the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, have performed continuous research in the region since 2002. Their research began in 2002 and focused on four archaeological sites in the region containing stone spheres and of which comprise a "circuit". These sites include Grijalba, Batambal, El Silencio, and "Farm 6". The purpose of the project was to assess the cultural significance of the sites, to protect the cultural heritage, in addition to beginning research and studies at the sites. Corrales and Badilla produced a booklet entitled El Paisaje Cultural del Delta del Diquís which provides a quick overview on the history of the Diquís Delta, the history of banana plantations and the UFCO, the natural environment, archaeological sites in the region, and the importance of the Diquís region as an UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site. Research has continued in the region by Corrales and Badilla focusing on the archaeology and the Precolumbian political structure in the Diquís Delta. Research emphasis was on chiefdoms and their associated archaeological indicators. Their objectives were to study the archaeological sites containing stone spheres in the Diquís Subregion to gain an understanding of community configuration, activity areas, sequences of occupation, and the recording of monumental architecture.
Current Research
Research is currently ongoing at the "Farm 6" site under the direction of archaeologists at the Museo Nacional de Costa RIca. The first field season in which archaeological excavations were undertaken was in 2005. Objectives during this field season included defining the area in which two mounds were located, sphere alignments, and various excavations associated with mound 2. In 2007, as second field season was undertaken focusing on archaeological excavations of Mound 1. During this field season, a stone sphere was discovered "in situ" in association with the mound.Tourism
Archaeo-tourism is a concept that is still relatively new in Costa Rica. To date, the national monument of GuayaboGuayabo
Guayabo de Turrialba is an archeological site located in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The site is of great archeological and cultural importance even though only a very small portion of the city has been uncovered and studied. The monument covers 540 acres and is located on the forested southern slope...
de Turrialba is primarily the only archaeological site open for tourism. Tourism on a smaller scale is occurring at the site of Farm 6 but is open to visitors on an appointment basis. Those interested in visiting the site should contact archaeologists at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras, in the Bellavista Fortress, a crenallated, ochre colored building opposite the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica...
to be put in touch with local guides in Palmar Sur. Future plans of the MNCR is to open the site to tourism on a larger scale and to include other sites nearby in the region.