A brief review of the archaeology of the Diquis Delta in relation to its interconnections with the surrounding areas:

1. Development of Terraba Basin sites, Pacific Southern Costa Rica (Drolet 1988)

The sites of Terraba Basin are considered part of the larger Greater Chiriqui archaeological complex. Affinities between this area and the rest of Greater Chiriqui include a similar length of occupation beginning as far back as 7000 years ago, and an inter-dependence of cultural advancement moving from agricultural villages to ranked societies.
Through the undertaking of two archaeological projects, Proyecto Boruca and Proyecto Terraba-Coto Brus, over 250 sites have been uncovered in this area, most of who date to the Formative Period (1000B.C.-700A.D.). This period is characterized by the development of agricultural villages, continued settlement growth, and the first site developments in the interior basin along the banks of the Terraba River.

In the earliest phases of the Formative Period, 3 sites are noteworthy for their inter-cultural exchanges. Sitio Curre, excavated by Corrales in 1984-85, emerges with new ceramic and lithic styles ca. 1000B.C., though agricultural and ceramic techniques appear more akin to the previous Archaic period. Here was found debitage from the manufacturing of chalcedony and quartz, which suggests a link to earlier communities in western Panama, though Drolet (1988) argues that agricultural development at this site is of local origin. This suggests some basic level of cultural awareness of the communities of western Panama by the people of Curre, but that these people were originally indigenous.

At the two other sites in question, Quebradas and Aguas Buenas, there appear to be, based on ceramic typology, a mixing of the two distinct cultural assemblages. By the middle Formative, ceramics of Quebrada type are beginning to be found in mixed contexts with those types found in Aguas Buenas. This demonstrates a change in population demographics and the beginning of a cultural concentration in the General Valley.

By the late Formative, five zones of cultural concentration have developed. They are: the General Valley, the central Terraba Basin, the Coton River, Aguas Buenas/San Vito, and Volcan Baru in western Panama. This phase is characterized by rapid colonization and development across the entire Greater Chirqui area.

Two major sites of this phase are Rivas and Bolas, both of whom are significantly larger than the other sites in the area at this time. Drolet (1988) argues that these two sites became the center of activity for their respective local areas, and are the first among these sites to display evidence of hierarchical settlement patterns at the local and sub-regional level. He believes that at this period trade, warfare, and other interactions of hierarchical societies was occurring at the sub-regional level in Southern Pacific Costa Rica and western Panama.

Subsistence patterns during the late Formative also contributed to interregional interactions. The sites appear to have sustained a non-intensive type of agriculture, where dietary needs were also supplemented by hunting and gathering in the valley and highland areas. This would have facilitated the movement and interaction of local groups.
Evidence of hierarchical organization is especially evident in the Volcan Baru region of western Panama, at sites like Barriles, where iconographies of prestige and rank are to be found. Also, at Bolas and Rivas are indications of the emerging importance of rank through the find of prestige goods in burials, at Bolas the presence of spheres, and at San Vito human statues.

Trade is indicated by the find of Formative Period polished stone pendants, sculpture, and ceramics at three sites in the General Valley: Sitio Monge, Sitio Pin, and Sitio Las Brisas.

2. Interregional links in the Diquis Delta (Fernandez and Quintanilla 2000)

Evidence for direct or indirect contacts of other cultures with the Diquis Delta appear to be limited due to a lack of data, and also in part because of what appears to be a slower and later process of development in this area. The best evidence, however, seems to come from the analysis of stone sculpture and metallurgy in the Diquis and the surrounding areas.

As to the stone sculpture, at Barriles in western Panama there is a fairly clear development of sculpture and its relationship to the development of organized, ranked societies. Here were produced stone barrels (from which the site gets its name) often depicting human forms, the most well-known being the man-on-slave motif, often commented on for its obvious hierarchical implications. A similar motif to this appears at Varillero in the Osa Mountains by the Aguas Buenas Phase (300B.C.-800A.D.), and the Barriles barrels appear to be the basis for the later development of peg-based statues in the Diquis. Quintanilla additionally comments that this statuary has a limited distribution, and is not found in Curre, Murcielago, or Rivas (Terraba Basin sites), possibly implying a different cultural assemblage.

The development of metallurgic technology in Costa Rica also may provide some information on the interregional connections of the Diquis Delta. Though most metallurgy appears to center around north and central Costa Rica (the earliest developments date to 300A.D.-800A.D.), Bray (1990) proposes the introduction of metallurgy into Costa Rica came through a gradual process of indirect trade between the Atlantic Watershed area and northern Columbia (there is a long established history of advanced metallurgic techniques in northern Columbia, making it the most obvious source for influence) (Fernandez and Quintanilla 2000). Fernandez and Quintanilla (2000) notes that formal and technological links with northern Columbian techniques are apparent in the metal objects from Costa Rica. Around 500A.D., these styles become localized by the Costa Rican populations, and by 700A.D. there is continuity in form between objects from central and north Costa Rica. Complicating this, however, is the fact that there is no evidence of metallurgy in the Diquis until ca. 800A.D. This may be due simply to a lack of data, or it may be that there was a delayed introduction in this area.

3. Evidence for Costa Rican contacts with foreign cultures (Snarskis 1983) (Creamer 1983) (Lange 1988)

Most of the evidence for long-distance trade and interaction is focused on northern and central Costa Rica, specifically the Guanacaste-Nicoya archaeological complex and the Atlantic Watershed region. Through these areas the Diquis probably acquired a limited amount of foreign goods through the process of down-the-line trade. Evidence for connections with the Maya and other northern Mesoamerican groups lie mostly in Guanacaste-Nicoya, while the Diquis was influenced more by the southern cultures of Greater Chiriqui and northern Columbia
The main evidence for foreign influences may be seen in several types of artifacts. These include, according to Snarskis (1983), Mayan and Olmec jade and greenstone pendants, Usulutan ceramics from El Salvador, Mayan slate mirrors, and Columbian influenced gold metallurgy.

Of primary interest are the jade artifacts, as they provide the clearest evidence for cultural transmission. Both Mayan and Olmec jade objects, especially pendants, have been found in many contexts in Costa Rica. By the mid to late Formative Period (500A.D.-800A.D.), Mayan lowland influences, in the form of jade goods and ceramics, begin to appear in the Greater Nicoya region (Lange 1988). Lange (1988) provides a detailed analysis of probable source areas for jade and greenstone extraction by the Maya and other regional populations. One well-known source for the Mayan artifacts was in Motagua, Guatemala. However, there has been much speculation over a possible secondary source in the Santa Elena Peninsula in Costa Rica. Through trace-elemental analysis, Lange (1988) determined that, though a large proportion of Mayan jade was from Motagua or areas around Chichen Itza, a small percentage came from Costa Rica, possibly from Santa Elena. Likewise, five objects from Costa Rica came from the Motagua area. Lange concludes, "…movement of jadeite between Costa Rica and Guatemala appears to be indicated but not in overwhelming frequency (Lange 1988)." As political upheavals begin to take place in the Mayan lowlands, trade in jadeite and its presence in Costa Rica dwindles and stops.

Olmec jades have also been found in Gunacaste-Nicoya, the Central Highlands, and the Atlantic Watershed regions. It should be noted however, that most of the sites and cultures of Costa Rica significantly post-date the Olmec culture, and presumably the Olmec jade items were heirlooms of some sort (Snarskis 1983). This is evidenced by their sole presence in burials. As Lange (1988) states, "…(there are) few archaeological contexts in Costa Rica which are chronologically capable of having interacted with the Olmec (Lange 1988)." Creamer (1983) has published a work that discusses the difference in cultural significance attributed to these objects in Olmec culture vs. Costa Rican culture, whereby she demonstrates the change of meaning an object acquires after importation. Creamer (1983) states that the Olmec jades were often reworked into Costa Rican forms, and were also always found in different contexts than those found in Olmec sites. In this way she shows that, though the items found their way into Costa Rican populations, the ideology did not.

Other evidence for contact includes Usulutan pottery from El Salvador (southern frontier of the Mesoamerican cultures) and Mayan slate mirrors (Snarskis 1983). Usulutan pottery probably entered the Atlantic Watershed region ca. 200B.C.-300A.D. Mayan slate mirrors, found at La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica and in some Atlantic Watershed tombs, appear to have entered the area sometime between 500A.D. and 700A.D. Decorative glyphs on the mirror backs show that the objects probably originated in Peten Maya sites like Tikal around 500A.D.-700A.D. (Snarskis 1983). Snarskis (1983) believes that all these objects reached Costa Rica through down-the-line trade, and not by direct contact.

By 500A.D., this loose trade network was probably also extended to southern Costa Rica and western Panama, i.e., the Greater Chiriqui. Snarskis (1983) believes this activity ultimately stimulated the growth of the Aguas Buenas and Greater Chiriqui areas. During the periods 500A.D.-800A.D., there appears to be a significant shift in trade networks from the northern routes connecting to Mesoamerica, to southern routes connecting with northern Columbia (Snarskis 1983). This coincides with the decline of the Maya complexes in the north (fall of Teotihuacan, 600A.D.) and the introduction of metallurgy, especially in gold, from Columbia (Snarskis 1983). In this way, the southern connections filled the vacuum produced by the fall of Mayan society, while providing a new resource for elite consumption, gold.

4. Conclusions

Development of the Diquis Delta and the complex organization of its cultures could not have been achieved without the influences of surrounding populations. In particular, the Greater Chiriqui culture in western Panama had great impact on this development. Likewise, interregional interations Mayan influences on the Greater Nicoya-Guanacaste, Cnetral Highland, and Atlantic Watershed regions caused development, and its development in turn advanced the Diquis area.

Trade to Costa Rica, be it northern or southern, was not a highly established system. There is currently no evidence to suggest a commingling of Costa Rican cultures with the larger centers in Southern or Mesoamerica. However, through the processes of down-the-line trade, foreign objects, symbols, and technology did reach the communities of Costa Rica, and helped to bolster the establishment of hierarchical, elite societies. This change in societal organization may be linked back to the stone spheres of the Diquis. Without this shift to a higher level of societal organization, the motivation and undertakings involved in creating such objects would have been impossible.

References Cited

Bray, W. Cruzando el Tapon del Darien: una vision de la arqueologia del istmo desde la perspectiva columbiana. Boletin Museo del Oro 29:3-51, Bogota.

Creamer, W.
1983 Costa Rican Trade in Context. Inter-Regional Ties in Costa Rican Prehistory: 179-186, Pittsburgh, PA.

Drolet, R.P.
1988 The Emergence and Intensification of Complex Societies in Pacific Southern Costa Rica. Costa Rican Art and Archaeology: 163-188, Boulder, CO.

Fernandez, P. and I. Quintanilla
2000 Metallurgy, Balls, and Stone Statuary in the Diquis Delta, Costa Rica: Local Production of Power Symbols. Unpublished PhD. Dissertation.

Lange, F.W.
1988 Abstraction and Jade Exchange in Precolumbian Southern Mesoamerica and Lower Central America. Costa Rican Art and Archaeology: 65-88, Boulder, CO.

Snarskis, M.J.
1983 Patterns of Interregional Contacts as seen from the Central Highlands-Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica. Inter-Regional Ties in Costa Rican Prehistory: 29-44, Pittsburgh, PA.