Stone spheres of Costa Rica

Stone spheres of Costa Rica

Stone spheres of the Diquís at the Finca 6 archaeological site
Location within Central America
Location	Palmar Sur, Osa, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Region	Osa, Puntarenas
Coordinates	8°54′41″N 83°28′39″W / 8.91139°N 83.47750°W / 8.91139; -83.47750
History
Periods	500–1500 CE
Cultures	Diquís culture
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Precolumbian chiefdom settlements with stone spheres of the Diquís
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii
Designated	2014 (38th session)
Reference no.	1453
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 petrospheres in Costa Rica, on the Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño. Locally, they are also known as bolas de piedra (literally stone balls). The spheres are commonly attributed to the extinct Diquís culture, and they are sometimes referred to as the Diquís Spheres. They are the best-known stone sculptures of the Isthmo-Colombian area.

They are thought to have been placed in lines along the approach to the houses of chiefs, but their exact significance remains uncertain.

The Palmar Sur Archaeological Excavations are a series of excavations of a site located in the southern portion of the country, known as the Diquís Delta, and have centered on a site known as "Finca 6" (Farm 6). The archaeological findings date back to the Aguas Buenas Period (300–800 CE) and Chiriquí Period (800–1550 CE).

In June 2014, the Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.^[1] In July 2014, a project, which had been proposed in 2011, to declare the spheres a national symbol of the country was approved.^[2]

According to some archaeologists' hypothesis the spheres could represent solar systems or just be inspired by various stages of the sun and the moon as viewed with the naked eye, including setting or rising suns, and half moons.^[3]