The Artifact: Costa Rica’s Stone Spheres

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the stone spheres of Costa Rica…

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Artifact,
a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind,
focusing on particular objects, ideas, and moments in time. During
the nineteen thirties, the United Fruit Company worked a clear
additional Costa Rican jungle for new banana crops, and in

(00:30):
doing so they stumbled upon an enduring mystery stones spheres,
ultimately ranging in diameter from six inches to eight feet,
reaching weights of up to fifteen tons. In time, more
than three hundred of these petrospheres were discovered, all pre
Columbian in origin, the work of the Deecas people, and

(00:52):
found primarily in the Decas Delta of southwestern Costa Rica.
The Deacast people flourished in this region from roughly seven
hundred to fifteen thirty se is pointed out by Mark
Milligan in a twenty twenty one article for Heritage Daily
the Mysterious stone Spheres of Costa Rica. Sixteenth century Spanish
invaders seemingly made no mention of the artifacts. The cascading devastation, disease, colonization,

(01:17):
and war brought on by Europeans seemingly erased any knowledge
of their purpose, and the artifacts were forgotten for centuries,
hidden under thick layers of sediment, but also protected. Since
their rediscovery, the spheres have become iconic artifacts of pre
Columbian Costa Rica, with examples found in the country's own
national Museum, which I've had the privilege of visiting, and

(01:40):
other museums around the world. As explored in James Doyle's
A Stone Sphere from Costa Rica for the met as
well as the Denver Art Museum's online catalog, the spheres
are composed of igneous rocks common to the area, carefully
and painstakingly worked into spheres and polished with sand. Furthermore,
we know the stones were often positioned in places rather

(02:01):
far from the suspected source stone sites, though no quarries
or workshops have ever been found. Exact arrangements of the
stones vary from straight lines to geometric patterns, some seeming
to stand as works of public art or boundary markers
of some sort. Without any surviving myths or narratives about
the stones were left to speculate possible astronomical or celestial importance,

(02:24):
perhaps related to solar or lunar observations, but Doyle stresses
that such is the artistry of their construction. They surely
served as prestige objects for the Deacas people, perhaps signifying
the dwellings of the social elite. Beyond that, the stones
might have served varying purposes for the conveyance of religious information,

(02:44):
or even as a way to keep track of the
agricultural calendar. In some manner. The ancient Decas people left
other artifacts behind as well, elaborate metal objects such as
decorative pendants and stone platforms. They were hunters and fishermen
in addition to expert stone and metal workers. But again,
perhaps already in decline before the arrival of Europeans, the

(03:06):
secret of their spheres was truly lost in the ensuing destruction.
In twenty fourteen, UNESCO named four sights featuring the stones
to its World Heritage List. Tune in for additional episodes
of the Artifact, the Monster Fact or Animalius Stupendium each week.
As always, you can email us at contact That's Stuff
to Blow Your Mind dot com.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
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