It is thought that human groups remained small, about 30 to 100 members, organized in nomadic or semi-nomadic bands devoted to hunting and gathering. However, the knowledge of the local environment allowed them to plan their travels through different areas based on the periodic ripening of certain fruits and the growth of familiar plants (that would later form the basis of agriculture) as well as the availability of other resources. Along these familiar paths they could find temporary shelter under rock ledges, or establish outdoor camps with pimientos (windbreaker walls based on the cipresillo tree) or other temporary structures. Between 2000 BC and 300 BC, some communities of early farmers became egalitarian societies. The development of agriculture prompted changes in the relationship between humans and nature, and allowed them to feed many more people. Furthermore, the ever-growing dependence on agriculture compelled human groups to establish permanent settlements around agricultural fields. This led to stable villages of huts that had to be erected in clear areas of the forest. The agricultural system most likely employed was slash-and-burn: The forest would be cut with stone axes and spades then burned to prepare it for planting crops. Agricultural practices included vegeculture, semi culture or a combination of both. In contrast to vegeculture, semi-cultural (cultivation of plants from seeds) had a greater effect on the environment, because it required more nutrients from the soil and caused greater erosion. In return, this system had a big advantage: it make food easier to store so that it could be made available all year, not just around harvest time. This led to larger societies where functions would be diversified. The primary semi-cultural activity was the production of corn, as well as associated plants such as beans and coyotes (a type of gourd related to the pumpkin). In the beginning, the social organization of these groups would've been of a tribal or clan-based nature, with egalitarian relationships between individuals and organizations, in clans or groups whose members were or would consider themselves to be descended from a common ancestry. Such ties would have served as a foundation for economic and political relations; the leadership would've been informal and ownership of goods would've been collective. However, agriculture, sentimentalism and a broadening demographic would've prompted the formation of higher classes of society, and the advent of leaders who built organizations well-suited to manage food production and distribution, calm disputes and so on. Important figures such as the shaman (a kind of priest), physician and witch doctor would have overseen religious and spiritual life. Other villages grew and became centers of economic, political and religious power. Some studies refer to these new forms of organization as complex chiefdoms. The appearance of these types of chiefdoms also led to higher-level hierarchies, with principal villages and secondary towns. From around 300 BC there began to appear large villages with infrastructural works of various importance (foundations, roads and burial mounds), that indicate a certain centralization of authority and managerial capacity to mobilize communities for construction tasks. There might emerge a primary chief in the dominant village and as well as secondary chiefs in subordinate villages. Among the principal archaeological testaments to this era, it is fitting to mention diverse housing sites in the Nicoya Peninsula, housing structures at the sites of Severo Ledesma and Las Mercedes – and on the Atlantic side, other settlement ruins in Valle del General, as well as the Coto Brus, Coto Colorado and Térraba River basin. At the start of this period, Mesoamerican cultural groups began to trickle over the Nicoya Peninsula, principally the Chorotega people, who subordinated, displaced or mixed with populations that had previously settled in the Nicoya territory. These new peoples introduced changes in religion, burial rites, art and other aspects of life; as well as new domesticated animals such as turkeys. This period corresponds to habitation sites located in coastal valleys such as Nacas colo and Papagayo; and the flood plains of the Tempisque River and other important rivers. In addition there were other places that specialized in the salt extraction, providing a precious trading commodity, especially for groups that lived inland. Skill in multi-colored ceramic art reached an advanced level; new colors and styles became available to local ceramic artisans, clearly inspired by Meso Americana . In the heart of Costa Rica populations became more concentrated in organized economic and political centers, that would form living and ceremonial groups. The most well-known archaeological site of this kind is Guayabo in Turrialba, which contains raised mounds with walls of stone, access ramps and pedestals, as well as aqueducts, elevated platforms, circular and rectangular foundations, paved walkways and other structures. But others have been found in widespread places in the Central Valle, the Caribbean region and the northern plains. In this era there was a great development in stonework with volcanic rocks, to make tables, stone tablets, grinding stones and anthropomorphic figures (women, heads, shamans, warriors and so forth). In the south Pacific region have also been found great quantities of home foundations, roads, dump sites, plus funeral areas and mounds. These settlements were located in very fertile regions, bringing about the extensive cultivation of corn and cotton, and the use of palm trees (coyoles and royal palms) and fruit trees (guapinoles, nances, etc.). This was the height of sphere-making, as well as of stone artisanship in such works as animal figures, grindstones, grand anthropomorphic statues (which appear to represent important social figures) that featured smooth surfaces. There was and increase in goldsmithing with guanin (low-grade gold) and tumbaga (gold and copper alloy) using hammering and thin-sheet techniques. Mineral deposits themselves were not exploited, as gold was extracted from rivers and copper from outcrops.
It is thought that human groups remained small, about 30 to 100 members, organized in nomadic or semi-nomadic bands devoted to hunting and gathering. However, the knowledge of the local environment allowed them to plan their travels through different areas based on the periodic ripening of certain fruits and the growth of familiar plants (that would later form the basis of agriculture) as well as the availability of other resources. Along these familiar paths they could find temporary shelter under rock ledges, or establish outdoor camps with tapavientos (windbreaker walls based on the cipresillo tree) or other temporary structures. Between 2000 BC and 300 BC, some communities of early farmers became egalitarian societies. The development of agriculture prompted changes in the relationship between humans and nature, and allowed them to feed many more people. Furthermore, the ever-growing dependence on agriculture compelled human groups to establish permanent settlements around agricultural fields. This led to stable villages of huts that had to be erected in clear areas of the forest. The agricultural system most likely employed was slash-and-burn: The forest would be cut with stone axes and spades then burned to prepare it for planting crops. Agricultural practices included vegeculture, semiculture or a combination of both. In contrast to vegeculture, semiculture (cultivation of plants from seeds) had a greater effect on the environment, because it required more nutrients from the soil and caused greater erosion. In return, this system had a big advantage: it make food easier to store so that it could be made available all year, not just around harvest time. This led to larger societies where functions would be diversified. The primary semicultural activity was the production of corn, as well as associated plants such as beans and ayotes (a type of gourd related to the pumpkin). In the beginning, the social organization of these groups would've been of a tribal or clan-based nature, with egalitarian relationships between individuals and organizations, in clans or groups whose members were or would consider themselves to be descended from a common ancestry. Such ties would have served as a foundation for economic and political relations; the leadership would've been informal and ownership of goods would've been collective. However, agriculture, sendentarism and a broadening demographic would've prompted the formation of higher classes of society, and the advent of leaders who built organizations well-suited to manage food production and distribution, calm disputes and so on. Important figures such as the shaman (a kind of priest), physician and witch doctor would have overseen religious and spiritual life. Other villages grew and became centers of economic, political and religious power. Some studies refer to these new forms of organization as complex chiefdoms. The appearance of these types of chiefdoms also led to higher-level hierarchies, with principal villages and secondary towns. From around 300 BC there began to appear large villages with intrastructural works of various importance (foundations, roads and burial mounds), that indicate a certain centralization of authority and managerial capacity to mobilize communities for construction tasks. There might emerge a primary chief in the dominant village and as well as secondary chiefs in subordinate villages. Among the principal archeological testaments to this era, it is fitting to mention diverse housing sites in the Nicoya Peninsula, housing structures at the sites of Severo Ledesma and Las Mercedes – and on the Atlantic side, other settlement ruins in Valle del General, as well as the Coto Brus, Coto Colorado and Térraba River basin. At the start of this period, Mesoamerican cultural groups began to trickle over the Nicoya Peninsula, principally the Chorotega people, who subordinated, displaced or mixed with populations that had previously settled in the Nicoyan territory. These new peoples introduced changes in religion, burial rites, art and other aspects of life; as well as new domesticated animals such as turkeys. This period corresponds to habitation sites located in coastal valleys such as Nacascolo and Papagayo; and the flood plains of the Tempisque River and other important rivers. In addition there were other places that specialized in the salt extraction, providing a precious trading commodity, especially for groups that lived inland. Skill in multi-colored ceramic art reached an advanced level; new colors and styles became available to local ceramic artisans, clearly inspired by Mesoamericana . In the heart of Costa Rica populations became more concentrated in organized economic and political centers, that would form living and ceremonial groups. The most well-known archeological site of this kind is Guayabo in Turrialba, which contains raised mounds with walls of stone, access ramps and pedestals, as well as aqueducts, elevated platforms, circular and rectangular foundations, paved walkways and other structures. But others have been found in widespread places in the Central Valle, the Caribbean region and the northern plains. In this era there was a great development in stonework with volcanic rocks, to make tables, stone tablets, grinding stones and anthropomorphic figures (women, heads, shamans, warriors and so forth). In the south Pacific region have also been found great quantities of home foundations, roads, dump sites, plus funeral areas and mounds. These settlements were located in very fertile regions, bringing about the extensive cultivation of corn and cotton, and the use of palm trees (coyoles and royal palms) and fruit trees (guapinoles, nances, etc.). This was the height of sphere-making, as well as of stone artisanship in such works as animal figures, grindstones, grand anthropomorphic statues (which appear to represent important social figures) that featured smooth surfaces. There was and increase in goldsmithing with guanín (low-grade gold) and tumbaga (gold and copper alloy) using hammering and thin-sheet techniques. Mineral deposits themselves were not exploited, as gold was extracted from rivers and copper from outcrops.
R
pimientos
tapavientos
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semi culture
semiculture
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semi-cultural
semiculture
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semi-cultural
semicultural
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coyotes
ayotes
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sentimentalism
sendentarism
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infrastructural
intrastructural
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archaeological
archeological
R
Nicoya
Nicoyan
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Nacas colo
Nacascolo
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Meso Americana
Mesoamericana
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archaeological
archeological
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guanin
guanín