cobble circles and standing stones archaeology at the rivas site costa rica mar 2004

[...]... adventure, and each time I marvel at Costa Rica s natural wonders Although Costa Rica is a tiny nation by almost any standard, the Talamanca mountain range divides the land into distinct zones (fig 1.1) The Central Valley is the smallest of these regions and has prominence mostly because the capital city is located there It seems to share much with the larger region to the east and north, the Atlantic Watershed... at Rivas with information from the mid and lower valley sites, we could help to start to develop an understanding of how the regional system worked in Chiriquí times Rivas was an attractive site to work at for this goal Bob had conducted a preliminary study there and established that it had a Chiriquí occupation The landowners were willing to let us work in their coffee fields and pastures, and the site. .. the special ingredient in the mix of people and things that was the Rivas project “salsa.” All of the North Americans and Costa Ricans involved in the field and laboratory phases of the project owe her a special debt of gratitude It has been a privilege and pleasure to know Aida and to work with her, and I thank her for all she has done for the project and for me She was aided by Giselle Mora and other... Watershed To the west, the mountains effectively cut off the Nicoya Peninsula and the adjacent plains of Guanacaste province into an isolated region The foothills of the mountains spill down to the Pacific in the middle of the country and join with the Coastal Range To the south and east lies the Zona Sur (Southern Zone), and San Isidro de El General is at the upper end of the long General Valley that is the main... impressive was the extent of the sites as indicated by Bob; they stretched over many hectares Even more impressive was the beautiful setting in which the sites were located, with vistas out over the valley, palm trees swaying, and the landscape bathed in the golden light of late afternoon And even more impressive still was Bob’s enthusiasm for the archaeology of the Southern Zone Bob suggested that I should... against the powerful force over the horizon that may conquer them Therefore, scholars are interested most in the origins of pristine states—ones that arise without the influence of other states As far as we can tell, no locally developed states existed in Costa Rica in prehistoric times Nevertheless, there are good indications that societies in the region became more unequal through time and that the greatest... him cobble circles and standing stones chapter one getting there From the Coca Cola to the General The name of the central bus station in San José is derived from Costa Rica s Coca Cola bottling plant The “Coca Cola” is not a single building but rather a section of the city streets near the central market Different bus companies with routes to one part of the country or another are found in separate... rivers, the Río Buenavista and the Río Chirripó del Pacífico, intersect to form the Río General Rivers and paths both join immediately below a high, narrow ridge called the Panteón de La Reina, extending out 1.2 The upper General Valley The Panteón de La Reina is the dark ridge, in the middle distance The Rivas site is on the other side of the ridge, while the town of Rivas is on the far left from the foothills... underneath the tree canopy Bob said there wasn’t enough time to visit the site because it was getting late “That site is called Rivas, after the town,” he said “There are some very interesting things there, and it’s too bad we don’t have time to visit.” Bob had come to Costa Rica ten years earlier at the invitation of Michael Snarskis, then at the National Museum, in order to conduct a survey and emergency... Central America and, ultimately, from the Andean region (Bray 1981; Snarskis 2003) We have getting there | 7 1.4 The author next to a stone ball at the site of El Silencio in the Diquís Delta At over 2 meters in diameter, this is one of the largest balls known and apparently has not been moved from its ancient location The spalling on the ball and its dark color are due to heat generated by the burning . alt="" cobble circles and standing stones cobble circles Archaeology at the Rivas Site, Costa Rica by JeFrey Quilter university of iowa press iowa city and standing stones University of Iowa Press, . Foundation. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Quilter, Jeffrey, 1949 – . Cobble circles and standing stones: archaeology at the Rivas Site, Costa Rica. the special ingredient in the mix of people and things that was the Rivas project “salsa.” All of the North Amer- icans and Costa Ricans involved in the field and labo- ratory phases of the project owe