Costa Rica
Stone Spheres of the Diquís
The Precolumbian chiefdom settlements with stone spheres of the Diquís are four archaeological sites containing mysterious ball-shaped stone objects.
The settlements date from the Chiriqui Period (800-1500 CE), during which a hierarchical society developed in southern Costa Rica. The area contains artificial mounds, paved areas and burial sites. The man-made stone spheres are rare in their perfection and large size (up to 2.57m diameter). The sites were rediscovered, and often damaged in the process, in the 1930s as the United Fruit Company was clearing the jungle for banana plantations
Community Perspective: Finca 6 is the main location of the four (it also has a small museum), located at an active banana plantation, and the only one really visited and reviewed so far.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Precolumbian chiefdom settlements with stone spheres of the Diquís (ID: 1453)
- Country
- Costa Rica
- Status
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Inscribed 2014
Site history
History of Stone Spheres of the Diquís
- 2014: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- 2012: Revision
- On T-list: From "Plenitude under the sky. Park of Pre-Colombian Stone Spheres" (2001)
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Forum Discussion
- worldheritagesite.org — Plenitude under the sky. Park of Pre-Colombian Stone Spheres
Related Resources
- fb.watch — Video on Batambal
- facebook.com — Video on Grijalva-2
- diquis.go.cr — Visite Diquis
- sciencedaily.com — Mysterious stone spheres in Costa Rica investigated by University of Kansas
- naturalhistorymag.com — Natural History 1955: Prehistoric Stone Balls--a Mystery
- world-mysteries.com — World Mysteries: The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
- facebook.com — Video on El Silencio
News Article
- April 9, 2024 news.mongabay.com — Costa Rican community struggles to stop an airport near Finca 10
- Jan. 18, 2019 presidencia.go.cr — Improved conditions at Finca 6
Community Information
- Community Category
- Archaeological site: Pre-Columbian
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
2014 -
Inscribed on a single criterion only
Crit iii -
Megalithism
Official french name: sphères mégalithi…
Connections of Stone Spheres of the Diquís
- Individual People
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Erich von Däniken
theory of alien origin for the spheres in "Chariots of the gods"
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- Geography
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River deltas
Diquis Delta -
Isthmo Colombian Area
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- Trivia
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Out-of-place artifacts
Inaccurately described as being perfectly spherical, and therefore demonstrating greater stone-working skill than was present in pre-Columbian times. (wiki)See en.wikipedia.org
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Built or owned by Americans
Finca 6 at Palma Sur is situated on land acquired by the United Fruit Company (trading under the name of "Banana company of Costa Rica") in the 1930sSee es.wikipedia.org
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- History
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Megalithism
Official french name: sphères mégalithiques du Diquís
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- World Heritage Process
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Inscribed on a single criterion only
Crit iii -
Perfect Inscriptions
2014
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- Constructions
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Purpose Built Visitor Centre
A new Museum/Visitor Centre was opened at Finca 6 in Dec 2013 -
Pillars
On top of the mound, stone pillars are set as markers (AB ev)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 6th century
El Silencio (from 550 on)
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- Visiting conditions
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Foreigner prices
Finca 6 archaeological site: Residents: ₡1.000; Non-residents: $6 (₡3.383 at today's exchange rate).
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News
- news.mongabay.com 04/09/2024
- Costa Rican community struggles to…
- presidencia.go.cr 01/18/2019
- Improved conditions at Finca 6
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Stone Spheres of the Diquís
- Alejandro Lau
- Anne
- Atila Ege
- brornt
- Carlos Sotelo
- Chinmaya
- Christoph
- Cobaltrage
- Don Irwin
- Dorejd
- Els Slots
- Esteban Cervantes Jiménez
- Frederik Dawson
- Hanming
- Harald T.
- Iain Jackson
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Jon Opol
- Justin Rickey
- KarenBMoore
- Kevin McFarland
- Malgorzata Kopczynska
- MaxHeAnouBen
- Maxine Eisenberg
- Morodhi
- Nihal Ege
- Paczeterson
- Pasha Globus
- Patrik
- Preiki
- Roger Ourset
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Sergio Arjona
- SHIHE HUANG
- Thomas Kunz
- tony0001
- VisionMX123
- Vlad Lesnikov
- Zoë Sheng