User:Roxrule/Pre-Columbian Burial Mounds Of Costa Rica

The pre-Columbian burial practices found today in Costa Rica varied between the different areas within the country. Archaeological evidence of sites across the country has shown that between the periods of A.D. 500-800, secondary burials were the most commonly practiced. Secondary burials involved allowing the body to decompose all of the flesh and then burying the bones. The most common site for cemeteries during this time was on ridges and hills, but there have been exceptions found beside dwelling areas. This changed between A.D. 800-1200 when the number of primary burials (a flexed internment of the body) begins to outnumber the amount of secondary burials found.

Cemeteries have also been located dating between A.D. 1200-1500. The Nicarao tribe and Chorotega-Mangue tribe had largely infiltrated the area by this time, and archaeology has shown that most people were cremated with their ashes buried in a hole in the ground. The Chorotega-Mangue built specific compounds for their chiefs and the chief's sons. The Nicarao would bury an individual with all of their personal belongings, unless they had offspring, who would then inherit it. The Nicarao chiefs were placed with clothes, gold, feathers, insignia, and whatever else was deemed important to the people. All of this was then burned and the ashes were placed into an urn. The urns were usually buried in front of the house of the chief.

One common theme found within the burials of Costa Rica is the hierarchy that plays within each grave. The graves of higher ranked tribe members and nobles during this time period usually contained elaborate grave goods found inside of their tombs. In contrast, graves containing less elaborate (if any), more simple belongings are associated to lower ranked tribe members. An example of this can be seen in the El Bosque complex, which is located in the central Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica. Several sites have been excavated within this region, revealing decoratively carved metates and jade necklaces, which are considered high-status markers within a grave. Most grave goods are pottery, but there have been artifacts such as celts, pestles, manos, daggers and metates found within different burial sites. There have been several examples where these offerings have been burnt beforehand. In other graves excavated in the region, evidence shows that some graves contain offerings of maize and other plants that were placed with the body. Maize is believed to have been a symbolic representation of the funeral maize chicha, although it could also have been used for incense as well.

Doris Stone (1958) separated the country into several smaller categories based on geography in order to provide a more defined description of the archaeology found there. These areas include:

The Talamanca Area

The Reventazón Area

The Línea Vieja

The Highland Region

The Nicoya Region

The Diquis Region

=The Talamanca Area= The Talamanca Area refers to the plains of Limón within Costa Rica. Burials within this region were usually located on ridges, except around the Banana River which is lowland. Many of the graves here were represented by a circle of stones placed above the graves. In the area of Chirripó, there have been standing decorated stone slabs found that some believe may represent grave markings.

=The Reventazón Area= The Reventazón Area refers to the area following the Reventazón River and its bordering slopes. This areas most common type of burials are stone cist graves which are found on slopes. There have also been a few examples found in low mounds as well.

=The Línea Vieja= The Línea Vieja Area is associated with the Northeast region of Costa Rica. It begins at the Pacuare River and heads north to the San Juan River, while extending as far westward as the Plains of Guatuso. Burial sites here are commonly found in mounds and raised causeways due to the heavy rainfall and flooding from nearby rivers. The graveyards are usually found alongside the mounds roughly fifty meters away from the dwelling mounds.

There are four different types of graves in the Línea Vieja region: coyolillo graves, tapita (or tapa) graves, tumba graves (also called stone cists), and cazuela graves. All of these grave types except for the cazuela graves are found side by side of each other with few to no markers on the ground. Sherds scattered below or on top of a layer of gravel are common. The cemeteries within this region have the individuals with their heads placed at the west, with the exception of one site in Nuevo Corinto where the head was placed to the south.

One exception to this is a grave in El Indio, where multiple burials were found in the same grave, which is called a paila burial. The graves here were rectangular in shape, and large stones placed between them at the head, center, and feet of the individuals separated the bodies. The floor appears to have been made to shape for each individual, and the occupants are believed to have been buried at the same time.

=The Highland Region= The Highland Region refers to the area extending from the Reventazón Valley all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the north by the volcanos of Turrialba, Irazu, Barba, and Poás, and bordered on to the south by the Candelaria Range. The Highland Region burial practices are very similar to the ones found in the Línea Vieja region. Graves are found more often in natural ground here, with some still in low artificial earth mounds as seen above. Cists are found slab lined or individually stone lined, either with or without a slab cover. A stone circle atop the surface marks several burials here.

=The Nicoya Region= The Nicoya Region refers to the Nicoya Peninsula, the mainland as far east as the volcanic range, and the islands in the Gulf of Nicoya. There were two main types of burials that were common to this region. The first of these are graves marked by a circle of stones imbedded in the surface of the earth. They are similar to the graves seen in the Highland Region, and occur throughout the region, but the majority is found along the coast and in the eastern hills. The second type of burial was in the form of earth and stone mounds. These are mostly located along the Morote River, Nicoya city, and the Tempisque basin. The burial mounds have shown a high concentration of thick layers of potsherds on top of the interments, which is more associated with Mexican burial culture.

Although the majority of mound burials are rectangular, there was one oval burial discovered along the banks of the Morote River. It contained nine bodies: one body lying the in the center with the other eight surrounding it, their heads pointing towards the center. This grave had several burnt offerings within the mound, as well as vessel and two maize ears.

A well-known site called the Las Pilas cemetery lies within this area. Archaeologists excavated it in 1970 in an order to document what was left of the cemetery, as it had been heavily looted for years. Evidence showed that graves were rectangular in shape, with some being connected by tunnels, although it is not possible to tell today if these were intentionally dug when the burials were placed or if they are a result of looters. Any undug graves still there could be identified by a circle of stones that was placed atop the surface. This area is believed to be the locality of some of the first jade amulets and figurines, which is why it has been so heavily hunted by amateur pothunters.

=The Diquis Region= The Diquis Region applies to the entire southeast area of Costa Rica. The graves here are found individually marked with a circle of small stones partially buried in the ground. There have been large, standing stone slabs found in the General valley that mark graves also. Finally, deep stone cist graves are the most common type found in the Canas Gordas region.

A graveyard was located in this region near Esquinas. These graves were marked by large limestone slabs, placed at the end of each line of burials. Each grave had one body, with slabs laid directly on top. The principal tomb was aligned in an East-West line direction, but the graves did not follow this pattern. This graveyard is unique to note because of the unusual grave goods that were found within it. Metal objects made out of tumbaga were placed around the skeletons as adornments, with other objects surrounding the bodies including grinding stones, pottery, antlers, shells, pendants, staffs, and ocarinas.