Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Artifact,
Speaker 2: a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind,
Speaker 2: focusing on particular objects, ideas, and moments in time. During
Speaker 2: the nineteen thirties, the United Fruit Company worked a clear
Speaker 2: additional Costa Rican jungle for new banana crops, and in
Speaker 2: doing so they stumbled upon an enduring mystery stones spheres,
Speaker 2: ultimately ranging in diameter from six inches to eight feet,
Speaker 2: reaching weights of up to fifteen tons. In time, more
Speaker 2: than three hundred of these petrospheres were discovered, all pre
Speaker 2: Columbian in origin, the work of the Deecas people, and
Speaker 2: found primarily in the Decas Delta of southwestern Costa Rica.
Speaker 2: The Deacast people flourished in this region from roughly seven
Speaker 2: hundred to fifteen thirty se is pointed out by Mark
Speaker 2: Milligan in a twenty twenty one article for Heritage Daily
Speaker 2: the Mysterious stone Spheres of Costa Rica. Sixteenth century Spanish
Speaker 2: invaders seemingly made no mention of the artifacts. The cascading devastation, disease, colonization,
Speaker 2: and war brought on by Europeans seemingly erased any knowledge
Speaker 2: of their purpose, and the artifacts were forgotten for centuries,
Speaker 2: hidden under thick layers of sediment, but also protected. Since
Speaker 2: their rediscovery, the spheres have become iconic artifacts of pre
Speaker 2: Columbian Costa Rica, with examples found in the country's own
Speaker 2: national Museum, which I've had the privilege of visiting, and
Speaker 2: other museums around the world. As explored in James Doyle's
Speaker 2: A Stone Sphere from Costa Rica for the met as
Speaker 2: well as the Denver Art Museum's online catalog, the spheres
Speaker 2: are composed of igneous rocks common to the area, carefully
Speaker 2: and painstakingly worked into spheres and polished with sand. Furthermore,
Speaker 2: we know the stones were often positioned in places rather
Speaker 2: far from the suspected source stone sites, though no quarries
Speaker 2: or workshops have ever been found. Exact arrangements of the
Speaker 2: stones vary from straight lines to geometric patterns, some seeming
Speaker 2: to stand as works of public art or boundary markers
Speaker 2: of some sort. Without any surviving myths or narratives about
Speaker 2: the stones were left to speculate possible astronomical or celestial importance,
Speaker 2: perhaps related to solar or lunar observations, but Doyle stresses
Speaker 2: that such is the artistry of their construction. They surely
Speaker 2: served as prestige objects for the Deacas people, perhaps signifying
Speaker 2: the dwellings of the social elite. Beyond that, the stones
Speaker 2: might have served varying purposes for the conveyance of religious information,
Speaker 2: or even as a way to keep track of the
Speaker 2: agricultural calendar. In some manner. The ancient Decas people left
Speaker 2: other artifacts behind as well, elaborate metal objects such as
Speaker 2: decorative pendants and stone platforms. They were hunters and fishermen
Speaker 2: in addition to expert stone and metal workers. But again,
Speaker 2: perhaps already in decline before the arrival of Europeans, the
Speaker 2: secret of their spheres was truly lost in the ensuing destruction.
Speaker 2: In twenty fourteen, UNESCO named four sights featuring the stones
Speaker 2: to its World Heritage List. Tune in for additional episodes
Speaker 2: of the Artifact, the Monster Fact or Animalius Stupendium each week.
Speaker 2: As always, you can email us at contact That's Stuff
Speaker 2: to Blow Your Mind dot com.
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