This Sunday, May 5, the University of Costa Rica (UCR) moved the largest pre-Columbian sphere from San José with the aim of placing it in a more visible place that can be appreciated by the university community and the residents of Montes de Oca.
The sphere, 1.95 meters in diameter and weighing five tons, was for 54 years in front of the UCR School of Agronomy, in a space with little traffic of people and in conditions that did not allow it to be admired. The new site for the sphere will be in a park developed by the entity, near the School of Engineering, on the east side of the central campus.
“It is moved to make it more visible, to value it so that the university community can appreciate it (…) Few people knew that this sphere was in the University,” declared María Ifigenia Quintanilla, director of the National Museum of Costa Rica.
The pre-Columbian sphere came to the UCR because it was given to the director of the School of Agronomy in 1970. These types of sculptures are part of the country’s cultural heritage and were created, according to researchers at the National Museum, by ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Costa Rica. , to place them at the entrances to the houses of important people, squares and cemeteries, among others.
UCR pre-Columbian sphere With equipment from the National Company of Force and Light, the largest pre-Columbian sphere of San José was moved. The sculpture remained in the UCR School of Agronomy and was moved near the main entrance of the university campus. (Marvin Caravaca)
According to official data, there are about 500 pre-Columbian spheres in the country and it is estimated that they were made between the years 400 AD and 1,500 AD
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Édgar Gutiérrez, rector of the University of Costa Rica, said that, for months, they have been coordinating with the National Museum to move the pre-Columbian sphere. Native trees will be placed around the sculpture’s new home to create a biological corridor that connects the Orozco Garden and the Leonelo Oviedo Ecological Reserve.
The rector of the UCR thanked the officials of the National Power and Light Company who made the transfer possible.
The Costa Rican pre-Columbian spheres are unique to Costa Rica and are a sample of the knowledge and techniques developed by the indigenous settlements of the southern area. Some of the sculptures found in the Diquís River delta, in Puntarenas, reach up to 2.57 meters in diameter and weigh up to 23 tons.
READ MORE: Stone spheres from Diquís undergo ‘major surgery’ for their preservation
According to an exhibition made in May 2021, by the current director of the National Museum, there are 61 archaeological sites with pre-Columbian spheres in the southern area.
