Archaeological Sites and Flooding in the Diquís Delta, Southeastern Costa Rica

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The interaction between ancient societies and their natural environment was one of the topics discussed by Richard G. Cooke for southern Central America. We focus on the Diquis Delta, Costa Rica, an alluvial plain formed by the Térraba and Sierpe Rivers, with an annual rainfall ranging between 2,840 and 6,840 mm, subject to strong cyclical flooding, that have caused the deposit of sediments. Precolumbian occupations have been documented in the delta since at least 300 BC until the sixteenth century. Although the delta presented many environmental challenges, it also provided abundant cultivable land, an extensive mangrove swamp, proximity to various sources of raw materials, and a strategic position on communication routes. This led to the establishment of important population centers and the construction of various architectural clusters with units up to 1.4 m high that could serve as the basis for buildings of a public nature or residence of the leaders. These in turn could serve as shelter during floods. The results of archaeological investigations carried out at various sites located at 10 masl and how these natural phenomena could affect village life, circulation of goods, places of memory, and generate settlements abandonment and reoccupation are presented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39464.0