Isthmian Worlds: Communities, Landscapes, and Connections in Costa Rica and Panama - Interactive Historical Atlas

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Isthmian Worlds: Communities, Landscapes, and Connections in Costa Rica and Panama

Early tools, village work, coastal livelihoods, built landscapes, and living Indigenous heritage.

Explore twenty selective contexts across Costa Rica and Panama, from early toolmaking and plant-food studies to coastal villages, water engineering and Diquís stoneworking. Regional histories have their own agency, not merely a role as a bridge between larger civilizations.

20
profiles in this release
5
regional contexts
1
language families
Interactive collection

Find a context and open its profile

Showing all 20 profiles

Point markers show approximate public towns or distant institutional orientation only, sometimes far from the archaeological context. They never define territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, trade-route, hunting, grazing, farming, fishing or water-rights boundaries. They do not pinpoint burials, ancestral remains, sacred places, private land or vulnerable deposits; grant no access, digging, collecting, hunting or travel permission; and do not decide ownership or current safety. Shared orientation points are intentional, not multiple sites at one coordinate.

Costa Rican highland contexts (orientation only)

Agua Caliente: Guarco community sequences and heritage care

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The museum distinguishes a lengthy settlement frame from shorter studied samples; no individual health or remains classifications are reproduced. The sculpture account considers skilled stoneworking while its symbolic readings remain interpretations.

Long settlement sequence and conservation context Broadly approximately 1500 BCE–1550 CE in museum interpretation; component-specific evidence distinguished Architecture, stone sculpture, excavation records and museum conservation
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Cartago, Cartago, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Aguadulce: shelter archives and plant processing

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The 2000 study identifies root-crop and maize evidence on selected tools, expanding inquiry beyond durable seeds alone. The later project distinguishes environments and sampled crop dispersals rather than one uniform agricultural revolution.

Plant-food and shelter-evidence context Preceramic and early ceramic contexts; studied plant residues approximately 7,000–5,000 BP in the 2000 report Starch grains, phytoliths, grinding tools and dated sediment associations
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Aguadulce, Coclé, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

Bahía Culebra and Nacascolo: food and coastal craft

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The museum compares coastal valleys, uplands and freshwater access rather than one standardized fishing settlement. Food collection also supplied craft materials; incomplete objects help distinguish production from finished ornaments.

Coastal regional and household-work context Broadly approximately 500 BCE–1300 CE in museum regional interpretation; sites and phases differ Shell deposits, fish remains, pottery and settlement surveys
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

Batambal: Diquís hillside settlement and stonework

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The serial record preserves different settlement settings rather than one interchangeable sphere site. The local account distinguishes occupation episodes and the hillside setting.

Hillside settlement and conservation context Precolonial occupation episodes within the Diquís sequence; phases distinguished Stone features, settlement setting and research records
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Cerro Juan Díaz: ceramics, households, and archive care

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The institutional history describes repeated activity over many centuries, not one short elite event. The symposium contribution treats La Mula pottery analysis as ongoing work rather than completed ethnic identification.

Long settlement sequence and collections context Broadly approximately 200 BCE–sixteenth century CE; component-specific dates distinguished Ceramic phases, activity deposits, food remains and excavation archives
Reference town or coastal–highland context
La Villa de Los Santos, Los Santos, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Cerro Mangote: foodways and coastal change

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The archive relates food deposits to a coast and river system that changed over time. Recent work considers deer procurement alongside coastal foods; garden-hunting is an interpretation.

Coastal food-remain and preservation context Holocene preceramic contexts; archive estimates begin approximately 7,800 years ago Shell and animal remains, deposits and changing coastal environments
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Aguadulce, Coclé, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Cueva de los Ladrones: food and pottery sequences

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The ceramic study distinguishes Monagrillo material from underlying preceramic deposits at Ladrones. Regional archaeobotanical work compares sampled food remains rather than equating pottery with the beginning of cultivation.

Shelter subsistence and ceramic-transition context Holocene preceramic and early ceramic contexts; individual associations distinguished Stone tools, sampled plant evidence and stratified ceramic comparisons
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Penonomé, Coclé, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

El Silencio: Diquís stoneworking and conservation

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record situates the sphere within regional settlement evidence. Osa's account describes heat-related surface damage; no collecting or restoration instructions are supplied.

Stoneworking landscape and preservation context Precolonial Diquís contexts; later damage and conservation distinguished Stone material, surface condition and heritage documentation
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

Finca 6: Diquís settlement and stone spheres

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record treats surviving sphere placements alongside settlement features, not objects without makers or history. The municipality relates buried structures to periodic river flooding rather than a vanished race.

Floodplain settlement and stoneworking context Later precolonial Diquís contexts, broadly 500–1500 CE in the serial heritage frame Stone spheres, building platforms, deposits and conservation records
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

Grijalba-2: Diquís household platforms and building choices

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record differentiates this settlement from the proposed principal-center model at Finca 6. The local account identifies limestone use alongside regional alternatives, making construction decisions part of the evidence.

Settlement architecture and local-material context Later precolonial Diquís contexts; survey and restoration dates separate Platforms, building stone, site plans and field investigations
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican highland contexts (orientation only)

Guardiria: early toolmaking and changing evidence

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

Snarskis examined manufacturing debris as well as finished tools; those activities do not identify every worker's language. Valerio's evaluation found several material concentrations and later components, making the site's sequence more complex than one early camp.

Open-air toolmaking and evidence-association context Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene contexts; typological and sample associations qualified Stone-tool production, distribution surveys and mixed later deposits
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican highland contexts (orientation only)

Guayabo: households, water, and stonework

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

SINAC interprets stonework and water-related features as parts of a settlement, not unexplained ruins. Museum geophysical work tests archaeological possibilities without exposing every structure or household.

Built settlement and water-management context Broadly approximately 1000 BCE–1400 CE in SINAC interpretation; construction phases distinguished Stone foundations, paths, drainage features and geophysical investigation
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Pacific contexts (orientation only)

Huiscoyol: wet preservation and coastal work

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The museum distinguishes earlier coastal-resource activities from later use rather than one undifferentiated deposit. The conservation account explains why unusual conditions preserved organic materials that commonly disappear.

Coastal preservation and collection-care context Precolonial activities with separate earlier and later components; sample dates remain qualified Waterlogged materials, shell deposits, wood conservation and excavation archives
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Puntarenas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

La Mula-Sarigua: multiple occupations and landscape change

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The archive traces salt-flat sediment and vegetation change rather than a permanently barren landscape. Hansell's retrospective explains how excavation records became an online research resource.

Open-air settlement and geomorphological context Early tool comparisons and later ceramic occupations; first-millennium BCE contexts separately evaluated Surface distributions, test excavations, lithic production and ceramic sequences
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Parita, Herrera, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Costa Rican Caribbean contexts (orientation only)

Las Mercedes-1: Caribbean built landscapes

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The excavation study uses dates and architectural relations to examine when major works were made. The later synthesis separates a long settlement record from the better-dated monumental phase.

Settlement architecture and political-scale context Earlier occupations and major built phases around 1000–1200 CE; later use separately considered Radiocarbon determinations, built features, surveys and collection history
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Guácimo, Limón, Costa Rica (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Monagrillo: pottery work and a shifting coast

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The archive explains how sediment accumulation changed the settlement's relationship with the sea. Cooke's synthesis revisits older research; its date range is not silently treated as identical to later estimates.

Coastal settlement and ceramic-production context Early ceramic contexts, broadly fourth–second millennia BCE; published calibrated ranges vary Pottery fabrics, coastal sediments, food remains and collections
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Chitré, Herrera, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Playa Don Bernardo: island livelihoods and changing habitats

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The animal study examines marine remains alongside other foods rather than an exclusively terrestrial economy. The retrospective distinguishes the 2009 investigation from later field seasons and published interpretations.

Island foodways and environmental-history context Mid-Holocene island contexts, broadly approximately 6,000 years ago; sampled phases qualified Animal and plant remains, stone tools and sediment sequences
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Panama City, Panama (distant institutional orientation) (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Caribbean contexts (orientation only)

Sitio Drago: Caribbean livelihoods and regional connections

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The project reports material comparisons across neighboring regions rather than an isolated island community. The conch study compares archaeological and later shell samples when evaluating harvesting effects.

Caribbean settlement and historical-ecology context First and second millennia CE, with regional settlement and site-phase chronologies distinguished Ceramics, food remains, geophysical survey and shell comparisons
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Bocas del Toro, Bocas del Toro, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Sitio Sierra: food work and social gatherings

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The research compares animal ages, body parts and refuse contexts when testing communal-meal interpretations. STRI presents gathering and status models as explanations, not direct observation of named ceremonies.

Village food-remain and social-interpretation context Broadly approximately 2,200–500 years ago in institutional interpretation Animal remains, cut marks, pottery distributions and sampled refuse
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Aguadulce, Coclé, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Panamanian Pacific and foothill contexts (orientation only)

Vampiros: shelters and changing shorelines

Reviewed community and place names are preserved where supported; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The research archive distinguishes early stoneworking from much later coastal activities as shorelines changed. The taphonomic study evaluates preservation and processing evidence; curing and exchange are interpretations, not exact recipes or routes.

Rockshelter stratigraphy and coastal-work context Late Glacial and Holocene; early tools and later fishing episodes separately dated Stratified tools, sediments, animal remains and coastal-change models
Reference town or coastal–highland context
Aguadulce, Coclé, Panama (orientation only): approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, material classification, political allegiance, residence and living identity are distinct; this record does not classify every ancient speaker.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Evidence-first orientation

Evidence, terminology, and living authority

Six sourced notes distinguish geographic frames, classifications, chronological and preservation limits, foodways, source bias, and living institutions.

A region with its own histories

STRI's research history treats local communities as historical actors, not just travelers between larger regions. Costa Rica, Panama and the isthmus are organizing frames. A state agency's account of living institutions is not a prehistoric census or a substitute for community authority.

[C1] [C2]

Classifications and political scale

Línea Vieja architecture and La Mula-Sarigua field archives show different scales and episodes of activity. Ceramic names and large buildings cannot determine one language, race or centralized nation; political models remain interpretations.

[C6] [C8]

Dates, coastal change, and preservation

Aguadulce residues and Vampiros fish deposits answer different questions. Calibration, sample identity, marine reservoir effects and changing shores limit comparison. Exceptional organic preservation is not a representative sample of every household.

[C4] [C3]

Foodways and skilled work

Plant residues and shell-working evidence connect food, materials and labor. Cultivation did not begin everywhere with pottery, and coastal residents did more than fish. Household organization, gendered work, dependency, slavery or coercion where evidenced and exchange require local evidence.

[C4] [C5]

Archives and outside viewpoints

The La Mula retrospective follows material from excavation to digital interpretation; the Diquís report distinguishes management aims from completed work. Colonial narratives, collecting and looting create uneven archives, not neutral descriptions of all residents.

[C8] [C7]

Living institutions and map limits

CONAI's institutional documents concern modern administration, not authority over every living identity. Heritage management does not decide ancestry. Coarse town points never identify tombs, sensitive deposits, property rights or access permissions; no restricted stories or remains details are reproduced.

[C2] [C7]
  1. C1 History: archaeology at STRI · Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Archaeology Lab
  2. C2 Comisión Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas: documentos · Comisión Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas, Costa Rica
  3. C3 Taphonomy at two contiguous coastal rockshelters in Panama: Preliminary observations focusing on fishing and curing fish · Diana Rocío Carvajal-Contreras, Richard Cooke and Máximo Jiménez; Quaternary International
  4. C4 Starch grains reveal early root crop horticulture in the Panamanian tropical forest · Dolores R. Piperno, Anthony J. Ranere, Irene Holst and Patricia Hansell; Nature
  5. C5 Concheros en Bahía Culebra · Felipe Solís del Vecchio and Anayensy Herrera Villalobos; Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
  6. C6 Línea Vieja: monumentalidad arqueológica · Ricardo Vázquez Leiva; Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
  7. C7 Informe de labores 2020: Sitio Museo Finca 6 · Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
  8. C8 From Excavation to Online Exhibition: A 30+ year Journey at La Mula-Sarigua · Patricia Hansell; Cuadernos de Antropología, Universidad de Costa Rica
Connected coverage

Topics already reviewed elsewhere in the atlas are linked instead of duplicated.

Gran Coclé, El Caño, and Sitio Conte Open the established regional and mortuary context instead of repeating it here. Elite archives do not represent every household or identify one ancient people. Guna people and living institutions Open the existing living-people profile. Archaeological comparisons cannot decide Guna membership, recognition or automatic ancient continuity. Real Alto and Valdivia village comparisons Compare a distinct Pacific village setting without asserting a single origin of pottery, a fixed voyage or one civilizing source. Tumaco–La Tolita wetland and craft contexts Compare neighboring Pacific landscape and craft questions without converting stylistic similarities into a migration route, ethnicity or descent claim.
Read the data carefully

A selective regional collection, not a people census

This editorial release contains 20 profiles. Twenty selective contexts, not a census of all peoples, places or languages. The existing Gran Coclé profile, including El Caño and Sitio Conte, and the Guna profile are linked rather than duplicated. Living Bribri, Cabécar, Boruca, Brörán, Maleku, Chorotega, Huetar, Ngäbe, Buglé, Guna, Emberá, Wounaan and other peoples retain their own institutions and histories; not every named community is represented by a dedicated profile.

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