The Stone spheres were discovered in the 1930s. A fruit company was expanding a banana plantation, where workers encountered mysterious spheres of various sizes while clearing the forest. To date, at least 300 of them have been discovered in various places. They are found in museums, public places and on lawns in private gardens. Some of them were even transported to other countries. The spheres vary in size, from a few centimeters, or about 1 inch to over 2.66 meters / 8.7 feet in diameter. They weigh up to 15 tons.
There is no unequivocal hypothesis as to the purpose of stone spheres. They could represent supernatural world, be a symbol of status or a manifestation of power. The relative ease of transporting the spheres from one place to another suggests that in the past they could be used as a money. The balls could also be used in the ceremonies and rituals.
The Diquís River Delta in southern Costa Rica is the region where most of the stone spheres are found. The pre-Columbian indigenous culture that created them is referred by the archaeologists as the Diquis. This culture flourished from AD 700. until the arrival of Europeans in the 1530s. After the Spanish conquest of Costa Rica, the native population stopped making spheres.
The Batambal archaeological site is a place where people were active from AD 600 to 1500. Initially it was an ordinary village where stone tools were used, but from AD 800 the site was used for ceremonial activities. It was then that rock platforms were built, stone balls and other sculptures were carved. Archaeological evidence at Batambal suggests that most of the stone sculptures, including the spheres found here, were broken as part of ceremonies and rituals.
The stone spheres were probably created by hammering them from natural boulders with other rocks. Sand was used for the final polishing. After processing, they had to be transported from the quarry over long distances. We can imagine the whole process taking many years, even decades.
Site Finca 6 has archaeological evidence dating back to AD 300. Just like in other parts of Costa Rica, the activity of the local population ended with the Spanish conquest. Today's archaeological site contains a large collection of stone spheres. Most of them were confiscated following previous looting. The original locations and arrangements of the spheres remain mostly unknown.
