Insight Guides: Costa Rica by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Costa Rica
Publisher: APA
Published: 2016-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Insight: Potters, Sculptors, and Goldsmiths

The Amerindians of Costa Rica left behind many gold, jade, pottery, and stone artifacts. Sadly, most of their traditions were destroyed by the conquistadores.

Because Costa Rica was a cultural and commercial meeting point for ancient American civilizations, native Costa Ricans absorbed and modified known techniques in ceramics, gold and jade work, weaving, and stone carving. Early inhabitants, especially in the pre-Columbian port of Nicoya (in the province of Guanacaste), traded with travelers from as far away as Ecuador and Mexico. They also developed their own style of decorating pottery: beasts that are half-bird, half-man; and people with exaggerated genitals, suggesting a fertility-rite culture. Examples of the pottery can be found throughout Central America. Visitors to the Gold Museum, the Jade Museum, and the National Museum in San José can see early pieces and learn more of their history.

While the Spanish never found the gold deposits that inspired the name ‘Rich Coast,’ early Costa Ricans worked with both gold and jade to make decorative pieces. Although these traditions have been all but lost, pottery and the more modern craft of ox-cart decoration have been revived by the tourist dollar. For pottery, visit Guaitil and Nicoya; for other crafts, try Sarchí. Other examples of Costa Rica’s crafts are found in the south of the country: molas (hand-sewn appliqué) pieces are produced around Drake Bay, and both grotesque and beautiful balsawood masks are made by the Boruca people.

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