View Map

Towards 800 A.D. there was a chiefdom exercising its center of influence over the delta’s plain; the flat and fertile lands favored the leadership of the lowland’s villages, among which is Finca 6.

This village was part of an ample community, having different sectors of occupation, perhaps owing to the existence of an extended community, of various related communities, or well, a population which had to relocate in different areas, displaced by constant floods or other social and political factors. 

¿How was the site  of Finca 6?

In the central area of the village there are two artificial mounds whose diameter is 20 to 30 meters, with walls of round-edged boulders or river stones. Over these bases large dwellings were built with gates and access ramps for the use of the main characters.

One building oversees a plaza with alignment of spheres inside the site; the other one is oriented to the outside of the village, towards Estero Azul (a navigable branch of the Sierpe River); in its entrance are two spheres highlighting the importance of the place and its dwellers.

The size of the constructions, their degree of elaboration and orientation suggest that part of their functions was impressing visitors reminding them of the social rank and power of the inhabitants.  

The Cemetery at Finca 6

Finca 6 has a funeral area consisting of a rectangular mound with external river stone walls. People were buried with their offerings and then the mound was covered under a pavement.

This site was the object of rituals as offerings placed around it accumulated throughout time; objects were in pottery, stone, and resin, although some seeds and animals remains were found as well. Many of these objects were found mutilated or broken on purpose, possibly to symbolize their condition as offerings. Some of the vases came from far away zones like Guanacaste and their presence in the cemetery indicates the status of their occupants. 

Spheres in Context

Finca 6 stands out being one of the few archaeological sites where spheres are still found in the original site (in context), some of them forming alignments in public areas, and others associated to the main structures.

The aligned spheres are located in a public plaza next to the artificial mounds, where it is believed the settlement’s authorities lived. Two parallel alignments have an approximate East-West orientation, suggesting a relationship with the sunrise and sunset.

An assembly of three spheres is 77 meters-long; the other one has two spheres with a distance of 11 meters between them. The sculptures were placed over compacted ground; they measure 1.40 and 1.90 meters and at least one of them is engraved on its surface.

Two spheres of 1.1 m of diameter were found on the extremes of an access ramp to one of the main mounds, suggesting their use as social and religious power symbols and an element reinforcing the nature of the dwelling as space for special activities.

 

 

---

» Archaeological Site Batambal

» Archaeological Site El Silencio

» Archaeological Site Grijalba-2