Costa Rica - Profile

In this video on Costa Rica, learn about this land of wonders and the history of this country over a period of approximately 2,000 years.

Rebecca: Artifacts from the Central American country show the bond between man and nature. Hi, I’m Rebecca Brayton and welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re speaking with Ricardo Vazquez Leiva about Costa Rica. So, for those of us who haven’t been there, tell us about Costa Rica. Ricardo: It's quite a small country but is really particular not only because of the great nature but because of the richness of the people. Costa Rica is very diverse because we have two coasts. It is crisscross by rivers, we have zero mountain ranges that generated a lot of biodiversity and one square meter in a rainforest from Costa Rica scientist are able to identify more than 1,000 species sometimes. Rebecca: This exhibit I think covers about 2,000 years when it gives a brief synopsis of what we’ll be seeing here. Ricardo: The exhibit covers from 500B.C to the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. During this time chieftains developed in different kinds. First they were chieftains that they were very much preoccupied for showing the power of chips and the small objects. Objects for example like jade involved and a certain point in the prehistory of Costa Rica, chieftains became a more warrior, a warrior chieftain and then at the end of the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, most probably they have been true a collapse because there were a lot of competition between high chiefs. Rebecca: What kind of artifacts are typical to the area? Ricardo: Being such a human area and most of the country the organic materials don’t preserve very well. However, the indigenous peoples of Southern Central America, they build very good range. Some of them were very deep, some of them were made out of rocks that’s why some of the artifacts that are from Costa Rica are so well preserved. What we have here we want to combine artifacts that are unique because they are monumental, they are very sophisticated artifacts with some others that are not that much but they are also artistically up sending. Rebecca: So, what will be showing us here? Ricardo: This part of the exhibit is really interesting because it depicts a high rank individual and a ceramic type that is at very early this is one of the first types that we find in Costa Rica part that we painted in several colors. The individual is wearing flakes of gold as well as ear plugs and stamps. We think that it was a powerful charm on, a person that had a high rank but he had also some religious power.