A photograph of one of the thousands of mysterious stone spheres in Costa Rica, that range in size from the size of an orange to a diameter of 6 feet.



Some archaeologists think they were created by the Chibcha, an ancient war-like people who used prisoners as slaves and human sacrifices and built fortified towns in the region of Costa Rica where the spheres have been found. If so, why and how they were created and transported is still anybody’s guess.

O.K I may not be much of an expert but I would like to know what kind of volcanic materials are in the area . Because in New Zealand we have perfectly spherical rocks like this which are formed by a Lime silica core which attracts other elements to it in much the same way as we created crystals in High school . The process causes these rocks to form in a perfect circle . Just maybe they are natural

Not that anybody's expressed alot of interest in these stones, but here is some information I just happened to run into the other day that goes into a bit more detail;

"Several authors have now contributed to widespread misinformation about the stone balls of Costa Rica, leading to unfounded speculation about their nature and origin.

The Size of the Balls
In an article in Atlantis Rising Online, George Erikson makes exaggerated claims for the size of the stone balls, writing that they are "weighing up to 30 tons and measuring up to three meters in diameter" According to Samuel Lothrop, author of the most extensive study of the balls, "A 6-foot ball is estimated at about 7.5 tons, a 4-foot ball at 3 tons and a 3-foot specimen at 1.3 tons" (1963:22). Lothrop estimated the maximum weight for ball was around 16 tons. The largest known ball measures 2.15 m in diameter, which is substantially smaller than three meters.

The Roundness of the Balls
Erikson also states that these objects "were perfect spheres to within 2 millimeters from any measurement of both their diameter and circumference." This claim is false. No one has ever measured a ball with a sufficient degree of precision to make it. Neither Ivar Zapp nor George Erikson has proposed a methodology by which such measurements could be made. Lothrop (1963:17) wrote: "To measure the rotundity we used two methods, neither completely satisfactory. When the large balls were deeply buried in the ground, it might take several days to trench around them. Hence, we exposed the upper half only and then measured two or three more diameters with tape and plumb bob. This revealed that the poorer specimens, usually with diameters ranging between 2 and 3 feet (0.6-0.9 meters), varied in diameters as much as one or 2 inches (2.5-5.1 centimeters)." It should be clear that this method assumed that the portion under ground was spherical. Lothrop also measured balls that were more completely exposed by taking up to five circumferences with a tape measure, from which he then calculated their diameters. He writes, "Evidently, the larger balls were the product of the finest craftsmanship, and they were so nearly perfect that the tape and plumb-bob measurements of diameters did not reveal imperfections. Therefore, we measured circumferences horizontally and, if possible, at a 45-degree upward slant toward the four cardinal points. We did not usually ascertain the vertical circumference as the large balls were too heavy to move. This procedure was not as easy as it sounds because several people had to hold the tape and all measurements had to be checked. As the variation in diameters was too small to be detected by eye even with a plumb bob, the diameters have been computed mathematically". The source of claims for precise measurements may stem from misinterpretations of Lothrop's tables, in which he presents the calculated diameters in meters to four decimal places. However, these are mathematically calculated estimates, not direct measurements. They have not been rounded to reflect the actual precision with which the actual measurements were taken. It should be obvious that differences "too small to be detected by eye" cannot be translated into claims about precision "to within 2 millimeters". In fact, the surfaces of the balls are not perfectly smooth, creating irregularities that plainly exceed 2 millimeters in height. As noted above, some balls are known to vary over 5 cm (50 mm) in diameter. In the photograph of the largest ball on this web site, it is clear that the surface has been badly damaged. It is therefore impossible to know how precisely formed this ball might have been.

The Makers of the Balls
George Erikson states that "archaeologists attributed the spheres to the Chorotega Indians". No archaeologist familiar with the evidence has ever made this claim. The Chorotega were an Oto-Manguean speaking group that occupied an area of Guanacaste, near the Gulf of Nicoya in northwestern Costa Rica. The peoples who lived in the area where the balls are found were Chibchan speakers. The balls have been found in association with architectural remains, such as stone walls and pavements made of river cobbles, and both whole and broken pottery vessels that are consistent with finds at other sites associated with the Aguas Buenas and Chiriquí cultures. These are believed to represent native peoples ancestral to historical Chibchan-speaking group of southern Costa Rica.

The Dating of the Balls
George Erikson and others have implied that the balls may date as early as 12,000 years ago. There is no evidence to support this claim. Since the balls cannot be dated directly by methods such as radiocarbon dating, which can be applied directly only to organic materials, the best way to date them is by stratigraphic context and associated artifacts. Lothrop excavated one stone ball that was located in a soil layer separated from an underlying, sherd-bearing deposit that contained pottery typical of the Aguas Buenas culture (200 BC - AD 600). In the soil immediately beneath this ball he found the broken head of a painted human figurine of the Buenos Aires Polychrome type, dated to AD 1000-1500 (examples have reportely been found associated with iron tools). This suggests the ball was made sometime between AD 600 and 1500.

The Balls are "Out of Context"
Since their discovery in 1940, the vast majority of these balls have been removed from their archaeological contexts to serve as lawn ornaments across Costa Rica. Many of the balls studied by Lothrop appeared to have rolled off of nearby mounds. Several had been covered by layers of fine silt, apparently from flood deposits and natural erosion. Naturally, they are "out of context" in the sense of having few good archaeological associations.

Scholars Have Ignored Them
It is not unusual for authors who write about the stone balls to claim that these objects have received inadequate attention from serious scholars. While this is undoubtedly true, it is not true that these objects have been ignored. It is also not true that scholarship regarding them has been somehow hidden from the general public. The first scholarly study of the balls was undertaken by Doris Stone immediately upon their discovery by workers for the United Fruit Company. Results of her investigation were published in 1943 in American Antiquity, the leading academic journal for archaeology in the United States. Samuel Lothrop, an archaeologist on the staff of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at Harvard University, undertook major fieldwork concerning the balls in 1948. The final report on his study was published by the Museum in 1963. It contains maps of sites where the balls were found, detailed descriptions of pottery and metal objects found with and near them, and many photographs, measurements, and drawings of the balls, their alignments, and their stratigraphic contexts. Additional research on the balls by archaeologist Matthew Stirling was reported in the pages of National Geographic in 1969. In the late 1970s, archaeological survey on Isla del Caño (published in 1986) revealed balls in offshore contexts. Sites with balls were investigated and reported in the 1980s by Robert Drolet in the course of surveys and excavations in the Térraba Valley. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Claude Baudez and his students from the University of Paris returned to the locations of Lothrop's earlier fieldwork in the Diquís delta to undertake a more careful analysis of the pottery of the area, producing more refined dates for the contexts of the balls. This research was published in Spanish in 1993, with an English summary appearing in 1996. Also in the early 1990s, the author undertook fieldwork around Golfito, documenting the existence of the easternmost examples of these balls. At this time, Enrico Dal Lago, a student at the University of Kansas, defended a Master's thesis on the subject of the balls. The most careful study of the balls, however, has been fieldwork undertaken from 1990-1995 by archaeologist Ifigenia Quintanilla under the auspices of the National Museum of Costa Rica. She was able to excavate several balls in situ, documenting the process of their manufacture and their cultural associations. Quintanilla's research has been the most complete field study of these objects since Lothrop. While still mostly unpublished, the information she collected is currently the subject of her graduate research at the University of Barcelona. Even with current research pending, the list of references on this Web site makes it clear that the stone balls have received a great deal of serious, scholarly attention."

Magikman

haha, i didnt read that intro you wrote, MM, and it seemed like you had whipped up quite a little manifesto on the subject. i was very impressed for a few minutes

haha but why?

hmmnnn.... its odd! not mysteri0us. The statues in EaSTER ISLAND is far more intriguing. (xcuse my poor spelling)

O.K. here's a link to the rock's in N.Z. allthough the photo's appear to have been squashed as I can assure you they are much rounder in reality and when the sand is washed away form a complete circle .

Moeraki Boulders

Just Dern Pretty

Truly awesome pictures Kismit!

(didn't see you in there though
hint, hint)

I'm behind the third rock from the left

Those are some cool pictues Kismit

cool pics fellas. interesting topic.

who knows why theses rocks and mysterious spheres exist.

who knows indeed..

I do not know about this but i have some pictures that i hope you like

KP,

While your opinions on these topics are welcome, it would be appreciated if you contributed something a bit more intelligent and/or interesting to the discussion. The smarmy, ridiculous one liners are beginning to become tiresome.

Magikman

I seen a pbs tv special about trebushays and they used all old tools and they were able to create balls of large sizes with a hammer and chizel

1st I wanna know what type of rock the sphere is made of! Ok like many other cases there are many options.Here are some theories of mine. **FEEL FREE TO ADD ON**


1:An ancient people believed carving stones issued blessings and just today we are locating theese stones!

2:There is a company creating theese and dropping them off at certain places.

3: Theese are alien signs put there as god knows what.

4:Unidentifyed artifacts of years ago.

REMEMBER TO ADD ON

Hi all of the above. I think I have found one.Or rather is has found me. After dealing with the Atlantian rock on Crete. A rock that I discovered that has wierd and wonderfull properties See"Faces of Myth" Documentary.

Anyhow the sphere I found looks the same color as the picture posted.Only in certain light it reveals what appears to be other carvings on it that llo kind of religious but I am still uncertain. I have been doing carcoal reliefs of it and uncannily faces do appear.

Someone here should have a premonition for me. Give me some ideas...... The trick is something like this has was meant to be active.......A round rock was meant to rock and roll......

It must be a power or a knowledge sphere.

Hello AR,

I guess we are kindred sprits. I too am working along with you in my own
humble little way. It's funny if indeed I have found one.I was doinfg something that I would never usually do. Barefoot in the densely vegetated jungles of southern Costa Rica.
I was trying to impress some horses in a field for 4 days and they kept looking over in this direction. When I finally went over to these massive moss and multiple vine civered trees with huge roots like twisted arthritic hands gnawling deep into what is about as close as one could get to the primordial soup as one could imagine.

In the trees overhead howler monkeys let out their eerie howl enough to frighten even a boy from the woods of maine.
Life is different here so many birds and bugs and spiders and strange flowers ....

So there in the almost daily rain that comes down I found myself in a place of pure utter creepyness. Above the ankle thick coagulated mud squshed between my toes as strange insects of all kinds came visiting to explore this new smell in the jungle. More poisonous things than one could shake a stick at and here i was in the thick of it with so much going on I really should have passed out.

You see by now I had aquired over 68 insect bites from being just plain foolhearty and adventurous.

So the muck was just too much I got up onto the roots of the tree and preseeded to the farthest the roots wouldwould go to get me away from the spider webs and oh my god are they big and scary, I have to struggle with myself in order for my imaginastion not to take over and scare me half to death. So then it haooened my bad foot landed on a place of comfort on the root of this enormous wonder of nature this huge jungle tree.

My feet so very sore from much barefoot abuse needed exericise to correct an on going problem and here on this spot I have found comfort for the first time. I am thankfull to the tree and pet one of it's branches. Then I think better and decide to stay put incase this is a healing tree and I can now attempt to correct my foots weak disposition. I eventually croach down to keep my balence and see it is only 10 more feet to the edge of the field and that darn horse keeps looking at me an noding it's head. I let out the best horse whinney I can muster.

Well I am centered and I slowly look around me. I start then playing with my toes because they I am afraid have got some nail fungus. I pick at it and then spot this round object in the mire only 1/3 exposed. I know the speres come in various sizes and all along the beach and hear too I have seen small coconuts that look like perfect stone spheres just about everywhere. I am actually tired of checking them out. I also know that most of the spheres are big and small ones . who knows.

Well I am curious because upon first site I notice a face on the sphere. The same kind of thing I was looking for while making the "Faces of Myth" on crete earlier this year. I go to touch it and then stop myself.I cannot and will not go for another cocnut shell. I also decide by not touching it it will still be a sphere and it certainlu looks like one with some green thin mose on the top side revealing a face that is two sided much like the duality of beings.

I go homw and wait a few days and when I do go back under the watchfull eye of the resident horse it leads me this day back to that place where I do the comfortable foot rest for my lame foot but also pick it out of the primordial soup and discver that yes indeed it is a small sphere.

so what do you think i should do with it ? I already
ejaculated on it to tune it into myself but further
thought or ideas are required. Tell me what comes to mind. What would you do as an initiation or anyone else as a matter of fact.

Will you folks calm down. I am not a writer . I am a visual Artist, Geomancer, Dowser...what have you. You folks are not going to go very far or have not travelled very much? The sacred fluid containing the miracle DNA has just as much chance to activate this sphere as any prayer or incantation. You are forgetting motivation. It's the motivation. Sure the idea was not that exciting to me but when I held the sphere this is the thoought that came to mind. I decided to follow that little sence of direction for in the past this has lead me onto wonderfull discoveries.
now we are not going to get anywhere with your attitude so closed that you don' t even see more in this act than something crass. Who are you folks anyway ? I can say that after travelling to over 38 countries to date working in the realm of the good hearted spritulist. I don't see anything wrong with this but I do you.

A cross of jesus , would be something else but this is a sphere made of rock and much like the ring in TLOTR it found me or summoned me. I was not even in the area where these are usually found yet I found a curator living near by and he was always looking for something. I think I am lucky and if you see my movie "Faces of Myth" maybe you would understand more.

Now lets move on and give me someideas while I am here that I can perhaps further our understanding of God and all Gods greatness.

When it comes to writing I am here on a spanish keyboard and i thry to get the gist of my thought before it eludes me. maybe i suffer from short trm memory loss but thats good cause I meet new friends everyday.

now here in Costa Rica there is a legend about a mukaki a witch woman who would raoam the road , beatifull and mysterious she was looking for men. When she arouse a man she would upon getting close appear as a woman with a horse type face. There is an area there dedicate to these withes here.

Ooooh...giant musket balls...

If the rocks need DNA why not just spit on them ?


Still not being an expert I'd wager a lime sillica core to these mythical magical rocks which attract volcanic materials in much the same way as the crystals we all created in highschool science , and perhaps there roundness was so unique people collected them and carved things into them .