Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Luis Guillermo Solís is elected president by default when his opponent withdraws from the race.
Lost Worlds of Ancient Costa Rica
The coastlines and rainforests of Central America have been inhabited by humans for at
least 10,000 years, but ancient civilizations in Costa Rica are largely the subject of specu-
lation. It is thought that the area was something of a backwater straddling the two great an-
cient civilizations of the Andes and Mesoamerica. On the eve of European discovery some
500 years ago, an estimated 400,000 people were living in today's Costa Rica, though
sadly our knowledge about these pre-Columbian cultures is scant. What wasn't destroyed
by Spanish colonization was overgrown by jungle, and most traces of indigenous Costa
Ricans simply disappeared.
Unlike the massive pyramid complexes found throughout other parts of Latin America,
the ancient towns and cities of Costa Rica (with the exception of Guayabo) were loosely
organized and had no centralized government or ceremonial centers. However, tales of lost
cities still survive in the oral histories of Costa Rica's indigenous communities and there is
hope among archaeologists that a great discovery lies in waiting. Considering that so much
of the country consists of inaccessible mountains and rainforests, perhaps these dreams
aren't so fanciful.
The indigenous people of Costa Rica make up only about 1% of the population, and rep-
resent several ethnic groups (the Boruca, Bribrí, Cabécar, Chorotega, Huetar, Kèköldi,
Maleku, Ngöbe and Térraba) and six surviving languages.
