No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArts & CultureCosta Rica archaeologists in awe as Brooklyn Museum returns 1,305 artifacts

Costa Rica archaeologists in awe as Brooklyn Museum returns 1,305 artifacts

An unfinished tombstone, a large ceramic vase painted with beeswax, human representations and ancient tools to process corn are artifacts of a collection of 1,305 pieces that have been returned to Costa Rica.

It is the second time the Brooklyn Museum in New York City has returned pieces, some older than 2,000 years, to the central American country.

Tycoon Minor Keith brought the artifacts, looted during the construction of a railway, to the United States in the 19th or early 20th century, along with shipments of bananas.

Archaeologists in Costa Rica have been in awe since the artifacts arrived at the end of last year.

“The tombstone is a piece we have only seen as illustrations in study books here,” Daniela Meneses, a researcher at the National Museum of Costa Rica, said at a viewing for the media. “It’s amazing to see that piece now. It’s very emotional.”

It is believed to have been part of a tomb of an important person from a now-extinct civilization.

At almost half a meter high, one of the largest pieces in the shipment is a vase, presumably used to store seeds or water; it is adorned with human figures and peculiar geometric lines, painted with beeswax.

There are still more artifacts from Costa Rica in Brooklyn and in other museums in the United States.

But archaeologist Javier Fallas of the state museum highlighted the return as an extraordinary gesture: “We don’t know why they did it, but it’s something very good and atypical in the world.”

Seven years ago, four sites in the southern part of the country were recognized as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Trending Now

Panama Vows Constitutional Action Amid Worsening Bocas del Toro Unrest

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino announced Thursday that he will take “constitutional measures” to stop the wave of protests and road blockades affecting the...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

Costa Rican Court Orders Release of Migrants Deported Under Trump Deal

A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants who had been detained in a shelter after being deported under an...

Costa Rica and U.S. Strengthen Border Scans and Biometric Cooperation

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem met Wednesday with Honduran President Xiomara Castro to discuss security and migration, following her offer in Costa...

Mexican Influencer “El Arturito” Falls for Costa Rican Cuisine at Silvestre

Arturo Lemmen, a Mexican food critic known as “El Arturito” to his social media fans, used to think Costa Rican cuisine was nothing to...

Celso Gamboa Allegedly Ran Drug Ring with Costa Rican Government Ties

Celso Gamboa, once Costa Rica’s Security Minister and a Supreme Court judge, now faces extradition to the U.S. for leading a major cocaine trafficking...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica