Gold and power in ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia : a symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 9 and 10 October 1999

he lure of gold as a source of quick and bountiful cash led to looting on a vast scale in southern Central America and Colombia. Overgrown ridge-top cemeteries in Costa Rica, picked clean a century ago, now resemble tropical versions of World War I battlefields, their surfaces riddled with the pockmarks of looters’ picks rather than mortar shells. Thousands of gold “eagles” and other items poured out of the Intermediate Area to the extent that some of the smaller pieces were commonly used as watch fobs at the turn of the last century. Despite these items’ ubiquity and the row upon row of bright, shiny objects lining museum cases and collectors’ cabinets, the number of gold objects scientifically excavated from the region (excluding Sitio Conte) could easily fit on a standard dining room table. The symposium and the papers presented represent a summation and a starting point. More than a century ago, William Henry Holmes wrote the first extensive treatise on archaeological remains from Chiriquí, in western Panama. The nineteenth-century gold rush had produced considerable quantities of related materials for scholarly study although no formal archaeological fieldwork had been done. Map: Archaeological culture areas and contemporary states in southern Central America and Colombia vii Chronological Chart: Prehistoric Costa Rica and Panama viii Chronological Chart: Prehistoric Colombia ix Introduction: The Golden Bridge of the Daríen 1 Jeffrey Quilter “Catching the Light”: Technologies of Power and Enchantment in Pre-Columbian Goldworking 15 Nicholas J. Saunders Goldwork and Chibchan Identity: Endogenous Change and Diffuse Unity in the Isthmo-Colombian Area 49 John W. Hoopes and Oscar M. Fonseca Z. Who Crafted, Exchanged, and Displayed Gold in Pre-Columbian Panama? 91 Richard Cooke, Ilean Isaza, John Griggs, Benoit Desjardins, and Luís Alberto Sánchez From Jade to Gold in Costa Rica: How, Why, and When 159 Michael J. Snarskis Metallurgy, Balls, and Stone Statuary in the Diquís Delta, Costa Rica: Local Production of Power Symbols 205 Patricia Fernández and Ifigenia Quintanilla The Political Economy of Pre-Columbian Gold Work: Four Examples from Northern South America 245 Carl Henrik LangebaekVI Creation Imagery in the Goldwork of Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia 279 Mark Miller Graham Gold, Stone, and Ideology: Symbols of Power in the Tairona Tradition of Northern Colombia 301 Warwick Bray The Seed of Life: The Symbolic Power of Gold-Copper Alloys and Metallurgical Transformations 345 Ana María Falchetti Gold in the Everyday Lives of Indigenous Peoples of Sixteenth-Century Southern Central America. 383 Eugenia Ibarra Index 421 The lands between Mesoamerica and the Central Andes are famed for the rich diversity of ancient cultures that inhabited them. Throughout this vast region, from about AD 700 until the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion, a rich and varied tradition of goldworking was practiced. The amount of gold produced and worn by native inhabitants was so great that Columbus dubbed the last New World shores he sailed as Costa Ricathe "Rich Coast." Despite the long-recognized importance of the region in its contribution to Pre-Columbian culture, very few books are readily available, especially in English, on these lands of gold. Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia now fills that gap with eleven articles by leading scholars in the field. Issues of culture change, the nature of chiefdom societies, long-distance trade and transport, ideologies of value, and the technologies of goldworking are covered in these essays as are the role of metals as expressions and materializations of spiritual, political, and economic power. These topics are accompanied by new information on the role of stone statuary and lapidary work, craft and trade specialization, and many more topics, including a reevaluation of the concept of the "Intermediate Area." Collectively, the volume provides a new perspective on the prehistory of these lands and includes articles by Latin American scholars whose writings have rarely been published in English. Introduction: The Golden Bridge Of The Darién / Jeffrey Quilter -- Catching The Light: Technologies Of Power And Enchantment In Pre-columbian Goldworking / Nicholas J. Saunders -- Goldwork And Chibchan Identity: Endogenous Change And Diffuse Unity In The Isthmo-colombian Area / John W. Hoopes And Oscar M. Fonseca Z. -- Who Crafted, Exchanged, And Displayed Gold In Pre-colombian Panama? / Richard Cooke ... [et Al.] -- From Jade To Gold In Costa Rica: How, Why, And When / Michael J. Snarskis -- Metallurgy, Balls, And Stone Statuary In The Diquís Delta, Costa Rica: Local Production Of Power Symbols / Patricia Fernández And Ifigenia Quintanilla -- The Political Economy Of Pre-colombian Gold Work: Four Examples From Northern South America / Carl Henrik Langebaek. Creation Imagery In The Goldwork Of Costa Rica, Panama, And Colombia / Mark Miller Graham -- Gold, Stone, And Ideology: Symbols Of Power In The Tairona Tradition Of Northern Colombia / Warwick Bray -- The Seed Of Life: The Symbolic Power Of Gold-copper Alloys And Metallurgical Transformations / Ana María Falchetti -- Gold In The Everyday Lives Of Indigenous Peoples Of Sixteenth-century Southern Central America / Eugenia Ibarra. Jeffrey Quilter And John W. Hoopes, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Introduction : the golden bridge of the Darién / Jeffrey Quilter "Catching the light" : technologies of power and enchantment in Pre-Columbian goldworking / Nicholas J. Saunders Goldwork and Chibchan identity : endogenous change and diffuse unity in the Isthmo-Colombian area / John W. Hoopes and Oscar M. Fonseca Z. Who crafted, exchanged, and displayed gold in Pre-Colombian Panama? / Richard Cooke ... [et al.] From jade to gold in Costa Rica : how, why, and when / Michael J. Snarskis Metallurgy, balls, and stone statuary in the Diquís Delta, Costa Rica : local production of power symbols / Patricia Fernández and Ifigenia Quintanilla The political economy of Pre-Colombian gold works : four examples from northern South America / Carl Henrik Langebaek Creation imagery in the goldwork of Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia / Mark Miller Graham Gold, stone, and ideology : symbols of power in the Tairona tradition of northern Colombia / Warwick Bray The seed of life : the symbolic power of gold-copper alloys and metallurgical transformations / Ana María Falchetti Gold in the everyday lives of indigenous peoples of sixteenth-century southern Central America / Eugenia Ibarra.