chronological knowledge of southern Costa Rica, and the close and across-the-border relationship of this area to western Panama.

Beginning of the Explanatory Period, 1960s.

Arias (1982, 4) described Kennedy’s developed sequence for the Reventazon Valley and Aguilar’s sequence for the Guayabo de Turrialba region as the beginnings of the concern with chronology. Matthew W. Stirling also contributed important chronological information to our knowledge of the Atlantic watershed.

In 1969, Lange conducted research in northwestern Costa Rica and broadened the application of the Coe and Baudez chronological sequence. Assuming more of a cultural and ecological approach, he focused on relationships of riverine and coastal adaptation and challenged the long-held assumption that there had been strong Mesoamerican influence in this region.

Explanatory Period: New Data and Interpretations, 1960s and 1970s.

Fonseca (1992, 15) designated the period between 1960 and 1975 a “Period of Descriptive Chronology,” an accurate representation of local developments in Costa Rica. He also observed (1992, 16) that this was the period in which the diachronic concept of cultures and societies was finally accepted. At the same time Aguilar and Snarskis developed chronological sequences for the Central Valley and Atlantic watershed, and Sweeney completed analysis of some of Coe’s earlier work in northwestern Costa Rica. All of these efforts resulted in there being at least a broad chronological framework for the entire country.

Explanatory Period: Continuing Methodological and Theoretical Innovations, 1970s–1980s.

Arias (1992, 5) classified this explanatory period as still part of the process of consolidation and as principally characterized by the concern for the explanation of sociocultural processes, with an emphasis on human ecology. Citing Binford, Arias commented that regional studies were the most appropriate means of studying social processes and cultural change, while also noting that it was necessary to continue to develop chronological sequences as an aspect of, but not the principal objective of, research. She also noted the important transition from speculating about to explaining Costa Rica’s past. This transition still largely remains uninitiated, and local newspapers still give credence to wildly speculative explanations about particular sites and cultural historical relationships.

For Fonseca (1992, 15) this was the “Period of Diachronic Explanatory Models.” Inspired by the administration of Costa Rican President Daniel Oduber (1974–1978) and National Museum of Costa Rica director Luis Diego Gomez, the first two major site surveys and hypothesis testing projects were initiated. The Bay of Culebra project focused on the development of coastal adaptation in northwestern Costa Rica, and the Guanacaste-San Carlos Project was designed to study the relationships between the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds. Michael J. Snarskis continued with testing and mapping numerous large architectural sites on the Atlantic.

Hector Gamboa was head of the department of anthropology and history at the National Museum of Costa Rica during this period. His understanding of Costa Rican prehistory and his great diplomatic skills, which helped to blend the interests of foreign and national researchers, were essential to the growth in research in Costa Rica during this time.

Oscar Fonseca obtained his M.A. in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 and returned to Costa Rica to assume a pivotal role in the further development of the anthropology and archaeology teaching program at the University of Costa Rica. The University of Costa Rica also began an intensive reevaluation of the site of Guayabo de Turrialba, and used this to support the field training of a whole generation of young Costa Rican students. During this time, Oscar Fonseca, Luis Hurtado de Mendoza, Michael Snarskis, and to a lesser extent Lange supported a significant increase in archaeological training at the university. Unfortunately, the number of available jobs quickly was outpaced by the number of students graduating from the university. Costa Rica has been slow to see the advantages of adding archaeologists to the staffs of the Ministry of Tourism, the National Park Service, the Ministry of Housing, and the like.