Costa Rican Archaeology to be Lost?
Posted by Thomas under: General News .A new dam that is set to be built in Costa Rica to help cater for electricity supply demands looks set not only just flood many fields and hillsides, but also flood some prehistoric sites that are known to still have many uncovered archaeological facts still buried beneath the grounds surface.
The dam project known as El Diquis will start construction by February 2009 giving a little under a year for any archaeologists or museums or historians who want to explore the area and learn about Costa Rica’s native ancestors.
The lands are said to contain the remains and ruins of many building structures of which special interest is reserved for the churches and cemeteries where excavations of human bones and burial grounds may reveal a lot about this generation’s life and way of living. Petroglyphs are also believed to be amongst the proposed flooded lands.
Costa Rican historians and archeologists have expressed their concerns with the governments plans to build a dam in the near future without giving a thought to the archaeological riches that maybe lost forever. They are keen to see a similar situation that happened in Colorado with the McPhee Dam.
In what proved to be one of the United States’ largest excavations and archaeology projects in its history, archaeologists set about excavating approximately 1,600 sites on the main locations where the McPhee dam was set to flood Colorado. It resulted in providing a historical insight into how the Indians lived may years ago as well as its very own museum to host the artifacts for general public viewing. They did however have 6 years to do the project unlike with El Diquis, where 12 months will be their time frame.
The government have said they will talk with archaeologists about possibly trying to some agreement over project time and funding, although ultimately the dam project will begin on time due to the need for electricity.
What is further disappointing is that this electricity need is mainly stemming from the United States, which is where most of the power will be sent. The Costa Rican public don’t the need electricity so badly, and appears that government in general are trying to make some more dollars for themselves.
The general feeling is that the dam will be a good step forward for Costa Rica, more so than drilling and mining for oil which is worse for the environment and will ultimately dent Costa Rica’s image of being a ‘green’ nation. However, it is disappointing to think that history may be lost forever under the giant lake that will form.
http://www.costaricaholiday.co.uk/blog/?p=513