Stone spheres in Costa Rica "Giant stone spheres — some dating as far back as A.D. 600 — pepper the Diquis Delta of southern Costa Rica. Known locally as Las Bolas ("The Balls"), these monuments were the works of a Pre-Colombian civilization, and most are made from gabbro, a rock that forms from molten magma. The people who carved the stones into their perfectly spherical shapes likely did so using other small stones, according to archaeologists who study the ancient rocks." "Many non-experts have speculated that the so-called Diquis Spheres were used for astronomical purposes, while others think they may have pointed the way to significant places. The truth is that no one knows for sure, and perhaps this historical mystery will never be solved. The Chibchan people who once populated Costa Rica and other parts of Central America vanished in the wake of the Spanish conquest, and the purpose of the spheres vanished with them, John W. Hoopes, an anthropologist at the University of Kansas, told JSTOR Daily in January 2016." "Nestled in the Diquis Delta near the town Palmar Sur is one of the most intriguing and unique finds throughout Costa Rica. Known to the Ticos who live in the area as Las Bolas, these stone spheres, some three hundred in number, have both puzzled and fascinated scholars and visitors alike." "For the more adventurous, a road trip to the area around Palmar Sur will provide both the chance to see where these round carvings from antiquity were found and to explore a mysterious aspect of Costa Rica that is just now beginning to experience growth and opportunity." "Lastly, it should be remembered that, even in their antiquity and mystery, the Spheres remind us of one of the most important parts of life in this beautiful and enjoyable land of Costa Rica – Have a Ball! Pura Vida!"
Acheulean Handaxe (~1,700,000 Years Ago) " Pointy pieces of stone or bone fixed to the end of a long stick to be used by humans to hunt animals or fight ridiculously frequent battles with one another are known to archaeologists as projectile points, the earliest of which are some bone ones dating to ~60,000 years ago in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. But before we could get to projectile points, first we hominids had to invent required a whole range of stone butchering tools." "The Acheulean Handaxe is arguably the first tool we hominids made, a triangular, leaf-shaped rock, probably used for butchering animals. The oldest yet discovered is from the Kokiselei complex of sites in Kenya, about 1.7 million years old. Most embarrassingly for our slow-evolving hominid cousins, the handaxe remained virtually unchanged until ~450,000 years ago. Try that with an iPhone."