Schematic amulet; Nicoya-Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 300-500 A.D. Stone. Measurements: 12.5 x 2.5 cm. Skillfully carved schematic axe head amulet. The form represents an anthropomorphic figure with small round incisions. The Great Nicoya is an archaeological region that extends in the northwest of Costa Rica and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. The Costa Rican sector is known as the Southern or Guanacaste Subregion, and includes the Nicoya Peninsula, the Tempisque River basin and the Guanacaste and Tilarán mountain ranges. Vestiges of human presence have been found in the area as early as 10000 B.C., and in the Orosí period (2000-500 B.C.) small circular dwellings and hearths were already being built, and manos and metates from this period have also been found, as well as some vessels. From the Tempisque period (500 B.C. - 300 A.D.), ceramic deposits and ovens have been recovered, as well as funerary offerings of all kinds, including jade pieces. Finally, during the Bagaces period, between 300 and 800 A.D., there is already an organization of complex chiefdoms, and the funerary rituals are greatly enriched. It is also the period of polychrome decoration of ceramics, and the motifs will present iconographic influences from Mesoamerican cultures.