The first indigenous peoples of present day Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers, and the territory was divided in two cultural areas due to its geographical location in the Intermediate Area, between the Mesoamerican and the Andean cultural regions.
Its indigenous peoples have lived in Costa Rica for what stretches back to at least 10,000 years before the arrival of the Spaniards.

The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost point of Mesoamerican cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors came in the sixteenth century.
The Nicoya culture was the largest cacicazgo on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
The central and southern portions of the country belonged to the Isthmo-Colombian cultural area with strong Muisca influences, as they were part of territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages.
The Diquis culture flourished from 700 CE to 1530 CE.

Christopher Columbus arrived in Costa Rica in 1502 on his last trip to the Americas.
Costa Rica received its name from Gil Gonzalez Dávila when he arrived and thought he found the most gold he had ever seen; therefore naming it the "Rich Coast".
To the Spaniards, it was less organized from other indigenous groups they had discovered, mainly because they lived in separate groups rather than one large group.
During the colonization, Costa Rica was very poor, mainly because it was isolated from the majority of colonies of the Spanish Empire.
The initial colonies that were set up were unsuccessful because of disease, as well as the weather of the tropical rain forests.
Costa Rica did not become a province of Spain until the 1560s, when a community was created that used the volcanic soil for agricultural purposes.
By the time that Columbus arrived, there were about 20,000 Costa Rican natives, but this number greatly declined.
That was primarily due to disease, particularly smallpox as well as the fact that many indigenous people were enslaved to work and oftentimes escaped from them.
The first indigenous peoples of present day Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers, and the territory was divided in two cultural areas due to its geographical location in the Intermediate Area, between the Mesoamerican and the Andean cultural regions. Its indigenous peoples have lived in Costa Rica for what stretches back to at least 10,000 years before the arrival of the Spaniards. 
The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost point of Mesoamerican cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors came in the sixteenth century. The Nicoya culture was the largest cacicazgo on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The central and southern portions of the country belonged to the Isthmo-Colombian cultural area with strong Muisca influences, as they were part of territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages. The Diquis culture flourished from 700 CE to 1530 CE.
Christopher Columbus arrived in Costa Rica in 1502 on his last trip to the Americas. Costa Rica received its name from Gil Gonzalez Dávila when he arrived and thought he found the most gold he had ever seen; therefore naming it the "Rich Coast". To the Spaniards, it was less organized from other indigenous groups they had discovered, mainly because they lived in separate groups rather than one large group. During the colonization, Costa Rica was very poor, mainly because it was isolated from the majority of colonies of the Spanish Empire. The initial colonies that were set up were unsuccessful because of disease, as well as the weather of the tropical rain forests. Costa Rica did not become a province of Spain until the 1560s, when a community was created that used the volcanic soil for agricultural purposes. By the time that Columbus arrived, there were about 20,000 Costa Rican natives, but this number greatly declined. That was primarily due to disease, particularly smallpox as well as the fact that many indigenous people were enslaved to work and oftentimes escaped from them.
Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica