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Many website visitors have
asked for an explanation of how the Spheres were created. In 1978,
while working in Costa Rica, I decided to test methods for creating
spheres. After all, many cultures before the birth of Christ knew
how to create spheres. I decided to approach the problem to a local
perspective. The
first step, was to ask "How would someone a thousand years ago create a
perfect circle?". The answer is simple - a string compass. Put
a peg in a board, attach a small length of string or twine, and keeping
the string taught, draw a circle around the anchor point. You now
have a circle, and from that can make a template. Instead of a
marking, use a sharpened stone, and you make a cut in the shape of a
circle, that can be worked to cut out the semi-circle (as shown at left) |
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Of course making the wooden
template itself was an initial challenge, since I could only use
pre-columbian tools and techniques. I used two planks (pre-cut from
a lumber yard) of approximately the size that could be easily cut from a
living tree. But since I need the template deep enough for the
semi-circle cut-out, I put two planks together, and bound them with two
smaller cross planks, held in place by wooden pegs and tree sap glue.
The result was a very sturdy template, ready to be cut. Once
assembled, and the perfect semi-circle was cut out (with took about 5
hours of labor - mostly due to inexperience), the template was ready.
I had obtained a 2 foot block
of stone, very similar to the stone used in the Diquis Spheres, and began
to dress it. I focused on taking off the 8 corners first, using my
template as a guide. Using the template was difficult for one person
alone, however, it was far from impossible. It took approximately 25
hours of labor - again because of inexperience, and over cautiousness -
before the 2ft sphere was complete.
The next challenge was to
polish the sphere to a smoother appearance. Here again I turned to
stone to smooth stone. I used the same kind of stone as the sphere
itself, and ground it along the surface, until I removed my tool marks and
had a smooth surface. The polishing, I noticed, caused the sphere to
become less perfectly round - off by a centimeter here and there.
In summary, an ingenious
craftsman or artisan could easily have developed this technique. The
ability of primitive peoples to develop very sophisticated processes is
well know. Thus, the impossible mystery spheres became well
engineers artifacts of the local precolumbian cultures. And like all
techniques in such an era, this approach may well have died with its
inventor.
The approach I used is
completely consistent with local woodworking techniques, tools, and
resources. No Atlantian culture was required, just an intelligent
artisan and a new approach. Once perfected, this process was easily
duplicated, so that a couple dozen artisans could have created the stones
we know of.
Fee free to forward any
other questions you may have!
Regards,
Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.
wesayso @ mcguinnesspublishing . us
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