The large quantity of statues, petroglyphs and pottery found at the site, and on other islands in the Zapatera archipelago, suggests the area was an important ceremonial centre of pre-Columbian Chorotega people between 800 and 1350 CE.

It is situated in a relatively shallow and calm area of the lake known as Charco Muerto (Spanish: Dead Pond) and, at its closest point to the northwest, it is just 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) from the mainland.

[2][3] In 1849 Zapatera was visited by American diplomat and archaeologist Ephraim George Squier, who noted the presence of a considerable amount of statues and petroglyphs in an area known as Punta de las Figuras.

The most recent archaeological investigations were carried out in the 1980s and involved a number of small excavations, but an in depth study of the island is still lacking.

Almost all the statues have been removed from the island: a sizeable collection is preserved in San Francisco Convent Museum in Granada, but many others are used as ornament in state buildings or have found their way into the hands of private collectors.