A recent excavation at the El Caño archaeological park in the province of Coclé has unearthed the remains of a powerful ruler of the region and a spectacular funerary assemblage composed of gold pieces, ceramics, and other materials.
The discovery, made this summer by a team from the Ministry of Culture and the El Caño Foundation, promises to shed new light on the flourishing pre-Hispanic lordship of Río Grande.
Linette Montenegro, the National Heritage Director of the Ministry of Culture, explained that the campaign is part of a multi-year project initiated in 2022 to explore the indigenous cemetery at the archaeological site. The work has been made possible through an agreement between both institutions.
In addition to numerous ceramic vessels typical of funerary assemblages of the time, the team found exceptional goldsmith pieces such as 5 pectorals, 2 belts of spherical gold beads, 4 bracelets, 3 earrings with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic shapes, necklaces, plates, and gold bells.
Bracelets made from dog teeth, earrings made from sperm whale teeth with gold sheaths, and bone flutes were also recovered.
Julia Mayo, director of the El Caño Foundation and project leader since 2008, determined that the objects likely belonged to a prominent adult male from the cacique of Río Grande, buried around the year 750 AD.
The tomb has not yet been fully excavated, but it is believed that the individual was buried face down on top of a woman, a common practice among the elites of the time. It is probable that other sacrificed individuals accompany him to serve him in the afterlife.
El Caño functioned as a cemetery and ceremonial area between 700 and 1000 AD. In addition to the famous monoliths, it housed wooden structures and mausoleums for rulers and their courts.
According to Mayo, these collective tombs usually contained between 8 and 32 bodies corresponding to dignitaries buried alongside sacrificed servants during the funeral.
The exceptional state of preservation of the materials and the opportunity to study in detail such aristocratic funerary practices confer enormous significance to the discovery.
The pre-Columbian treasure and future analysis of the skeletal remains will undoubtedly enrich our knowledge of the pre-Hispanic societies of the isthmus.
Sources
Ministerio de Cultura de Panamá
- Share on:
Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Black Panthers: The African American Soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion Who Fought at the Battle of the Bulge
They made a good first impression, but I have no faith in the inherent fighting ability of the race. This was what General Patton declared after inspecting the 761st Tank…
Secret Underground Passages Described in Leonardo da Vinci’s Sketches Discovered Beneath Milan’s Sforza Castle
As part of a doctoral thesis, the prestigious Politecnico di Milano has conducted a pioneering technological study that has uncovered hidden secrets beneath the Sforza Castle, one of Milan’s most…
Archaeologists Find Evidence That Kurd Qaburstan Could Be the Ancient City of Qabra, Mentioned in Babylonian Inscriptions
The archaeological site of Kurd Qaburstan, located in the Erbil region of northeastern Iraq, has emerged as an invaluable source of knowledge about the Middle Bronze Age Mesopotamian civilization. Recent…
Human Footprints from the Bronze Age Left by People Fleeing a Vesuvian Eruption and Other Extraordinary Discoveries in Campania
During improvement works on the Diramazione Nocera-Cava dei Tirreni gas pipeline in the municipalities of Nocera Superiore, Nocera Inferiore, Roccapiemonte, and Castel San Giorgio (province of Salerno, Campania) in Italy,…
Herzgruft, the Crypt in Vienna Where the Hearts of the Habsburgs Are Preserved
Saying that the heart of the Habsburgs is in Vienna may sound like a poetic expression to embellish a historical fact, but it can be taken literally if one visits…
Analysis of Fingerprints on Figurines Recovered in Heracleion Reveals Women and Children also Made them
An archaeological study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology by Leonie Hoff analyzes the fingerprints impressed on terracotta figurines found in the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt (located…
The Oldest Neolithic Settlement of France’s First Farmers, Discovered on the French Riviera
Described as a rare find by the regional archaeology department, one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in France, attributed to the Early Cardial period, is currently being excavated by archaeologists…
A Large Ritual Structure Discovered in Jerusalem with 8 Rock-Cut Rooms and Mysterious V-Shaped Marks on the Floor
A remarkable archaeological find has come to light on the eastern slope of the City of David, within the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. This unique structure, spanning approximately 220…
The Incredible Wrangel Island: The Place Where Mammoths Survived Until 2000 BC
Located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, Wrangel Island is a 7,600 km² enclave, equivalent in size to Crete. It is part of…
How Ashurbanipal Destroyed Babylon, Whose King Was His Own Elder Brother
And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…” Revelation, 14:08 This verse from the Bible likely sounds familiar to many; it refers to the conquest of…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
