Excavation finds highlight Panamas Golden Warriors

AFTER Three months of dry season excavation, at the El Caño archaeological site in the province of Cocle, discoveries in in a seventh tomb in have thrown fresh light on the “golden warriors” of pre-Hispanic Panama.

 Exploration of the tomb, known as T VII began in 2014.
In January this year, the scientific digging team went down another few feet revealing about 40 bodies and 500 assorted ceramics showing a high level of craftsmanship.
Archaeologist and art historian Charles Mayo, and archaeologist and anthropologist , Julia Mayo, are leading the scientific research dig at El Caño archaeological park, and the latest ceramic finds make it possible to understand more about former residents of the Natá district Cocle.
The pit was closed at the end of March, before the rainy season began and a second phase includes the restoration and scientific analysis of the latest unearthed items.
Hundreds of red clay tableware and ornamental ceramics were found underground, and Charles Mayo hopes they can spell out the chronology of the El Caño deposits and reveal the history of the once-golden warriors Panama.
“It’s a very good chronological marker” without the need for testing of radiometric dating or carbon 14″. he told La Prensa
They are pieces that read time, serving as witnesses to the lifestyle and technology of an ancient society, he said.
In the case of Coclé, the ancient inhabitants of the floodplain of the Rio Grande, are described as “a fairly sophisticated society,”
The so-called “Golden Warriors” were also great potters, who emphasize skills in polychrome ceramic tableware and utensils and the creation of hues like blue and purple, “hardly found in other ceramics of the time, “said Mayo
The Coclé “were virtuosos in their decorations who emphasize the geometric and zoomorphic in exaltation as part of a complex symbolism. leaving out religious representations.” ,” says Mayo,
The investigations conducted in the El Caño Archaeological Park with the endorsement of the National Institute of Culture, have reported findings since 2009, that in the near future will help create a profile of the ancient inhabitants of the area.
There are several projects underway, such as a book on the Golden Warriors and final editing of the documentary “El Dorado Panama,” by the Spanish producer Wanda Films, expected to be completed in 2016
Disclosure on the web, with information and photographs of the pieces found in each grave is also planned.