Preserve the El Cano Archaeological Park & museum

Since closing the excavation season in March, the Fundación El Caño has been continuing their various investigations and disseminating information about their research.

The project that was begun last year, involving tracing the exchange of goods along the isthmus, is ongoing. Dr. Julia Mayo and other members of the Fundación El Caño- Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas del Istmo (FEC-CIAI), traveled to Mexico City, to work with materials of possible Isthmian origin currently in the custody of the National Museum of Anthropology (MNA). The work at the MNA consisted of analyzing fifty-eight artifacts found in the Gran Cenote of the Maya city of Chichén Itzá, belonging to metallurgical groups with a wide distribution in the Isthmus of Panama.

The artifacts were selected for study after observing the stylistic resemblance with other artefacts found in archaeological sites in Panama, especially in El Caño and Sitio Conte, two places where tessellated mosaic mirrors have been found that, according to our research, seem to be of Maya origin.

To certify their provenance, an analysis of the metallic elements was carried out utilizing a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer. The manufacturing marks on the surface were characterized by direct observation under the microscope or through impressions made of the surface of these artifacts.

The hypothesis is that the tessellated mosaic mirrors and metal artifacts may have been part of an exchange network between the chiefdoms of the Isthmus and the Maya kingdoms. The analysis of the artifacts from the Gran Cenote aims to demonstrate that they come from the Isthmus.

Dr. Mayo was also invited by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) to give a postgraduate course, "Approach to the archaeology of the Isthmus-Colombian zone and the study of ancient societies through the analysis of materials found in funerary contexts". The work at the MNA was done in conjunction with the course at the UNAM. Julia and Dr. Carlos Mayo were also invited to give presentations at the Museo del Templo Mayor.

Two geology students from the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Antonio and Delvis, have been participating in the exchange of goods project in identifying the different types of rocks and related materials used in the creation of the mirrors and other artifacts recovered from El Caño. They have been conducting experimental archaeology in order to identify which rocks leave which types of manufacturing marks on different materials to help identify the processes used to create the artifacts. Antonio and Delvis participated in a seminar organized at their university to discuss the contributions of geology and tourism. They presented El Caño as a site of geological as well as archaeological interest and spoke briefly about the research they are doing at the FEC-CIAI, on the nature and origin of the stone bases of the tesserae mosaic mirrors found at El Caño.

Several team members participated in scientific conferences as well as presentations to local and civic groups as well as giving interviews through radio and print media as part of the aspect of sharing the research and findings by the Fundación.

Dr. Carlos Mayo presented “Identification and Provenance of Archaeological Emeralds from Panama, Colombia and Ecuador using a pXRF” at the Pan American Ceramics Congress and Ferroelectrics Meeting of Americas 2024 in Panama City. This presentation discussed the findings of the analysis done on the emeralds discovered in El Caño as a part of the overall exchange of goods project.

Both Doctor Julia Mayo and Doctor Carlos Mayo participated in the 89th annual conference of the Society for American Archaeology in New Orleans, Louisiana. Julia submitted a poster titled “Preliminary Results of the Physio-Chemical Analysis and Manufacturing Traces of the Tesserae Mirrors from El Caño, Gran Coclé Archaeological Tradition (750-1100 CE). Carlos submitted a poster titled “Long-Distance Exchange of Emeralds in the Isthmo-Colombian Area”, with co-authors Julia Mayo Torné, Alfredo Campos, Eliecer Ching and Hannah Fernández. As a part of the conference, Julia gave a presentation during the the symposium “Centralizing Central America: New Evidence, Fresh Perspectives, and Working on New Paradigms”.

The National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT), who since 2005 has financed several archaeological projects in the province of Coclé, including the investigation of the provenance of artifacts found in El Caño, published articles and videos about the findings related to the discoveries of tomb T9. The videos can be found on the Fundación El Caño YouTube channel, the link found on our web page.

As a part of the collaboration between the El Caño Foundation and Global Digital Heritage, Dr. Julia Mayo participated in the Global Digital Heritage World Conference in Sigüenza, Spain. During her presentation Dr. Mayo discussed the artifacts from El Caño that were digitized by Global Digital Heritage and can be seen by the general public.

Both Dr. Julia Mayo and Anthropologist Alexa Hancock participated in radio interviews on radio station Cool 89.3 FM to talk about the recent findings in El Caño, one in Spanish and one in English.

As a part of the outreach to the public, the Panamanian Ministry of Culture arranged various events and activities in commemoration of International Museum Day. Dr. Carlos Mayo gave a lecture at the regional museum of Aguadulce as a part of one of the events. The Ministry also arranged a one-day exhibit of some of the artifacts from tomb T9 in the new Museum of History of the Republic.

Links:

• Fundacion El Cano web page youtube link
• Global Digital Heritage El Cano project
• English language radio interview with Alexa Hancock

On February 26th, the Fundación El Caño team discovered the primary burial of tomb T9 in the El Caño Necropolis. The male, estimated to be between 30-40 years of age, was found surrounded by grave goods in what is the richest tomb discovered in the El Caño Necropolis to date. Aside from the literal riches found buried with the lord of the tomb, whom archaeologists have named the Lord of the Flutes, the tomb also is yielding much new information.

The Lord of the Flutes was buried with grave goods that included seven different gold breast plates of varying sizes and designs, six gold bracelets, two belts made of gold beads, adornments of small gold plates and beads, a gold pendant depicting a man, a gold pendant depicting a woman, pendants made from sperm whale teeth and resin, and countless perforated dog and shark teeth. In addition, there were hundreds, if not thousands, beautiful and well-preserved ceramics.

Preliminary findings indicate that this male could have been of high-status without being a warrior. The Lord of the Flutes seems more like a religious leader than a military chief, having been buried with objects such as flutes and bells and not with warrior goods such as axes, spears and objects made with teeth of large predators as have been found in  tombs  of other lords of this same necropolis. This calls attention to the importance of religion in this society. It will take time to research and identify the iconography of the breast plates and decipher their meaning in order to confirm the role of this individual.

The complexity of the ritual liturgy, the well-structured organization of the funerary space, and the presence of rich tombs of infants next to those of adults, indicate that El Caño, Gran Coclé cultural region (750-1000 CE), in the current Republic of Panama, was a necropolis of one of the small kingdoms of the Isthmo-Colombian Region, probably of Chibcha lineage, whose rulers governed a complex society with great social inequalities.

As archaeological research, excavations, and study of materials from the necropolis of El Caño progress, it seems to be more evident that the veneration and commemoration of ancestors was a central aspect of religious beliefs in El Caño. We have been able to trace certain analogies with the patterns of ancestor veneration rites observed in the Mayan and Andean areas. In the Llanos de Coclé, between 750 and 1100 A.D. Some families appropriated the conceptual logic and ritual practice of ancestor veneration, which at first were only domestic acts, with the intention of reclaiming territory and controlling the most productive agricultural lands, for which they built at least two necropolises on both banks of the Río Grande, Sitio Conte and El Caño.

The excavation season, which officially began on January 10, 2024, was conducted with the participation of archaeology students from the University of Panama and the Autonomous University of Chiriqui. They were introduced to the excavation protocols and the tools used, such as the Total Station and creating site recordings and registries. Volunteers were also given training and participated in the excavation.

One form of archaeological site recording is scale drawings of the contours of the stratigraphic units. Students from the University of Panama (Panama City campus) - Elías and Gabriel, and Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí student Tiara - worked together on these drawings. As part of the process, they established a spatial reference line and a tape measure along the longitudinal axis of the feature to be drawn and with the help of a second tape measure and a plumb line they measured the distance at different heights between the reference axis and the contour of the unit and placed objects found within the area in the appropriate place on the scale diagram.

Another student from the University of Panama (Penonome Campus), also named Gabriel, worked on cleaning the artifacts and taking the site control photographs of all artifacts recovered.

As the first month of excavation was coming to an end, project director Dr. Julia Mayo determined it was necessary to extend the excavation another month. It was becoming evident the tomb was much more extensive than originally thought.

While the excavation was ongoing, many visitors came to the El Caño Archaeolgical Park and Museum to witness the investigation in person. These included people from other countries such as Germany, Mexico, Canada and the United States.  Young people and their parents and other members of the community of El Caño and the surrounding area, came in a visit coordinated with the health center of El Caño and the juvenile police unit  of the Panama National Police. They received a brief talk by Dr. Mayo about the excavation and its history. They also saw the newly excavated ceramics in tomb 9 and had the opportunity to see how team members sifted the soil from the tomb to ensure that no small artifacts were lost.

Students from St. Mary's School, Panama, visited El Caño Archaeological Park and Museum. They also listened to a presentation by Dr. Julia Mayo, and were gifted with a copy of the Fundación El Caño two-volume book "El Caño: Memorias de Excavación" for their school library.

The artifacts will need to be conserved and carefully studied. Ideally, they will then be exhibited for the general public to appreciate, with the relevant information accompanying them. An appropriate exhibition will take time and funds to develop.

In the meantime, Fundación El Caño team members will be continuing their research and determining how the current finds tie in with previous work and the ongoing research project initiated in 2023, related to confirming the origins of artifacts found in El Caño. A presentation of the initial findings is planned for later this year in Panama City.