Hiking through Panama’s tropical forest, a humid haze refracting what little sunlight can penetrate the layers of foliage, you sense that the jungle keeps innumerable secrets. This place constantly changes and adapts, confounding yesterday’s growth with today’s decay. If there are vestiges of ancient humans who inhabited this area, they lie deeply buried, eclipsed by the fertile opulence of rainforest ecosystems.
Archaeologists encounter this problem in Parque International La Amistad (PILA), an extensive protected area stretching from eastern Costa Rica into western Panama. Its almost impenetrable wilderness hinders exploration; navigation is difficult. Few have trekked far into the interior of La Amistad. Little is known of how human history evolved within the present-day borders of this park.
But there is reason to believe that there is something to find.
A handful of expeditions have identified sites indicating human presence along all major watercourses within Parque Internacional La Amistad. And less than 35 miles outside PILA, archeologists have discovered artifacts belonging to pre-ceramic cultures more than twelve thousand years old. Studies just outside the Costa Rican regions of the park are shedding light on pre-Columbian societies in the area.
Through their analysis of earth and stone, of carvings and tiny shards of pottery, archaeologists are able to reconstruct the rich lives of ancient tribespeople. Their beliefs and rituals are reincarnated as echoes in the minds of those who study them. It’s as bewildering as the intricacies of the jungle itself.
Photo by Ellenm1 on Flickr
In the Chiriqui province of Panama, predominantly around Volcan, numerous objects of archaeological significance have been found. (To see some of the findings, check out the Museo de la Nacionalidad in Los Santos. The Museum boasts a substantial collection of pre-Columbian pottery, and contains many ancient rock carvings scavenged from sites throughout Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Los Santos.) Decorative ornaments and ceremonial items speak volumes about religious and social values within these early societies. These people weren’t merely trying to survive. Somehow they transcended basic subsistence living despite the indomitable wildness of their environment. In the midst of the rainforest’s unruly tangle, these people thrived. Man-made creativity, artistry, and functionality added to the already potent mixture of natural elements without compromising the environment. They left light footprints. But we may be able to retrace them.
Most of these sites are only accessible to the archaeologists working within them, while a select few, such as the burial grounds at El Cano, are open to the public. One Panamanian site of cultural significance exists on Isla Palenque, a privileged location where a pre-Columbian farming community made its home from 500 to 1400 A.D. Human settlements in this area may date back as far as 5000 B.C.
The island today remains an unspoiled sanctuary. Evidence suggests that tribes from other parts of Panama traveled to Isla Palenque to partake in holy rituals. Sacred ceremonies took place upon its talcum-soft volcanic sands. Spiritual purification makes perfect sense if you pause a moment to watch the tide returning trodden sand to its virgin smoothness. Trade and negotiation between tribal chiefs also occurred here, establishing Isla Palenque in pre-Columbian times as the commercial and cultural nucleus of the province. Disappearing just before the colonial era, this ancient community left traces of their existence for travelers and archaeologists alike to ponder.
TAGS: Archaeology History History & Culture Isla Palenque Must Read Panama Panama History & Culture
