The Archaeology of Highland Chiriqui, Panama -- Documents, Images, and Datasets
Summary
Archaeology is defined by its grounding in material objects; without contextual elements of space and place, however, material culture is devoid of much of its meaning and archaeological information. This article focuses upon pre-Columbian objects – including gold, ceramics, and stone artefacts - from a small, localized area of the Chiriquí region of western Panamá in the context of the volcanic landscape. The discussion is intended as a provocative introduction to the archaeology of highland Chiriquí rather than an exhaustive exploration and seeks to convey the contemporary context of an understudied archaeological region. Chiriquí, like the isthmus of Panamá overall, inhabits a nebulous place in archaeological conception due to its positioning below Mesoamerica and above the Andean world. This academic displacement is further complicated – or potentially prompted - by the de-contextualization of vast quantities of pre-Columbian artifacts in the late nineteenth century after large cemeteries were discovered in 1859 and then subjected to several decades of intensive excavation by individuals seeking monetary gain, adventure, or both from the experience. Antiquities removed from Chiriquí at this time were transported to museum collections throughout the western world. While the removed artifacts attest to the richness of pre-Columbian material culture, the sites from which they came were effectively erased from the landscape and archaeological conception. I draw from diverse, ephemeral and cartographically imprecise sources of information provided by accounts from looters and adventurers, antiquarian reports, museum accession files, and rumor to extrapolate possible locations for looted sites that provided the materials held in the major museum collections. I place these ‘un-firm’ locations in a GIS in conjunction with precisely located sites from systematic survey to show how they relate to one another. A concomitant role of this article is to make data from fieldwork I conducted between 2000 and 2005 in highland Chiriquí accessible to other researchers. In this article, I tease out one particular grave and the materials used to construct it from these data as synecdoche for myriad thousands of looted Chiriquí graves as well as the archaeological need to seek new forms of data.
Preparation of this electronic publication and associated archive was assisted by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Cite this Record
The Archaeology of Highland Chiriqui, Panama -- Documents, Images, and Datasets. ( tDAR id: 4243) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8VX0HXQ
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
Culture
Archaic
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Bribrí
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Chibchan
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Chiriquí
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columbian
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Concepción Phase
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pre-columbian
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Tropical Forest Archaic
Material
Building Materials
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Ceramic
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Chipped Stone
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Dating Sample
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Fauna
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Ground Stone
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Human Remains
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Macrobotanical
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Metal
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Mineral
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Shell
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Wood
Site Name
Barú
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Bugaba
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Bugavita
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highland Chiriquí
Site Type
Archaeological Feature
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Burial Pit
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Cemetery
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Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
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Domestic Structures
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Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
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Isolated Burial
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Non-Domestic Structures
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Rock Art
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Settlements
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Tomb
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Water-Related
Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview
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Architectural Survey
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Collections Research
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Data Recovery / Excavation
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Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis
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Reconnaissance / Survey
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Records Search / Inventory Checking
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Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
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Site Evaluation / Testing
General
Ethnoarchaelogical
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Ethnography
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Ethnohistorical
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Historical
Geographic Keywords
Barú region
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Barú volcano
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Bay of Chiriquí
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Boquete
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Boruca
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Castilla de Oro
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Chiriquí
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Chiriquí Province
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City of David
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City of Gold
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Isthmus of Panamá
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Mesoamerica
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New World
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Pacific Ocean
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Panama
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Panamá City
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Santiago de Veraguas
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Talamanca Cordillera
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Terraba
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Tierra Firma
Temporal Keywords
1500's
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16th Century
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1700's
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18th Century
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19th Century
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Aguas Buenas Period
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Bugaba Period
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Chiriquí Phases
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Colonial Period
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columbian
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Concepción Phase
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Eighteenth century
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Late Bugaba Phase
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New World
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Nineteenth Century
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pre-Columbian
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sixteenth century
•
Tropical Forest Archaic
Temporal Coverage
Calendar Date: -4600 to 1500
Radiocarbon Date: 680 to 600
Spatial Coverage
min long: -82.62; min lat: 8.124 ; max long: -81.867; max lat: 8.654 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contributor(s): Karen Holmberg
Collaborator(s): Internet Archaeology
Sponsor(s): Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Repository(s): Museo Antropológico Reina Torres de Araúz; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; The British Museum; Musee de l'Homme; Museum of World Culture; Museum fur Volkerkunde; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution; Peabody Museum, Harvard University; Peabody Museum, Yale University; Walters Art Museum
Prepared By(s): Brown University
Resources Inside this Project (Viewing 1-39 of 39)
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Documents
- An Account of a Visit to the Huacas, or Ancient Grave Yards of Chiriqui (1860)
- Archaeological fieldwork in Chiriquí (1936)
- The archaeological problem of Chiriqui (1935)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriqui, Panama SINGLE PDF of Figures
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 34 - 1936 Linne Drawing of Boquete area grave (1936)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 35 -1949 Wassen Drawing Boquete area grave construction (1949)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 36 - 1949 Boquete area grave construction x (1949)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 40 - Schematic drawings of the KOT-J grave construction (Figures 40-43) (2005)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 41 - Schematic drawings of the KOT-J grave construction (Figures 40-43) (2005)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 42 - Schematic drawings of the KOT-J grave construction (Figures 40-43) (2005)
- The Archaeology of Highland Chiriquí Panama: Holmberg FIG 43 - Schematic drawings of the KOT-J grave construction (Figures 40-43) (2005)
- Arrival of the North Star: Interesting From New Granda: Revolution in Carthagena: The Chiriqui Gold Discoveries: Later from California and Oregon (1859)
- Arrival of the Star of the West: News from California and Central America: $1,863,601 in Treasure (1859)
- Boquete Area Ceramics Classification (2010)
- Central American and West Indian Archaeology: Being an Inroduction to the Archaeology of the States of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the West Indies (1916)
- The discovery of gold in the graves of Chiriqui, Panama (1919)
- General Discussion: Use of gold and copper: Human Figures (1887)
- The Gentleman's Magazine (1860)
- Gold Rush Found in the Graves at Chiriqui, Now in the Possesion of Tiffany & Co, and From Sketches Taken by Mr. W.G. Overen, U.S.M. (1859)
- Gold-Hunters in Chiriqui (1859)
- Golden relics from Chiriqui. A paper read before the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia on Thursday October 5 (1867)
- Grave goods from the intact grave at BE-16-KH site (KOT-F unit) (2010)
- Highland Chiriqui Project: Excavated test unites at BE-16-KH (2010)
- The Nautilus Exploring Party (1859)
- The new gold discoveries on the Isthmus of Panama (1859)
- New route through Chiriqui (1861)
- New-Granada: The Chiriqui Diggings Completed (1859)
- Note on Stone Celts, From Chiriqui. (1863)
- Note on the Aboriginal Races of the North-Western Provinces of South America (1884)
- Note on the Archaeology of Chiriqui (1913)
- Note sur les sepultares indiennes du department de Chiriquí, Panamá (1866)
- On the ancient Indian tombs of Chiriqui in Veragua (southwest of Panama), on the Isthmus of Darien (1863)
- The Pacific Coast: Arrival of the Northern Light: Four Days from the Isthmus of Panama: The Chiriqui Gold Fever: Rush of the Population for the Indian Burial-Places: Two Weeks Later From South America (1859)
- Report on the Huacals or Ancient Graveyards of Chiriqui (1860)
- Schooner Nautilus at Chiriqui (1859)
- Some archaeological observations from Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama (1949)
- A Study of Chiriquian Antiquities. Vol. 3 (1911)
- Whole Dacite Slabs recieved from the BE-16-KH (KOT) Graves (2010)
- Yale's Valuable Find: Collection of Chiriqui Antiques Stored Away for Years (1905)