Stirring the Ashes: archaeologies of ruination on the site of Old Panama

Summary

In 1671, Henry Morgan’s attack on the city of Panama put an end to its history as the first European settlement to take root on the shores of the Pacific.  Burnt down to ashes, the once buoyant urban center entered a process of ruination through which new generations of Panamanians have gradually forgotten or reinvented the memory of the places where their ill-fated ancestors used to live. This paper discusses some concrete examples of how archaeological research conducted at the World Heritage site of Old Panama has contributed to a better understanding of the lives of mostly anonymous individuals who lost everythingl in the great fire that consumed their colonial town. By documenting the material universe of some of these unfortunate men and women, archaeology allows us to trace a vivid picture of the hardships brought about by dramatic, violent and unexpected urban changes typical of colonial contexts.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• In the City: archaeology and the personal experience of urban transition   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 662