Ethnohistorical Approaches to Panamanian Archaeology: Toward an Enhanced Conversation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A significant, yet not fully recognized contribution of Richard Cooke’s to the understanding of Panamanian archaeology were his erudite analyses of contact time chronicles and documentation. Through systematic contrast and comparison of documents, landscapes, linguistic and archaeological evidence, particularly concerning environmental transformations, resource use, and sociopolitical change, Cooke was able not only to assess geo-demographic and social complexity issues relevant to archaeological research but also vindicate the ancestral ties of Panama’s indigenous populations to their territories and contest colonial narratives. In this paper we will review Cooke’s ethnohistorical approach and evaluate methodological and theoretical issues concerning the interpretation of diversity and change in the archaeological record. Of particular concern will be the recent genetic evidence about the relationships between extant and ancient Panamanian populations and the growing trend toward a more informed understanding about intra- and interregional contacts as evidenced (or not) in the archaeological and ethnohistorical records.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Unraveling the Mysteries of the Isthmo-Colombian Area’s Past: A Symposium in Honor of Archaeologist Richard Cooke and His Contributions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40054.0