National and international anthropologists meet in Panama with the support of Cobre Panama

– Cobre Panama sponsors the XIV Central American Congress of Anthropology.

Panama, October 20, 2023 – The Central American Anthropology Network and the School of Anthropology of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Panama are holding the XIV Central American Congress of Anthropology, with the support of Cobre Panama.

Under the slogan “Memories, spaces and times: continuing to build anthropology”, anthropologists from Central America, South America, the Caribbean, North America and Europe participate in this important academic event with the aim of generating cooperation and research networks, as well as designing regional master’s and doctoral programs.

Encouraging the exchange of ideas and information on the deep history of the ancient inhabitants of the Central Caribbean, Carlos Gómez, director of the Cobre Panama Archaeological Project, coordinated the Round Table ¨Archaeology in the Central Caribbean: a look through new data¨, where specialists who have conducted studies in this region were able to present the contributions of their research. This round table had special emphasis on the contributions to the knowledge of the archaeological cultures that inhabited the Donoso region obtained through the investigations carried out for more than a decade within the framework of the Cobre Panama project.

At this table, the specialists in archaeology of Cobre Panamá, Carlos Gómez, Karen Briones, Alejandra Quintero and Lilia Godoy, presented the most recent results of the lines of research that have brought them closer to the knowledge of the ancient inhabitants of Donoso: ethnohistory, the study of diet through archaeometric analysis, settlement patterns and ceramics, respectively.

The specialist in lithic technology, archaeologist Fernando Bustamente, also shared the results of the analysis of lithic artifacts recovered as part of the Cobre Panama Project. For her part, anthropology student Ana Ureña
shared her experience as an intern in the Cobre Panama project and the advances of her research that will contribute to expand knowledge about the region.

Similarly, at this table, Dr. Guillermina De Gracia presented the contributions of the heritage education campaign “Proyecto Arqueológico Cobre Panamá llega a tu escuela”, which has been carried out with the support and in coordination with the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) and the Regional Directorate of Coclé, whose objective has been to publicize the results of archaeological research carried out for more than 10 years under the Cobre Panamá project and raise awareness in the student community about the importance of heritage protection. To date, Cobre Panama archaeologists have visited more than 40 schools and disseminated archaeological information to more than 6,000 students and teachers.

In the more than ten years of rigorous and uninterrupted archaeological research carried out by the team of specialists of the Cobre Panama project, they have revealed more than 700 archaeological contexts that show evidence of human occupation in this region during the pre-Hispanic period, that is, before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century, until after contact with Europeans. In addition, studies have shown that the Central Caribbean region of Panama, where the project is being developed, has been inhabited for more than 2,300 years.

This information has also been disseminated through the “Ancestral Donoso and La Pintada” room of the Penonomé Museum, where pre-Hispanic artifacts from Panama’s Central Caribbean are on display, showing that the region was inhabited by agricultural societies linked to the Pacific cultures.

During the event, a tribute was paid to Dr. Reina Torres de Araúz, Panamanian professor and anthropologist, considered a seminal figure in national anthropology and defender of Panamanian historical heritage, and to Dr. Richard G. Cooke, English scientist who dedicated more than 50 years to science and research in Panama, enhancing the archaeological and patrimonial wealth of our country.