In Panama, archaeologists have just found a thousand-year-old tomb containing human remains surrounded by gold jewelry and ceramics. This was reported by France Presse.
The burial was discovered at the El Cano archaeological site in the Nata region, about 200 kilometers southwest of Panama City.
Excavations at the site have been going on for about twenty years, and scientists have previously found graves of pre-Hispanic cultures here. However, the new tomb, according to project director Julia Mayo, stands out for its rich grave goods. It dates from around 800–1000 AD.
So, among gold objects and ceramics with traditional patterns, a skeleton was discovered. Researchers paid special attention to two bracelets, earrings and a chest decoration depicting bats and crocodiles. As Mayo notes, a person buried with gold jewelry may have occupied the highest social status within his group.
The site of El Cano is associated with societies that inhabited the central provinces of Panama in the 8th-11th centuries. It is believed that for about two centuries it served as a cemetery for members of the upper class; Archaeologists previously discovered nine similar tombs here.
Panama's Ministry of Culture emphasized the importance of the discovery for national archeology and the study of pre-Hispanic societies in the Central American Isthmus, the territory connecting North and South America. According to experts, the nature of burial shows that death in these cultures is considered a transition to another stage of existence, where social status still matters, AFP reported.
Before that, archaeologists found it evidence of ancient rituals in Tel Megiddo, a place associated with the final battle between good and evil. A ceramic sanctuary and an exaggerated ceremonial vase in the shape of a ram were discovered there. These artifacts are more than three thousand years old and were created by the Canaanites, an ancient Semitic people living in the Levant.
