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Approach to the Study of the Phenomenon of Multiple Burials at El Caño, Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2020

Julia Mayo Torné ,
Carlos Mayo Torné ,
Mercedes Guinea Bueno ,
Miguel Ángel Hervás Herrera  and
Jesus Herrerín López
Julia Mayo Torné*
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas del Istmo (CIAI)–Fundación El Caño (FEC) / National Research System of the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation, Fundación El Caño, APO 0819-04446, El Dorado, Panama City, Panama
Carlos Mayo Torné
Affiliation:
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Dirección Nacional de Patrimonio Histórico-CIAI/FEC, Fundación El Caño, APO 0819-04446, El Dorado, Panama City, Panama ([email protected])
Mercedes Guinea Bueno
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid-CIAI/FEC, Av. Valladolid, 75-2ºB, 28008, Madrid, Spain ([email protected])
Miguel Ángel Hervás Herrera
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas del Istmo, El Dorado, Panama City, Panama ([email protected])
Jesus Herrerín López
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-CIAI/FEC, Madrid, Spain ([email protected])
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

In this article we present a study that seeks to explain the nature of, and the mortuary practices behind, the burials containing multiple individuals at the site of El Caño, Panama (part of the “Gran Coclé” archaeological tradition, ca. AD 700–1000). We set out to test our first impression of these burials as products of sumptuous funerals held upon the death of the rulers that included, among other practices, human sacrifice. With this in mind, our research aims to elucidate the status relationships between individuals, the circumstances of their deaths, and the religious and symbolic significance of their burials. The results reveal the presence of an individual of higher status within every tomb, the existence of a pattern with respect to the status of those who accompany that individual, the practice of mortuary treatments typical of sacrificial contexts, toxic substances, an iconography referring to human sacrifice, and the clear intention of using a burial as a representation of social order. Considering all this, we conclude that multiple burials at this site should be interpreted as high status. Our study highlights the practice of human sacrifice in funerary rituals linked to that status.

En este trabajo se presenta un estudio que busca explicar la naturaleza de las prácticas mortuorias que están detrás de los entierros múltiples en el sitio El Caño, Panamá (tradición arqueológica de “Gran Coclé”, ca. 700–1000 dC). Se intenta poner a prueba la hipótesis acerca de que estos entierros fueron producto de suntuosos funerales celebrados tras la muerte de los gobernantes, que incluían, entre otras prácticas, sacrificios humanos. Teniendo esto en cuenta, la investigación tiene como objeto esclarecer las relaciones de estatus entre los individuos, las circunstancias de sus muertes y el significado religioso y simbólico de los entierros. Los resultados revelan la presencia de un individuo de estatus superior, la existencia de un patrón con respecto al estatus de quienes lo acompañan, la práctica de tratamientos mortuorios típicos de contextos de sacrificio, sustancias tóxicas, una iconografía referida al sacrificio humano y una clara intención de utilizar a los entierros como representación del orden social. En función de esto, concluimos que los entierros múltiples de este sitio deben ser interpretados como entierros de alto estatus. Asimismo, este estudio destaca la práctica del sacrificio humano durante los rituales funerarios.

Keywords

multiple burialshuman sacrificecomplex societiesGran Cocle traditionentierros múltiplessacrificio humanosociedades complejastradición Gran Coclé
Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 20 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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