A Trip to Parque Arqueológico de El Caño

...or if you are an English speaker, Caño Archeological Park.  We met a group of about 40 people and drove for over an hour on a bus to get to the park. This was a great way to learn more about Panama's history, and a little about archeology. Some of the things we saw dated back to 800 BC, including bones, pottery, and sacrificial stones. 

The burial sites/tombs were interesting. In this particular culture, a man could have up to 10 wives, depending on his wealth. Once he died, everyone else in his family, including slaves, were sacrificed, which enabled them to spend eternity with their loved one. One son was typically spared in order to pass on the family name. This sacrifice was seen as a great honor and those who refused this honor lived in disgrace. 

 It was also not uncommon for a prisoner of war to also be sacrificed.

The sacrificing stones from afar

We got to see a site being excavated. This location had several tombs. The wall of sandbags (right of the picture) shows an area they already excavated. 

Pottery and statues were also viewable to us. 

The trip was worth playing hooky with Spanish class. Not only did we get the opportunity to learn more about Panama's history, we also got to have a fun day to do something unique. I am not entirely sure what this upcoming week will be like, other than more running, which is not such a bad thing anymore (yes, I actually said that).