PANAMA CITY: Archaeologists have discovered a tomb more than a thousand years old in Panama containing human remains alongside gold and ceramic artifacts, the lead researcher said on Friday.

The discovery was made at the El Cano site in Nata district, 200 kilometres southwest of Panama City.

Scientists and archaeologists have already unearthed other remains of pre-Hispanic cultures in the region that has been excavated for two decades. The skeletal remains were found surrounded by gold objects and pottery decorated with traditional motifs, pointing to these being “high-ranking” individuals, archaeologist Julia Mayo said, adding that the tomb was built between 800 and 1000 AD.

“The individual with the gold was the one with the highest social status in the group,” she said. That body was found with two bracelets, two earrings, and pectoral jewelry that featured bats and crocodiles, she added.

The El Cano site is linked to the societies that inhabited the central provinces of Panama between the 8th and 11th centuries.

“This is where they buried their dead for 200 years,” said Mayo.

Nine other tombs “similar” to the one found on Friday had already been found at the site, she added. Panama’s Ministry of Culture said the discovery was “of great importance for Panamanian archaeology and the study of pre-Hispanic societies of the Central American isthmus,” referring to the land that connects North and South America.

According to experts, these excavations demonstrate that death did not represent an end for these societies, but a transition to another phase where social status remained important.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2026