Bocas Del Toro

In this study, we conducted the first petrographic analysis of pottery from several Pre-Columbian archaeological sites located in Bocas del Toro province along the Caribbean coast of Panama. The fifty-four sherds examined in this study included surface finds collected from the sites of Red Frog (RF) and Punta Vieja Arriba (PVA) on Bastimentos Island, the Cerro Brujo (CB) site on the mainland, and excavated samples from Sitio Drago (SD), Isla Colon. Petrographic examination of sherd thin sections shows that different sandy materials (seven constituent natural and/or manually-added temper groups) were used in their production. Representative sherd compositions from each group were determined by petrographic point-counts (n = 200) using two matrix (silt and clay) and 14 mineral and rock fragment categories for sand grains. The sand in RF sherds is mainly fragments of mudstone, whereas sherds from the PVA and CB sites contain different proportions of sand-sized quartz, feldspar, dense minerals, and several varieties of volcanic lithic fragments. The latter components are constituents derived from local Panamanian geologic units, including one with pyroclastic temper that likely comes from a volcanically active region, such as the El Baru Volcano. Some of the archaeological sites (SD and PVA) have a greater variety of sherd compositional/temper groups than others, implying that people inhabiting these sites were actively engaged in acquiring materials and/or ceramics from multiple sources regionally.

We present a rare case of primary bone cancer principally affecting the right humerus of a skeleton from the pre-Columbian site of Cerro Brujo (1265–1380 CE) in Bocas del Toro, on the Caribbean coast of Panamá, excavated in the early 1970s. The humerus contains a dense, calcified sclerotic mass with associated lytic lesions localized around the midshaft of the diaphysis. Evidence of systemic inflammation and anemia, likely caused by the cancer, are visible in the form of severe porotic hyperostosis of the cranial vault and bilateral periosteal reactions in the tibiae. Differential diagnosis and future probes of the tumor are discussed. A tooth from the individual yielded a radiocarbon date 150 years later than those of the domestic occupation at the site. Given that it was the only formal burial recovered from the site, and as the individual had such a visible, painful, and rare pathology, this likely constitutes a ritual burial.

Sponges are an ecologically important component of modern Caribbean coral reefs.
However, little is known about the structure of sponge communities prior to the large-scale degradation
of Caribbean reef ecosystems. Here we explore changes in the sponge community over the
past millennium by analyzing the composition of sponge spicules from a sediment core collected
from a lagoonal reef within the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Caribbean Panama. The analysis
reveals a change in spicule composition that began approximately 400 yr ago. During this time,
the share of monaxial spicules, belonging mostly to haplosclerid and axinellid sponges, decreased
while the relative number of spherical spicules, found typically in Placospongia, Geodia, and some
chondrillids, increased. These results were compared with previously published data on parrotfish,
corals, and reef accretion rates obtained from the same core. The increased share of spherical
spicules did not correlate with contemporaneous declines in the abundance of parrotfish (de -
termined from fish teeth) or with trends in the relative abundance of dominant coral species
(determined from coral skeletal remains) but was weakly correlated with reef accretion rates (de -
termined from sediment accumulation rates). Spicule morphogroup diversity and evenness
increased over the past ~400 yr, suggesting community changes were not due to reef environments
becoming less habitable for reef sponges. Although not tested directly, the increase in
spherical spicules may be due to declines in the abundance of sea turtles that preferentially feed
on sponges that contain these spicule types.

A paleolimnological and environmental reconstruction of the volcanic Lake Boquete, in the northern highlands of Panama, was produced based on diatom, sediment, and charcoal analyses. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the long-term anthropogenic effect in Lake Boquete and its watershed, a unique space (Gran Chiriquí region) where human occupation and nature have interacted since ~7000 yr BP (years Before Present). Our results indicate two main periods of environmental change. In the first period, from ~2840 to 1740 cal yr BP (calibrated years Before Present), the lake was under the influence of high-energy flow regimes and high erosion rates. Water pH was gradually changing from neutral to alkaline. There’s evidence of fires with four main events, some appear to be natural as indicated by the proxies, while others seem to be associated with anthropic causes most likely related to intense periods of cultivation; a particularly intense fire event is identified at ~2607 cal yr BP. We infer that during this period the lake and its watershed were under intense human impact. In the second period, from ~1740 to 197 cal yr BP, the lake was under a steady low-energy flow regime, submerged vegetation was more abundant, and pH became more acidic, fire events were less frequent. We infer that these conditions were the result of land abandonment due to human migration to the lowlands. Notwithstanding intense and frequent dry climate spells during the second period, Lake Boquete water levels were not affected, and thus, this record suggest that the main cause of environmental and limnological change in Lake Boquete and its watershed has been anthropogenic activities.

Keywords: Paleolimnology, late Holocene, diatoms, charcoal, sediment, Panama.