From January 26 to 29, the Pre-Columbian Studies Program organized a workshop on the ‘The Art and Archaeology of Central America and Colombia’ hosted by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama City. The workshop was attended by an invited group of international scholars and represents the latest stage in the development of the definitive catalog of the Dumbarton Oaks collections from Central America and Colombia. The goal was to present and discuss recent archaeological fieldwork and collections research drawing on current investigations in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, as well as addressing the history of Pre-Hispanic contact and exchange between Central America and Mesoamerica, the Caribbean, and points south. The workshop therefore explored the far-reaching material connections within the ‘Greater Central American’ region. The contextualization of objects, their technologies, and the wider cultural practices in which they are embedded will play an integral role in the catalog, and the organizers will ensure that the conversations that began in Panama City continue throughout the year ahead.
The workshop, funded by Dumbarton Oaks, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, was held at STRI’s headquarters. On Thursday, participants visited El Caño (in the Coclé province), the site of a large funerary complex that developed between AD 700 and 1000, where they were led on a tour by the site’s investigators, building on their visit to the laboratory of the Fundación El Caño two days earlier.
Please feel free to view the workshop program here: Dumbarton Oaks Panama Workshop Agenda_Final
Additional comments and media related to the workshop will be posted in the coming days, so please keep on the lookout!
Some of the participants in conversation at the workshop reception hosted by STRI
Pre-Columbian Studies 