There is not much to see in El Caño, Panama, however it is a very interesting archaeological site. The grassy site, where only the ancient stone monoliths are visible, is a cemetery that dates back over a thousand years. Burial site excavations allowed archeologists to discover many skeletons. This helped in gaining knowledge about this little-known pre-Columbian culture. The tomb of the powerful warrior contained many pieces of jewelry. Gold breastplates, bracelets, belts and the most beautiful human headed pendant. Another tomb contained an important chief and possibly his son. Both of them decorated with golden artifacts were arranged on top of a pile of many human skeletons, most likely slaves or captives.
It is believed that El Caño culture was a strong hierarchical chiefdom. The status in the hierarchy was identified by body tattoos. There was even hierarchy among slaves. Their status was visible on the faces. They had symbols tattooed on their foreheads like logos and black covering around both eyes like a small carnival mask.
