River of Gold--Precolumbian Treasures from Sitio Conte

Book excerpt: In 1940 the Museum sponsored excavations at the necropolis of Sitio Conte on the Pacific coastal plain 100 miles southwest of Panama City. The cemetery had been used by the local elite and their subordinates for over seven hundred years, until its abandonment during the tenth to twelfth centuries A.D. The focus is on Burial 11, whose main occupant was buried with fantastic gold objects. Included are essays on the excavations, the goldworking techniques, and the significance of the decorative motifs, as well as a catalogue of the gold objects. Illustrations include many color photographs along with archival photographs of the original excavations.