Proyecto Arqueológico Sitio Drago
Discovered in the summer of 2002, Sitio Drago is a large (15 ha) site located on the Caribbean shore at Boca del Drago, on northwest corner Isla Colón in the Bocas del Toro archipelago. The local environment is hot, humid and alive with all sorts of exotic tropical plants and animals – ashore, on the reefs and in the mangroves. The ceramic artifacts collected from Sitio Drago exhibit a diversity of specimens that hint at external connections to Chiriqui on the Pacific coast and SW Costa Rica, and the central valley and Guanacaste regions in northwest Costa Rica. Carved stone “metate” fragments recovered from Sitio Drago are similar to complete examples found throughout Panama and Costa Rica. Given the diverse array of artifacts the project is focused on examining what the site can tell us about prehistoric social organization, trade and external relations in the region and whether Sitio Drago represents a unique chiefly settlement.
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Room and Board Specifics
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Students will live in dormitory like accommodations located in a rented house at Boca del Drago on the northwest corner of Isla Colón, in Caribbean northwest Panama's picturesque Bocas del Toro archipelago. The house is located 20 m from palm shaded white sand beaches and a short walk from mature triple canopy jungle. UCLA Summer Sessions reserves the right to change the housing location. Should this become necessary, we will arrange comparable accommodations elsewhere.
MEALS:
Three hot meals will be provided each day. All meals will be served cafeteria style in the Restaurante Yarisnori, on the beach in Drago. Please let us know when you apply for this program if you have special dietary needs, as well as any medical or physical conditions. We will advise you accordingly.
Students will live in dormitory like accommodations located in a rented house at Boca del Drago on the northwest corner of Isla Colón, in Caribbean northwest Panama's picturesque Bocas del Toro archipelago. The house is located 20 m from palm shaded white sand beaches and a short walk from mature triple canopy jungle. UCLA Summer Sessions reserves the right to change the housing location. Should this become necessary, we will arrange comparable accommodations elsewhere.
MEALS:
Three hot meals will be provided each day. All meals will be served cafeteria style in the Restaurante Yarisnori, on the beach in Drago. Please let us know when you apply for this program if you have special dietary needs, as well as any medical or physical conditions. We will advise you accordingly.
Schedule
July 4, Arrive via flight from Panama City.
July 5-6, Orientation with the station, sites, trails, natural history, lectures.
July 7-10, Survey, mapping, and surface collection inland on Isla Colon.
July 11-31, Mapping and excavation at Sitio Drago.
August 1-6, Focused excavation and Lab work.
August 7, leave Bocas.
July 5-6, Orientation with the station, sites, trails, natural history, lectures.
July 7-10, Survey, mapping, and surface collection inland on Isla Colon.
July 11-31, Mapping and excavation at Sitio Drago.
August 1-6, Focused excavation and Lab work.
August 7, leave Bocas.
Tuition
Number of credits: 12 UCLA credit units
Offered by: UCLA
Tuition: $4,200 UC Students; $4,650 all others
Offered by: UCLA
Tuition: $4,200 UC Students; $4,650 all others
Organized Activities
EXCURSIONS:
Field trips will be made to significant local archaeological and ecological sites including bird rookeries, coral reefs, mangroves, jungle, swamps and caves. This program has limited free time for independent sightseeing. Please consult with the faculty about independent travel during the program.
Field trips will be made to significant local archaeological and ecological sites including bird rookeries, coral reefs, mangroves, jungle, swamps and caves. This program has limited free time for independent sightseeing. Please consult with the faculty about independent travel during the program.
Personal Travel Restrictions
You are responsible for making your own travel arrangements. Please plan to arrive in Bocas del Toro by July 4, as classes will begin on Monday, July 5 at 9:00 am. Upon arrival you will be transferred from the airport to the field station at Drago.
We recommend that you fly directly to the Tocumen International Airport (airport code: PTY) and either spend the night in Panama City or allow plenty of time (5 hours) for transfer to airport for your flight to Bocas del Toro (from Marcus A. Gelabert municipal airport, the old Albrook AFB). If you choose to layover in Panama, we recommend Hotel El Parador in Panama City (http://www.hotelparadorpanama.com/ good neighborhood, prices $40‐45).
A number of airlines fly to Panama City. The best prices are typically associated with the purchase of an international flight originating in the US. Continental airlines and its partner COPA both fly to PTY. COPA flies the only direct nonstop from LAX to PTY. Tickets can be purchased electronically.
2 airlines fly from Panama Cityʹs domestic airport (old Albrook AFB) to Bocas del Toro: Aeroperlas (http://www.aeroperlas.com/) and Air Panama (http://www.flyairpanama.com/tickets/). Tickets can be purchased electronically.
Taxi from PTY to Hotel Parador is $25. Taxi from Hotel Prador to Marcus A. Gelabert (old Albrook AFB) Municipal Airport should be around $5.
VISA REQUIREMENTS:
All US passport holders are required to purchase a tourist card for entry into Panama. Tourist cards are available prior to check in for the international leg of your flight at US airports, on the plane, and just before immigration at Tocumen International Airport outside Panama City, Panama. The tourist cards are valid for 90 days. For more information, visit the US State Department website (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_994.html)
Contact Info
Dr. Thomas A. Wake
Contact Person:
Dr. Thomas A. Wake
310.825.3050
Affiliates and Sponsors
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
Recommended Readings
Cooke, R.G.
2005. Prehistory of Native Americans on the Central American Land Bridge: Colonization, Dispersal, and Divergence. Journal of Archaeological Research 13(2):129-187.
Gordon, B.L.
1962. Notes on Shell Mounds Near the Caribbean Coast of Western Panama. Panama Archaeologist 5:1-9.
Linares, O.F.
1976. "Garden Hunting" in the American Tropics. Human Ecology 4(4):331-349.
________.
1977. Adaptive Strategies in Western Panama. World Archaeology 8(3):304-319.
Linares de Sapir, O.F.
1968. Ceramic Phases for Chiriqui, Panama, and Their Relationship to Neighboring Sequences. American Antiquity 33(2):216-225.
Hoopes, J.W.
2005. The Emergence of Social Complexity in the Chibchan World of Southern Central America and Northern Colombia, AD 300–600. Journal of Archaeological Research 13(1):1-47.
Wake, T.A.
2006. Prehistoric Exploitation of the Swamp Palm (Raphia taedigera:Aracacae) at Sitio Drago, Isla Colón, Bocas del Toro Province, Panamá. The Caribbean Journal of Science 42(1):11-19.
Wake, T.A., J. de Leon and C. Fitzgerald B.
2004. Prehistoric Sitio Drago, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Antiquity 78(300) June 2004: http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/wake/
