Cerro Juan Diaz
Site#STRI_001
DescriptionSouthern (Los Santos) bank of the La Villa River around a hill called Cerro Juan DiazLocation InfoLarge (~150 ha) archaeological site located in the north-eastern corner of the Azuero Peninsula in central Pacific Panama. Cultural materials and low mounded features are found on both banks of the La Villa River, which rises in the mountains of the Azuero Peninsula ca. 120 km inland, and empties into Parita Bay. The site lies 2.5 km north of the township of Los Santos, formally founded by the Spanish crown in 1569 CE, but settled earlier. The active marine shore is now 4.3 km from LS-3; but coastal progradation from ca. 8000 BP onward has slowly distanced the site from the active marine shore. Most of the fieldwork conducted at LS-3 between 1992 and 2000 concentrated on the southern (Los Santos) bank of the La Villa River around a hill called Cerro Juan Diaz, which rises 42 m above the riverine plain, and is a prominent local landmark.