Amphibian goddess
The ritual significance of a classic Maya sweat bath in Guatemala
Octubre 23, 2020
An unusual offering in an abandoned and unique-looking structure revealed new evidence of the role it played in the community
An unusual offering in an abandoned and unique-looking structure revealed new evidence of the role it played in the community
STRI staff scientist Richard Cooke has been elected to the Committee of Honor of the International Council for Archaeozoology, of which he has been a member since 1993.
The next time you eat seafood, think about the long-term effects. Will consistently eating the biggest fish or the biggest conch, mean that only the smaller individuals will have a chance to reproduce?
Lightning is common in the tropics, but its ecological effects in tropical forests are poorly understood. Steve Yanoviak, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Louisville, will summarize the basic physics of lightning, how we study lightning in Panama and the importance of lightning as an agent of tropical tree mortality.
A new study asks when and how the Ngäbe indigenous group began to practice dental modification
Ongoing research by thousands of scientists is continually strengthening our understanding of the impact of climate change on our planet. Steve Paton, director of STRI’s physical monitoring program, will present an overview of the latest information concerning greenhouse gas production, global warming, and the threats posed by climate change, as well as some possible solutions to these challenges.
Nine articles explore impacts of ancient human societies on tropical ecosystems, revealing the importance of incorporating the paleosciences, social sciences and Indigenous traditional knowledge to solve contemporary environmental challenges.
How did people survive in the tropics, hundreds and even thousands of years ago? Where did they live, and what did they eat? What diseases did they encounter? New methods allow archaeologists to reconstruct the individual lives of people in more detail than ever before. Listen to Smithsonian archaeologists Ashley Sharpe and Nicole Smith-Guzmán examine the lives and histories of three very different villages in ancient Panama.
When he’s not racing his bike cross-country, Milton Garcia is in demand for his expertise flying drones. In the last month, he monitored mangrove deforestation on Panama’s Pacific coast, mapped a new research station in Coiba National Park and tracked blooming trees on Barro Colorado Island, the first plot in an international network of forest monitoring sites.
Panama's deep history has been the subject of much research over many decades. "Panama, much more than a land bridge" is the first book written in Spanish and from Panama dedicated exclusively to addressing the discoveries and analyses surrounding the archeology of this territory.