Venado Beach

The site was excavated in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The skeletal remains of a total of 369 individuals were found extended across the Mangopobre Valley. The bulldozing of the site left the graves without any discernable surface indications. The original depths of the graves are a matter of conjecture. However some may have been at depths of up to 15 feet below the surface at the time of burial.^[1] Most remains were found in flexed positions on their sides or backs. Some were found extended and face-up, locally known as a "bathtub burial." About 30% of the burials were on their backs with their hands under their chins, knees to chest and feet crossed. They were so tightly compressed that they were most likely tied together with ropes or in sacks. However, the bodies laid on their sides had not been compressed. About 15% of the bodies were simply extended on their backs. In keeping with the significant variety, these graves were both scattered individuals or associated in compact groups. Most of the burials were blanketed with a layer of red soil, most likely acquired from nearby hills.^[1] Abnormal burials, described below, comprise about 20% of the total.

The graves were found on a flat layer of coquina where lateral displacement of the bones was impossible, meaning that the archaeological record had not been shifting over time.

Excavators found many burials in ceramic urns. While some contained adults, most held children. Lothrop suggested that these children may have been expected to age and serve in the next life. However, these social status positions were sometimes reversed. In one case, a child had been buried with gold jewelry and elaborate pottery accompanied by an adult urn with no decoration or grave goods.^[1]

While it is difficult to identify evidence of suicide in osteological data, some of the archaeological evidence does support the practice of suicide in the manner described by Oviedo. The remains of fifteen bodies in orderly rows suggests death had occurred before interment, perhaps by poisoning. There is evidence for some individuals having been buried alive; some were found with their mouths open as if gasping for air while others died while biting their fingers.^[1] However, suicide was not the only method of unnatural death at the site.

Several individuals showed evidence of having been intentionally killed, perhaps as sacrifices. Two methods for which there was evidence was breaking the back or the neck. In two specific instances, individuals with broken backs were found face-up with their knees up near one shoulder. In both cases, these individuals were holding bundles of bones, possibly representing their masters. The flesh of these individuals had been systematically removed and in at least one case, their bones had been painted purple.^[1]

Around 25% of the human remains were classified as having evidence for the individuals having been mutilated. These were put into two categories: bundle burials and ritual burials.

Bundle burials are burials in which the bones have been preserved and stripped of flesh. They are often considered to be the bones of the nobility because of the slaves found buried in association. These burials generally had the most elaborate graves. For example, in one exceptional case a body of a presumably important leader was found disarticulated and placed into two separate graves with about twenty graves placed nearby.^[1]

There are several types of ritual burials, including individuals who had been decapitated. Sometimes the heads had been buried with the body, other times they had been removed (possibly as trophies). In some cases, heads had been buried with a separate but whole body. The decapitations had been undertaken leaving the mandible intact. Often near the mandible there were two upper canine teeth, presumably extracted from the maxilla before or after removal. This ritual was done with precision and skill, suggesting a long term of use.^[1]

A second form of ritual burial was the removal of arms or legs. One arm was often cut off at the shoulder, and placed on top of the other arm. In some cases, graves contained the separated arms or legs of other bodies.^[1] Harte had excavated an individual whose legs had been severed.^[1]

The last form of ritual burials had amputated fingers. In some cases, the phalanges were either placed in seashells near the body or scattered around the head. In three cases, the phalanges were found inside of the cranium.^[1]

Harte's excavation yielded two other types of mutilation. One burial had nothing but pottery and part of a pelvis.^[1]

Gold and especially tumbaga artwork at Venado Beach represents some of the most superb examples of lost-wax casting from the time.^[4] Frog forms in art are common in Panama, possibly representing fertility.^[4] It is similar to that of the Veraguas region of Panama.^[3]

After his excavations, Montgomery donated some objects to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of these, one example is a pendant in the form of a frog, most likely made between the 6th and 11th centuries. Its size, aesthetic, and technical mastery are considered to indicate that it is one of the best examples from the entire Isthmo-Colombian Area. Gold nose rings were also recovered.^[2]