A new tomb has been discovered at the El Cao Archaeological Site abundantly furnished with offerings of ceramics and gold. The tomb dates between 800 and 1000 A.D. and because of the rich array of grave goods, according to the Culture Ministry of Panama, the find is of great importance for Panamanian archaeology and the study of pre-Hispanic societies of the Central American isthmus.The existence of Tomb 3 was first identified in 2009 when an survey detected a large number of ceramic and metal fragments. It wasnt excavated until this year, however, and is now revealing its full structure and rich furnishings. It contains numerous funerary offerings of fine ceramics and decorated gold ornaments including earrings, bracelets and large pectorals decorated with bats and crocodiles which were typical motifs in the art and iconography of El Cao.It is a multiple burial featuring a central figure accompanied by several other individuals. The grave is an area reserved for the elites of the Cocl culture, and the central burial is someone of high status from one of the families of leaders or chiefs. Cocl leaders accumulated items of great prestige, but the gold in the tombs was not valued as specie or currency. It held religious symbolism as an eternal material because of its beauty is not subject to corrosion or decomposition.The archaeological site of El Cao, 124 miles southwest of Panama City, was a ceremonial complex of the Cocl people. Previous discoveries of opulent burials have led to the area being dubbed Panamas Valley of the Kings, and the vast majority of the necropolis has yet to be excavated.The evidence accumulated in Tomb 3 allows for a revision of models regarding the emergence of complex chiefdoms in the isthmus, suggesting the existence of centralized societies that operated between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. These communities had the capacity to organize long-distance exchange networks and large-scale ceremonies, consolidating this site as one of the most important pre-Hispanic cemeteries in the region.