Coclé () is a
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of central
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
on the nation's southern coast. The administrative capital is the city of
Penonomé. This province was created by the Act of September 12, 1855 with the title of Department of Coclé during the presidency of
Dr. Justo de Arosemena. It became a province, Decretory Number 190, on October 20, 1985. Coclé is primarily an agricultural area, with sugar and tomatoes as major crops. The province has a number of well-known beaches, such as
Santa Clara, Farallon and
Rio Hato, and tourist activity has increased in recent years. It covers an area of 4,946.6 km
2, and had a population of 268,264 in 2023.
Pre-Columbian Coclé
During
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
times, the area of Panama which today includes Coclé province had a number of identifiable native cultures.
Archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
have loosely designated these cultures by
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
style. The poorly studied La Mula period ranged from 150 BC to AD 300. It was followed by the Tonosi period, from AD 300 to AD 550, and by the Cubita period, from AD 550 to AD 700. A unified
Indigenous culture appears to have flourished in this area from approximately 1200 BC until the 16th century.
Administrative divisions
Coclé Province is divided into 6 ''distritos'' (districts) and subdivided into 44 ''
corregimientos''.
Research and conservation
Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, established around the crash site of former Panamanian leader
Omar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Panamanian military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially ...
, is located in the northeastern portion of Coclé. Parque Omar, as it is known, enjoys some legal protection as a
national park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
.
Coclé is also home to
APROVACA orchid conservation center, which conducts orchid conservation activities, including orchid reintroduction into the wild and a sponsorship program for the Panamanian national flower ''
Peristeria elata''.
Folklorist
Rosita Liao Gonzales was awarded the
Order of Manuel José Hurtado for her work categorizing the cultures of Coclé Province.
[Tomado de: Liao González, Rosita. Las flores de la pollera: pequeño manual para confeccionar y ubicar los tembleques a la usanza coclesana / Rosita Liao González.--Panamá: Editora Sibauste,2003.--23p.]
References
* Lothrop, Samuel Kirland. ''Pre-Columbian Designs from Panama -Illustrations of Coclé Pottery.'' Dover Publications, Toronto, Canada, 1976. .
;Specific
External links
Coclé Archaeological Sites
*
Listing of Additional Archaeological Websites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocle Province
Provinces of Panama
Pre-Columbian pottery
States and territories established in 1855
1855 establishments in the Republic of New Granada