Panama - Archaeological Site and Historic Centre of Panamá City

Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo: N: 995933,051; E: 666505,166 Historic Centre of Panamá City Within Casco Antiguo: N: 989913,756; E: 661089,998 Panama City is directly associated with important interchanges of human values throughout its history due to its strategic position on the Central American Isthmus. As a terminal city and link of important communication routes, Panama City contributed to the expansion of the Spanish culture, language and customs in America and to important interchange of values with American and African culture, languages, customs and beliefs, along with the spread of the Catholic religion. It also contributed to the African diaspora brought about by the slave trade and to the history of piracy in the region. The continuous flow of intercontinental and interoceanic communications through Panama City allowed this interchange to morph into new forms, expressions and human values that persist in American cultures. The serial property ‘Archaeological Site and Historic Centre of Panama City’ has two components: the Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and the Historic Centre of Panama City. Each component represents a different stage in the city’s development; this situation itself is extraordinary. Panama as a city whose power centre was relocated in order to continue its strategic functions in the Central American Isthmus, after a pirate attack, is a unique case in Latin America.