Coclé () is a province of central Panama 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 km2, and had a population of 268,264 in 2023.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.
Pre-Columbian Coclé
During pre-Columbian times, the area of Panama which today includes Coclé province had a number of identifiable native cultures. Archaeologists have loosely designated these cultures by pottery 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.
DistritoArea(km2)Population Estimate2010As at 1 July 2010; adjusted for under-enumeration in 2010 Census. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.Population Estimate2019Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá. Aguadulce46947,47051,668 Antón74853,36157,672 La Pintada1,03027,97630,161 Natá60521,50723,374 Olá3866,8427,366 Penonomé1,70987,60094,908
District Corregimientos (Subdivisions) Cabecera (Seat) Aguadulce District San Juan Bautista de Aguadulce, El Cristo, El Roble, Pocrí, Barrios Unidos San Juan Bautista de Aguadulce Antón District Antón, Cabuya, El Chirú, El Retiro, El Valle, Juan Díaz, Río Hato, San Juan de Dios, Santa Rita, Caballero Antón La Pintada District La Pintada, El Harino, El Potrero, Llano Grande, Piedras Gordas, Las Lomas, Llano Norte La Pintada Natá District Natá de los Caballeros, Capellanía, El Caño, Guzmán, Las Huacas, Toza Natá de los Caballeros Olá District Olá, El Copé, El Palmar, El Picacho, La Pava Olá Penonomé District Penonomé, Cañaveral, Coclé, Chiguirí Arriba, El Coco, Pajonal, Río Grande, Río Indio, Toabré, Tulú, El Valle de San Miguel, Vista Hermosa, Los Uveros, El Silencio Penonomé
Research and conservation Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, established around the crash site of former Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos, is located in the northeastern portion of Coclé. Parque Omar, as it is known, enjoys some legal protection as a national park.
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 Sito Conte On-Line Collection, University of Pennsylvania Museum
Pre-Columbian Jade artifacts from the Cocle Province Pre-Columbian Stone artifacts from Cocle Pre-Columbian Pottery from Cocle Listing of Additional Archaeological Websites