The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed renewed interest in the site. A German-Panamanian team of archaeologists excavated the remains of a structure in 2001, which suggested to them that Barriles was probably a village rather than an empty ceremonial center or cemetery.(Beilke-Voigt 2002) This large excavation block has been left open for tourists to visit today. Dr. Karen Holmberg (Brown University) sampled volcanic stata from this excavation,(Holmberg 2009) though much of her work was ultimately conducted near the modern towns of Boquete and Caldera on the other side of the volcano. Dr. Scott Palumbo (College of Lake County) recently conducted the most extensive work at the site by sampling different domestic sectors with hundreds of small excavations.(Palumbo 2009) His work suggested that Barriles contained a far denser residential population compared to other sites in the region, and that the activities which drew people to the village were likely ceremonial feasts, perhaps associated with funerary rituals. Differences between social ranks, however, was subtle and not nearly as clear as the distinctions supposedly advertised in the double individual statues.
