Archaeological studies support the idea that Boquete's history started around the years 300 AD to 600 BC. In the Caldera region you can find petroglyphs (a rock carving, especially a prehistoric one) that are evidence of the ancient settlements in the area. During the Spanish colonization, the highlands area was an isolated refuge for the indigenous tribes like the Ngöbe and the Misquito due to the topographic terrain. The colonization of Boquete only began in earnest in the second half of the nineteenth century, by locals from Bugaba, Gualaca, and David, and foreigners from Yugoslavia, France, Germany, and other European countries. Colonizers also arrived from the United States, starting the first coffee plantations and agricultural farms. In Spanish, the word Boquete means 'gap or opening'. It was through this gap that curious gold seekers trekked, looking for a cheaper and quicker way to the Pacific. By the early twentieth century, several villages had been populated: Lino, Quiel, Bajo Mono, Los Naranjos, and Bajo Boquete, which now is the town center of the district.