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Se descubrió el esqueleto debajo de la piedra, puesto que buscaron ahí.

Se descubrió el esqueleto debajo de la piedra, puesto que buscaron ahí.
The skeleton was discovered under the stone, given that they searched there.
From Lesson 197:Cause connectors (ya que, puesto que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Se descubrió el esqueleto debajo de la piedra, puesto que buscaron ahí.

How exactly does puesto que work in this sentence? Could I just use porque?
Puesto que translates to 'given that' or 'since.' It introduces the logical reason for the discovery. You could definitely use porque (because), but puesto que—just like its close cousin ya que—is slightly more formal and is great for presenting established facts or logical causes.
Why does the sentence start with Se descubrió instead of using the passive voice like in English ('fue descubierto')?
While you can say fue descubierto, Spanish speakers vastly prefer the passive se (se descubrió) when they want to say an action was done to an object without mentioning who did it. Even though it literally looks like 'the skeleton discovered itself,' it is the most natural way to say 'the skeleton was discovered.'
Why use the preterite buscaron (they searched) instead of the imperfect buscaban (they were searching) after puesto que?
We use the preterite buscaron because the search is viewed as a completed, specific action that triggered the discovery. If you used the imperfect buscaban, it would mean 'given that they were searching there,' which describes an ongoing background activity rather than the completed event that directly resulted in finding the skeleton.
The sentence uses ahí for 'there.' Could I use allí or allá?
Yes, you could. Ahí generally means 'there' (relatively close), while allí and allá mean 'over there' (further away). However, in many parts of Latin America, ahí is used very broadly as the default word for 'there,' making it a perfect, natural choice for this sentence.

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