The Indigenous History of El Salvador

Guanacos: From ancient South Africa to Spain

Salvadorans are called 'guanacos' rather affectionately by some, perhaps disparagingly by others. Most Salvadorans are proud of the name. As is turns out, 'guanaco' has a long, important history and demonstrates the centrality of Salvadorans in the history of indigenous in the Americas.

A common word that comes from the same root is guano, which means bird poop, bat droppings, or dung in general and is associated with coastal areas and caves. Merriam Webster says that guano was first used as a word in 1604 in coastal Peru. Of course what they mean is that 1604 is when Europeans first used the word. When we look at the key words associated with guano, the one most likely to share a meaning with guanaco is caves.

As I have pointed out, guanaco means brother or sister, not literally but figuratively, as in one who shares a cave.

Looking for a common root word for caves I looked at the Austronesian languages of southeast Asia, where the first peoples came from. In Malay, gua or guwa is cave and in Indonesian it is goa. We find the root word for cave, whether it was originally gua or guana, preserved in the Austronesian languages, going back 15,000 years, when the first peoples sailed across the Pacific Ocean and landed at Monte Verde, Chile. Interestingly, in Malay gu means "a yoke, a couple, a pair, fellows, mates." Gua and gu seem to share the same relationship in Malay as do guana and guanaco in ancient Amerind.

I am not yet clear why the Andean animal, the wilder cousin of the llama and alpaca, is called guanaco. My guess is that in the earliest times the name was given to all these large animals as a term of endearment. Perhaps some were domesticated that early and even shared the caves in Peru. In any case, this confirms a common root language between the Andes and Central America and the migration of the ancestors of the Central American people from South America.

The prevalence of the Lenca people in carrying the Guana oral tradition forward is shown by the name of the guanacaste tree and villages named Guanacaste throughout Lenca speaking areas. In contrast, the Ch'orti's call the guanacaste, 'conacaste'. I believe that guanacaste means "council of the brotherhood/sisterhood." These council meetings were often held under the great shade of the guanacaste (left), leading to the naming of the tree. The ceiba, another large tree, is used as the symbol of the world tree by Maya. One can't help but wonder if the Lenca used the guanacaste as their symbol of the world tree. It would add layers of meaning to the concept of the world tree.

Guana is a common place name fragment throughout the Americas, showing its continued use over thousands of years among many different language groups:

• Guanacaste province, Costa Rica
• Baia Guanabara, Brasil
• Guanajuato, Mexico
• Guancora River, El Salvador
• Guanaja Island, Honduras
• Guanabacoa, Cuba
• Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
• Guana Island, Antigua (also spelled Guiana)

This latter island is interesting - is the second spelling (Guiana) due to an European error or was it reflecting an inflection or change in the way that guana was pronounced over time? If the latter, then we must begin to see Guyana and possibly Guinea (Bissau), Guinea, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and Papau New Guinea all sharing in the name Guana - a name brought by ocean travellers who gave the highest honor "brother and sister" to the peoples that they met around the globe.

The term guanaco or at least guana also made it to Europe, starting in the Mediterranean. In Spanish we have the names Juan and Juana, which are clear derivatives of guana. The first peoples visited Europe, especially the Mediterranean, many times. The names Juan and Juana spread to many other languages in Europe and the Middle East. In most cases they are the most popular name, especially the male names. They still retain their original "brother" and "sister" ("of the same cave") meaning. No wonder that Brother John slips off the tongue so easily.

We have moved forward with the movement of the word guana. Now it's time to take a big step back. When researching this topic, I was surprised to be find a resort in South Africa called "Montagu Guana Cave Christian Guest Farm", located in the southwest of South Africa. Ignoring whatever a Christian Guest Farm is, consider the words "Guana Cave". There is a cave in South Africa called Guana, sharing a meaning found in Malay and throughout the Americas. The ancestors of the first peoples in the Americas, like the Austronesian peoples in Asia, left South Africa about 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. The word guana has been preserved for that many years, indicating a deliberate attempt on the part of the first peoples and their ancestors, to preserve key cultural artifacts from the old country, that is, Africa.

Moreover, this offers the strongest evidence yet for a living cultural link between South Africa and the first peoples in the Americas. Other evidence includes:

• Use of ultra long-distance running in both places
• Mining and use of red ochre (iron oxide) body and rock paint
• Clicking sounds in the languages (especially some Mayan languages)
• Potential references in the Popol Vuh to South Africa

Clearly for a Salvadoran to be called a guanaco is no small thing. In fact, figuring out the meaning of 'guanaco' helps answer some of the important questions of indigenous history in the Americas.

Visit of Lenca Leader, Antonio Chevez

The Lenca are one of the oldest First Nations in the Americas. They have lived continuously in eastern El Salvador since about 8,500 BCE and are a sister people of the Maya. Following the collapse of Copan in the 9th century, the visiting Lenca royalty returned to eastern El Salvador and re-formed the Lenca nation. This royalty, led by Princess Antu Silan Ulap, initiated the resistance against the Spanish conquistadores in 1526, continued by Lempira.

We were fortunate to have a member of the Lenca royalty visiting the San Francisco region early last week, Antonio Chevez. Antonio currently lives in Australia, having been forced into exile soon after El Salvador's civil war ended in 1992. While staying close to his spiritual roots, Antonio takes a modernizing position for indigenous, saying that the Maya and Lenca were at the cutting edge of technology for thousands of years so why shouldn't they continue to accept and develop new technologies. In addition, the Lenca were always known for their ability with language, collectively speaking most languages in the Americas, so modern Lenca should be speaking the world's major languages. The Lenca were also among the primary traders in the Americas, bridging the gap between North and South American products.

The Lenca people and especially the royalty have maintained the traditions through oral history. Antonio was raised by his grandmother and heard many oral traditions and histories growing up, including the creation story. He assumed they were the stories everyone heard.

One of those stories is the Moloilu, a sacred reading, done in a group, which leads to enlightenment, attaining duality. We read the Moloilu with Antonio. It speaks of the 13 levels of heaven and Akú, the provider god. In Ch'orti' Maya, Moloilu (morohiroh) means "open-eyed gathering."

Antonio described the Lenca story of the creation of humans. The creation grandmother had atol (corn paste) and cacao paste, but these were not sufficient to create humans, so she called on her animal friends:

• First came the armadillo which gave a spine and structure to humans
• Then the rabbit gave sexual organs to humans, as well as joy, laugh, and dance
• Next the jaguar gave its belly to humans, as well as speed and a beautiful spotted pelt
• The fourth animal to help creation grandmother was the turtle which gave humans its heart as well as love
• Then the monkey came to give its fingers and toes, writing, math, and wisdom
• Finally the eagle flew in and made a nest on the head of human-in-formation. He left strings inside the head which are the dreams, deep thoughts, and angst that humans have.

Ideally humans are born which each of these six animal spirits. Typically people are strong in two of the six, and these combinations make up the personality types. If a child is too strong in one, the parents and elders will take actions to diminish it. And if a child is weak in one area, parents and elders plan activities that will strengthen that animal, including contact with the actual animal.

Finally, Antonio spoke of the human sacrifice cult in Mexico from about 1300 CE to 1525 CE. This was a cult of the Aztecs and their predessors, including the Tapanec and Mexica. In my own research I have identified the Tapanec and Mexica as coming from the northwest coast area of Nayarit and Mazatlan, Mexico ("Mazatlan" later became "Aztlan"), and were an ancient Quiche Maya remnant who lost some of the Quiche ways over the years.

As the Tapanec and Mexica came to power they enforced the human sacrifice cult. Many neighboring groups suffered great losses and many fled, causing a flow of Nahuat refugees to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. In El Salvador the Nahuat were called Pipil and settled in the west of the country while the Lenca remained in the east.

Historia de la Creación - Un punto de partida: El Golfo de Fonseca

Esto apareció en ingles el 20 de febrero de 2010. Traducido por Roberto Roque.

Cuando dejamos a los seis clanes Mesoamericanos en la fuga, <en guinda>, habían escapado de la cueva, la Gruta del Espíritu Santo, localizada cerca de Corinto, El Salvador, alrededor de 8800 BC.  Ellos habían recibido de los tres dioses de Oriente tres regalos esenciales: la hoja del tabaco para saciar el hambre del pueblo, una balsa para cruzar ríos y proveer albergue, y pedernal para hacer fuego.  Los clanes incluían los linajes que se convertirían en Mayas, Olmecas, Mangue-Zapotecas, Toltecas, Chibchas y Cacaoperas, pero lo discutiremos luego.

Las seis familias fundadoras estaban acampadas a la convergencia de los ríos Torola y Lempa, pero después de unos años, tal vez una generación o dos, los lideres encontraron un mejor refugio.  Visibles desde la costa este de la actual La Unión se encuentran siete islas acompañadas de otras más pequeñas dentro del golfo de Fonseca, que es compartido actualmente por El Salvador, Honduras, y Nicaragua.
 

El nivel del mar comenzó a bajar durante la mini edad glacial que ocurrió durante el periodo 9000 a 8500 BC, permitiendo acceso al menos a algunas de las siete islas [oprima sobre la imagen para ampliar] incluyendo la Isla del Tigre (Balam) durante la marea baja.  Isla del Tigre se caracteriza por un volcán con una elevación de 760 metros.  La isla del Tigre, en conjunto con las otras dos islas, El Garrobo y la isla del Coyote, se encuentran en territorio Hondureño.   Las otras cuatro islas: isla Zacatillo, isla Martin Perez, Isla Conchagüita, e isla Meanguera, se encuentran en territorio Salvadoreño.   Isla Meanguera es una de las más grandes pero también se encuentra más alejada del continente, así que puede haber sido la menos habitada.

El Popol Vuh nos dice que los Mayas construyeron una ciudadela.  Es posible que la ciudadela fuera el mismo volcán de isla Tigre o una estructura construida en la cima.  Google Earth revela trazos de una estructura antigua en la cumbre, [oprima sobre la imagen para ampliar].  El Popol Vuh también dice que los Mayas veían el sol levantarse sobre el agua en esta ciudadela y ese sería el caso en esta isla.

¿Que evidencia hay que en estas siete islas, y en particular la isla del Tigre, son los orígenes del pueblo Maya?  El Popol Vuh provee varios nombres de lugares como claves que son consistentes con las islas del Golfo de Fonseca:

• El nombre ‘Tigre’ para la isla principal.  No es probable que haya habido tigres (jaguares) en esta isla.  Sin embargo, el nombre proviene del hecho que tres de las seis familias proceden de la habitación jaguar de la caverna de Xibalba y por ello se llamaron las familias “Jaguar”.
• Tulan Zuyua – Este es el nombre dado al lugar de origen en el este.  En tierra firme del territorio Hondureño, cerca de la entrada actual a la isla Tigre, existe una villa llamada El Tular.  To’or significa ‘cerca’ en Ch’orti y la ‘r’ se cambia a ‘l’ en lengua Quiche; ‘ha’ significa agua o océano.   Asi que tal vez Tulan significa ‘cerca del oceano’.  Por un lado, muchos han pensado que Tulan se refiere a juncos.  Sin embargo, creo que la confusión fue causada por el previo campamento cerca de los juncos en la confluencia de los ríos Torola (junco) y Lempa.  Asumiendo que Tulan significa ‘cerca del oceano’, encontramos que ‘Suyey’ significa ‘fundacion’ o ‘base’ en Ch’orti.   Por lo tanto, ‘fundacion cerca del oceano’ es un significado plausible de Tulan Zuyua.
• El nombre de sitio wuqub’ pek, wuqub’ siwan frecuentemente acompaña al nombre Tulan Zuyua.  En la traducción del Popol Vuh al Ingles por Dennis Tedlock (Rev. 1996) se traduce como “siete cuevas, siete cañones.”  Sin poner en duda el número siete, creo que tanto pek como siwan se refieren a las siete islas del Golfo de Fonseca.  En Ch’orti Maya, pek significa protuberancia, botón o objetos planos.  Eso pudiera ser referencia a las islas.
• La frase siwan es todavía más sugestiva.  ‘Si’ significa ‘juego de objetos” y wa’an significa “elevarse” o “en pie.”  Considerando que las islas aparecerían levantarse del océano durante esta época, mientras el océano se retiraba a razón de la mini edad glacial, esta es una descripción plausible de las siete islas.
• Muchas de las naciones mencionadas anteriormente tienen mitos de creación que originan cerca del océano.  Esto es cierto de los Mayas, los Lencas, los Misquitos (uno de los “Iloc”), y Diriamba (de los Mangues).  El mito de creación Lenca es específico a las islas del Golfo de Fonseca.  El mito de creación Misquito habla de estar cerca del océano y de otro pueblo, es decir, los Mayas, quienes ejercían señorío sobre los Misquitos.  Esto es consistente con el Popol Vuh.

El Popol Vuh también nos dice que cuando las seis familias llegaron a Tulan todos hablaban la misma lengua.  Sin embargo, durante la estadía en la torre de Balam en Isla del Tigre, la lengua de diferentes familias comenzó a diferenciarse.  Esto debió aplicar especialmente a Sutz’ Tam y Sutz’ Iloc, dado que decidieron no seguir la forma de vida Maya, aun cuando ambos originaron de la habitación Sutz’ (murciélago) en la caverna, tal como los Quiches.

Los Sutz’ Tam emigraron al sur y se convirtieron los Ngabere, Bublere, Boruca, Talamanca, Pech, Dorasque, Rama, Votic, Kuna, Chibha-Motilon, Bari, Chimila, y Arwako.  Los Sutz’ Iloc se convirtieron en los pueblos Miskitos, Sumus, Matagalpas y Cacaoperas.  El origen de las lenguas Chibchas en estas islas ayuda a explicar porque la lengua Lenca se sitúa entre Chibcha y Maya.

Las islas proveyeron a los Mayas y otros pueblos mesoamericanos refugio de los Xibalbanos, quienes eran temerosos del agua.   Pero los Mayas tuvieron otra vocación que era difícil de cumplir desde las islas – agricultura.  Aprendieron de las aves, los coyotes y otros animales, que comían semillas y nueces.  Se dieron cuenta que podían cultivar esas plantas ellos mismos.  Pero para poder lograrlo tenían que estar en el continente, en la tierra fértil de El Salvador.

Una Historia Indígena de Arcatao, El Salvador

Arcatao queda en la esquina noreste de Chalatenango, El Salvador, fronterizo con Honduras. Es un lugar caliente, con una abundancia de agua, suelos buenos, y una belleza natural que no fue perdido por los indígenas antepasados.

Hay señales que Arcatao tiene una larga historia indígena. Voy a hablar de cinco tiempos de probable historia indígena:

• La hibridización de maiz de la hierba teosinte, de 7,900 AEC (Antes de la Era Común) hasta 2,000 AEC.
• Los viajes de los Lencas de Lago Olomega hasta Copan (ahora Honduras), pasando por Arcatao, de 2,300 AEC hasta 830 EC (Era Común)
• Los refugiados mayas del volcán Ilopango por 420 EC
• La federación de 60 pueblos Lencas, incluso Arcatao, entre 830 EC y 1525 EC
• La resistencia lenca a la ocupación español entre 1525 y 1550 EC

Nombre de Arcatao

Un clave del origen del nombre Arcatao es la letra ‘r’ que es un poco raro – no existe en nahuatl, ni la mayoria del las lenguas mayas. Solo existe en lenca y maya ch’orti’. Entonces, no es posible que es un nombre pipil (nahuatl) y asi, no significa ‘cueva de serpiente’, propuesta como significado pipil. De los dos posibles orígenes, tiene forma que parece lenca y el lugar tenía mas contacto con los lencas que con cualquier otro grupo. El idioma lenca está cerca de desaparecer. Si se rescata el idioma es posible que se rescata el significado del nombre Arcatao. De los frases conocidos, el único que suena es tana, que significa ‘milpa’ y suena un poquito con el fin de Arcatao.

Arcatao y la Hibridización de Maiz

Los científicos han localizado un ejemplo muy temprano de maiz con fecha de 6700 BCE en el suroeste de México. Tambien se sabe que el maiz viene de la hierba teosinte de tipo balsas, nombrado por el Rio Balsas donde hoy pertenece teosinte balsas. Aunque después se seguia hibridizando maiz con otros tipos de teosinte, como teosinte guatemalteco, es el teosinte balsas que es clave al origen de maiz.

Apariciones del Nombre Teosinte 
Pero qué raro que no hay aparición del nombre teosinte en el area del Rio Balsas. Basado en un estudio por este autor, se determinó que hay 10 apariciones del nombre Teosinte en Mesoamérica. Algunos son rios, otras montañas, otros pueblos. Dos quedan en la costa oeste de México cerca de Puerto Vallarta. Los demás ocho quedan cerca del punto trinacional entre El Salvador, Guatemala, y Honduras, incluso tres en el departamento de Chalatenango.

Yo creo que las ocho apariciones de teosinte indican donde se cultivó maiz desde teosinte por primera vez. Según mi entendimiento del Popol Vuh, el libro sagrado de la maya, habla de un jardín que parece simbolizar la invención de maiz. Además, el cuento tiene lo que parece un indicador de fecha, basado en el calendario de conteo largo de la planeta marte. Tal fecha es 7900 BEC.

En la era de 7900 BEC, la clima fue mas fresca, algunos siglos después del fin de la última Edad de Hielo. Por miles de años durante la Edad de Hielo, diferente plantas crecian en Centroamérica. Yo creo que una de estas plantas fue el teosinte balsas. Cuando la clima se calientó entre 7900 BEC y 5000 BEC el teosinte balsas se migró hacía el suroeste de México. En Centroamérica, como México, teosinte balsas crecía en las altitudes medias, entre 500 y 1,000 metros sobre nivel del mar – lugares como Chalatenango.

Los lugares de experimentación de cultivos como maiz fueron las islas cercanas – Isla Teopán de Lago Coatepeque y Isla Teotipa de Lago Güija. Los cultivos en las islas fueron seguro de la amenaza de los animales y de los enemigos de tal gente – antepasados de la maya.  Del nombre de las islas y de un estudio del idioma ch’orti’, se entera que el nombre Teosinte quiere decir “isla de plantas en rayas”.

Toda esta explicación quiere decir que los antepasados de la maya visitaron a Arcatao o el pueblo vecino de Teosinte con frecuencia para recoger la hierba teosinte para seguir hibridizando el maiz. Si es cierto que el maiz se cultivó por primera vez en un lago de cráter en el oeste de El Salvador, como creyen los Lencas, las visitas a Arcatao hubieran podido comenzado muy temprano, alli por 7900 BEC. Al contrario, si es cierto que el maiz se cultivó por primera vez en la región del Rio Balsas, Mexico, las visitas a Arcatao para recoger teosinte comenzar mas tarde. Fue en los cerros como La Cañada que el teosinte balsas hubiera podido crecido. Por miles de años se seguía hibridizando maiz con teosinte para perfectarlo.

Los Viajes de las Lencas de Lago Olomega hasta Copan, Pasando por Arcatao

Se sabe que Copán, el sitio famoso de la Maya en el occidente de Honduras, fue poblado por la maya por el año 100 CE mas o menos. Pero antes, mucho mas antes, fue poblado por la Lenca. El primer asentimiento lenca fue entre 2300 BCE y 1400 BCE. Por esa época el enfoque de las Lenca, llamados Potones, fue el Lago Olomega (Olomeka) en el sureste de El Salvador, y los Lencas hicieron el viaje entre Olomega y Copan. Ya por 800 BCE el enfoque se trasladó a Quelepa, siempre en el oriente de El Salvador. Por lo menos 1,500 años los Lencas hacian el viaje entre el oriente de El Salvador y Copan.

En el año 420 CE hubo la explosión del volcán Ilopango, una de las erupciones mas grandes del mundo de los últimos 2,000 años. Cientos, si no miles, murieron. La ceniza volcánica sopló al occidente y al norte. Tanta ceniza cayó por todos los sitios – Chalchuapa, San Andres, etc. – que no fue posible vivir en el occidente de El Salvador por 100 años. Una parte de los “refugiados” ch’olan llegaron a Copán. Ellos habían tenido relaciones amistosas con las Lenca de Quelepa y Tehuácan. Invitaron a los Lencas a mandar una delegación real a vivir en Copán. Y fue entonces que los viajes del oriente de El Salvador y Copán comenzaron de nuevo.

No se sabe sin duda que la ruta Copán-Quelepa pasó por Arcatao. Como sabemos donde ficó la ruta? Por los caminos de hoy dia, por evitar los rios o al cruzar los rios donde sea posible, por seguir los rios o al seguir las crestas, por donde hay pueblos históricos, y por donde hay recursos naturales. Seguramente quedaron al este y al norte del Rio Lempa. Hay dos pueblos de los lenca potón al este de Arcatao. Los tres parecen ser parte de la ruta: Guasquin, Mapulaca, Arcatao. Tal vez se entró Arcatao por Quipure and Gualcimaca y salió por lado de Zazalapa.

La ruta Copán-Quelepa explica la presencia de las piedras dibujadas cerca de Arcatao. Una queda por el otro lado del cerro La Cañada y el otro queda arriba de Zazalapa. Por las descripciones, parecen ser lenca o lenca-olmeca.

Tambien se anota por la mapa que desde entonces, Arcatao ha sido lugar fronterizo. Primero, siendo en la frontera entre la tierra de la Lempa y las montañas el norte. Segundo, Arcatao queda dentro del area de lengua poton lenca, de pueblos potones, pero al pasar Zazalapa, ya habian menos pueblos y la gente habló otro tipo de lenca.

Los refugiados mayas del volcán Ilopango por 420 EC

Como ya se mencionó, en el año 420 EC, mas o menos, el volcán Ilopango entró en erupción, desplazando miles de personas de Chalchuapa, San Andres y el valle Zapotitán, y otros lugares. Alguna gente fue a la ahora Guatemala, otros a Copán y otros lugares de Honduras. Pero los arqueólogos han determinados que algunos quedaron muy cerca y fueron al norte o noreste cruzando el Rio Lempa al llegar al hoy Chalatenango.

No se sabe si llegaron hasta Arcatao. Pero, cuando se considera la importancia de Arcatao, parece que sí, un grupo de los maya cholan (Ch’orti’) hubiera llegado y quedado 100 años o mas, hasta que pudieron vivir de nuevo en los valles volcánicos, como el Zapotitán. Asi que Arcatao hubiera podido servido como retroguardia para los ch’orti’ de los volcanes y terremotos. Ademas, con todos los viajantes lencas pasando por la ruta Copán-Quelepa, seguramente algunos lenca poblaron a Arcatao tambien. Asi que tal vez se hizo un pueblo bicultural.

La Federación de Pueblos Lencas, 830 EC

Por más de 400 años Copán fue uno de los centros mayas mas importante y seguramente el mas importante en el sureste de mesoamérica. Pero al año 830 EC mas o menos, la reina de Copán falló. Los representantes de los lenca en Copán se trasladó a El Salvador por la Ruta Copán-Quelepa y se concentró en Sesori, según la tradición oral de los lenca. La gente del barrio lenca seguramente dispersaron a varios centros lencas incluso en el paracentral y oriente de El Salvador. Estos últimos pasaron por Arcatao en la ruta a Sesori y Quelepa. Llegraron a lugares donde ya había pueblo lenca en el norte y oriente de lo que ahora se llama El Salvador.

Por 900 EC, o dentro de 100 años de la llegada del liderazgo lenca de Copán, los lencas formaron un red o una federación de pueblos lencas. Según la tradición oral que sobrevivió el tiempo y la ocupación española, la federación consistió en mas de 60 pueblos en los departamentos de hoy dia La Unión, San Miguel, Morazán, Usulután, Cabañas, y Chalatenango, y dos en el departamento de hoy de Honduras de Lempira. (Vea http://mayangovernments.org/main/page_the_royal_house.html)

Pueblos en la Red Lenca de 900 EC

Los pueblos se concentraron en lo que hoy es Morazán y el centro de San Miguel. De Quelepa y Sesori organizaron la red. Hicieron convivencias una vez por año, donde llegaron el liderazgo, como directivas, de cada pueblo. Tambien hubo un gran mercado de todo tipo de productos. Llegaron familias, todos. Hubieron bailes en la noche. La convivencia se llamaba guanacaste. Esto viene de guanaco, palabra que quiere decir ‘hermandad’ en potón lenca vieja. El guanacaste es el consejo de la hermandad. Cada vez se realizó el guanacaste en diferente pueblo. Seguramente se hizo el guanacaste en Arcatao de vez en cuando.

Sin duda mas pueblos lencas fueron agregados a la red entre 900 y 1528 EC. Se anota que la mayoria de estos pueblos lencas existen hasta hoy dia. Todos ahora tienen por lo menos 1,100 años.

Es un poco sorprendente la concentracion de pueblos en Chalatenango, bien lejos de los demás pueblos. El primer razón por los pueblos alli es que la ruta Copán-Quelepa pasó por el area, resultando en Guasquin, Mapulaca, y Arcatao. El segundo razón es la llegada de los maya quiche entre 830 y 850 CE de Mexico para establecer Cihuatán, cerca del pueblo de hoy dia Aguilares. Fue casi a la vez de la caída de Copán la llegada del liderazgo lenca de vuelta a El Salvador.

Además de Cihuatán, los quiches establecieron casi una docena de pueblos y templos, algunos en la orilla norte del Rio Lempa, y uno hasta el pueblo de Chalatenango, cual nombre es quiche. Los lenca y los quiche tuvieron buenas relaciones. Los quiche invitaron los lencas a vivir con ellos y asi que hubo un barrio lenca en Cihuatán, según los arqueólogos. Parece que el mismo pasó en Chalatenango por la presencia de un pueblo lenca en el mismo lugar, Silaiquin. Es posible que Silaiquin fue formado por la llegada de familias de Arcatao a Chalatenango. Los quiches huyeron de El Salvador por mas o menos
930 EC después de un ataque mortal de un desconocido enemigo.

Los demás pueblos lencas en Chalatenango son Potonico, Cancasque, Guancora, y Manaquil, el último lo mas cerca de Arcatao. Manaquil y Arcatao tiene una historia compartida de mas o menos 1,000 años.

La colonización y la resistencia lenca a la ocupación española entre 1525 y 1550 EC

El primer español a mandar el territorio de Arcatao fue Miguel Diaz, basado en los archivos de los españoles. Los archivos dicen que en 1548 Miguel Diaz controló el pueblo de Arcatao y el pueblo de Xalocinagua, que queda en la zona costera. (Vea Capítulo 5, “San Salvador” en Guatemala Villages of the 16th Century por Dan Stanislawski.)

Ya en 1548 Arcatao tenía una producción elevado. Los pueblos indígenas de Arcatao y sus alrededores pagaron un tributo anual de 600 libras de algodón, 50 pares de cutaras, y 80 pares de alpargata. También pagaron en mano de obra el servicio de cuatro pastores. Sin duda los pares de alpargata refieren a un calzado hecho de zacate u otra planta. Posiblemente los pares de cutara tambien son un tipo de sandalia.

Es probable que el algodón fue cultivado en Arcatao antes que llegaron los españoles, como es nativo a El Salvador y la región. Hubiera sido difícil introducir un nuevo cultivo en tan pocos años, otro razón por pensar que algodón ya fue establecido en los tiempos indígenas, asi como la tela, camisas y ropa de algodón, y hasta los bordados. En los primeros años de la colonia como en los tiempos indígenas Arcatao fue un fuente de ropa y calzado para la región.

El informe de 1548 tambien dice que Arcatao fue en guerra antes y el Miguel Diaz no pudo ocupar el lugar. Eso quiere decir que Arcatao fue un centro de resistencia de los Lencas contra la ocupación española. La resistencia lenca se arrancó por la gran princesa-guerrillera Antu Silan Ulapa cuando los espanoles trataron de entrar el oriente de El Salvador. Después la resistencia fue dirigida por Lempira hasta el último batalle en el cerro Cerquín en Erandique, Honduras. Arcatao queda apenas 30 kilometros al suroeste del Cerro Cerquín. Asi que parece muy posible que Lempira pasó una parte de la guerra en Arcatao.

Asi que Arcatao tiene una historia muy interesante y muy destacada. Seguro que hay mucho mas por recuperar todavia.

The Settlement of Copan from Southeastern El Salvador

Copan is one of the most important Classic Maya sites, the center of a kingdom from the 5th century CE (AD) until the 9th century CE. Archeologists have determined that Copan's elite were Ch'orti' Maya, but it was a multi-cultural site with many ethnic enclaves. One of those enclaves was the Poton Lenca, with their most important base at Quelepa, El Salvador.

According to Poton tradition, when Copan collapsed soon after 822 CE, the Poton royalty at Copan returned to El Salvador and settled at Sesori, currently in northern San Miguel department. From Sesori they created a Lenca federation with at least 60 affiliated villages. The modern Poton royalty trace their lineage directly from the Sesori leadership.

Before Copan was a Maya kingdom, it was a river valley with at least 1800 years of human settlement. Archeologists have determined, mainly by examining ceramics, that this early settlement of Copan was not Maya but Lenca. See, for example, Cameron L. McNeil, "The Environmental Record of Human Populations and Migrations in the Copan Valley, Honduras," in The Ch'orti' Maya Area Past and Present (Metz, McNeil, and Hull).

The two most likely dates for the settlement of the Copan valley are 2300 BCE (Before Common Era) or 1400 BCE, according to McNeil. Pollen grain has been dated to 2300 BCE that is either corn or teosinte grass. If it is teosinte it could have been either naturally ocurring or cultivated, since teosinte was cultivated by early Mesoamerican cultures to hybridize with corn. Of the ceramic shards found in the valley, the oldest possible date is 1400 BCE. The encountered ceramics that have been dated at between 1400 BCE to 100 CE indicate a non-Maya presence with the closest affinity to the El Salvador Pacific Coast (Lenca) or Olmec (consistent with a Lenca presence).

The 2300 BCE date seems more likely - the encountered seeds could be wild teosinte but it seems like quite a coincidence. The 2300 BCE date is about 300 years before the time of the major expansion for both the Maya and the Lenca out of their homelands in El Salvador to northern Honduras, Belize, northern Guatemala, and the Chiapas/western Guatemala Pacific coast. At the time of 2300 BCE, the Lenca were primarily centered in southeastern El Salvador, at Lago Olomeka (now Olomega) and nearby villages like Tihuilotal. If Copan was settled in 2300 BCE it would have been by the Lenca from the Lago Olomeka area of southeastern El Salvador.

If, instead, Copan was settled in 1400 BCE or soon thereafter, it would have been equally clear a Lenca settlement, given the type of ceramic that has been found there. By 1400 BCE the Lenca had an Atlantic coast settlement near the mouth of the Ulua River at Travesia. They might have had settlements in the Comayagua Valley and around Lago Yojoa as well. But even if some of the settlement push to Copan came from one of these Honduran sites, the major cultural and political push would have been from southeastern El Salvador, either from Quelepa or Lago Olomeka, since this area remained at this time the center of the Lenca people. Given the ceramic record at Copan, it seems that there was contact between Copan and southeastern El Salvador throughout the pre-Classic period.

The Maya arrived in about 100 CE to Copan. While it is more commonly thought that this first presence was Ch'olan from nearby, my belief is that it was a Kanjobal migration directly from Teotihuacan. This would help explain the bat symbolism common at Copan. Bat is the totem of the Kanjobal, who came out of the bat room of the cave with the Quiche, unlike the Ch'olan and Lenca ancestors who came out of the jaguar room. Then with the Ilopango eruption in about 420 CE causing all of western El Salvador to be uninhabitable for at least 100 years, a large migration of Ch'olan people arrived at Copan. Most likely both to assist his Ch'olan cousins but also seeing the opportunity to extend Tikal's influence, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' led a migration from Tikal to Copan. Under his direction the first dated monument was built in 427 CE, marking the beginning of the Copan high civilization. It is likely that at this time or soon thereafter, the Lenca were welcomed back to Copan since the Ch'olan migrants from western El Salvador were very friendly with the Lenca.

When the Maya created the tremendous Copan kingdom there was a Lenca enclave at Copan. This enclave would have maintained contact with all the Lenca centers in Honduras and El Salvador, including Quelepa. Thus from 2300 BCE or 1400 BCE until the time of Copan's collapse in about 830 CE - that is, for over 2,200 years - the Lenca people travelled between southeastern El Salvador and Copan, with only a small break from about 100 CE to 430 CE.

What route did the Lenca follow? It is possible that they used the length of the Lempa River to travel by canoe at least half the distance of the journey. This might have happened on the downstream journey from Copan to Olomeka, but given the Lempa's current it is unlikely a river journey was used going upstream. Most of the time they likely traveled by foot. The map details what I think is a likely route. The route avoids major rivers, for example, by staying east and north of the Lempa. The route also passes through some villages later well known as Lenca centers, such as Sesori and Arcatao.

In fact, the Quelepa - Copan trail is the best explanation for the concentration of Lenca villages in eastern Chalatenango, far from the main concentrations of Lenca villages in far eastern El Salvador. Six of the 60 named Lenca villages from 900 CE are in Chalatenango, with only a handful between those and the eastern ones beginning with Sesori.

By beginning to explore the possible routes between major trade centers we gain clues to the origin of many places along the way.

The Maya and Lenca Establish Atlantic Bases

The Quiche Mayas were forced to leave El Salvador in about 2300 BC and by 2000 BC the Ch'orti Mayas at Lago Güija and Lago Coatepeque were anxious to expand beyond their El Salvador home. The Ch'ortis, like the neighboring Lencas and Tehuacanos (Zapotecs), had been sailing the Pacific Ocean for over a thousand years.

But an Atlantic ocean base was needed in order to better explore the four corners of the world. The Ch'ortis had been trading with local people in northern Belize already and it was an easy decision to send an expansion group north to the Corozal Bay, to the site known as Santa Rita. A few hundred years later they sent a much larger expansion group north which began to build the El Mirador site and soon many other sites in the area. Those who went north mixed with the local population and soon the Yucatec or Maya language began to develop. [Click to enlarge the map.]

The Lencas based at Lago Olomega in southeast El Salvador had the same need. They simply went straight north and followed the Ulua River to the coast. There they founded the site of Travesia and from that base explored the Atlantic Ocean extensively. This was the beginning of separation of the El Salvador Lenca language and Honduran Lenca language.

The Atlantic Ocean currents would naturally carry the Ch'orti and Lenca rafts and reed boats north and east around Cuba and then northeast into the North Atlantic. Then a southward current would take them close to the Spanish or West Africa coast. The current from West Africa would take them directly back to Travesia or Santa Rita.

A significant group of Lencas moved about 250 kilometers west to the Mexico-Guatemala border region. Here they founded sites that came to be known as Izapa, Paso de la Amada, La Blanca, Ocos, and El Mesak. A few hundred years later Lencas from Travesia, Olomega, and the Izapa region moved to the Gulf coast area of Veracruz, Mexico, and founded the Olmec civilization. They took with them the name of Olomega (Olomeka) and much of what they learned in their travels of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The Tehuacanos, like the Lencas, trace lineage to Balam Akbar. They lived on one of the four original Mesoamerican island civilizations, Teocan, at the mouth of the Lempa River. One of the double meanings of Teocan is 'island of wild vegetation' or 'monte'. Anyone who has spent much time in that region, the Bajo Lempa, can understand why it would be called that. The 'Monte' descriptor in Spanish becomes a trace clue in guessing where they moved to. It appears they moved from Isla Montecristo to Monte Alto in southeast Guatemala, and soon would move to the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico to found San José Mogote and Monte Alban. There they would become known as the Zapotecs.

While all the expansion continued, the base of operations for the Mayas continued to be western El Salvador at the two new sites of Chalchuapa and San Andrés.

El Salvador's Four Islands of Civilization

The beginnings of Mesoamerican civilization happened at Tulan Zuyua, Isla Tigre, in the Golfo de Fonseca. It was here that the four Mayan-Mesoamerican tribe leaders attained greatness by communicating with the gods at the center of the galaxy, with the aid of a tobacco smoke bath, one of the three gifts of the gods. But the tribe leaders sought to establish greatness on earth and to do that they knew that they needed to begin to work the earth.

Leading this effort was the Quiche Maya leader who was renamed Masa Manix. Masa or "Deer" for copying the deer in trying various leaves, fruits, nuts, and berries to see if they were edible. And Manix or "Work the earth" for having the vision of cultivating edible plants toward the end of establishing a way of life based on agriculture. But the tribes had to find sites that were on islands in order to keep their people, as well as their experimental gardens, safe from the Xibalban lords who were afraid of water. The tribes learned that they were safe in water during the escape from the cave, La Gruta del Espíritu Santo. Even the babies were safe when place on reed baskets in the water.

The four leaders and their tribal followers left Isla Tigre toward the north and then headed west into present-day El Salvador. The four leaders took the Dog star, Sirius, as a sign, and while fasting, watched the eastern horizon to see if Siruis was rising before the Sun. This would have placed their departure from Isla Tigre in the month of July. This also could be a reference for the Mars long-count date, of 4 Tzi or 4 Dog. That would be approximately 8050 BC (+/- 200 years). The Popol Vuh notes that the tradition of silently looking to the east began at this time to honor Tulan Zuyua, the place where the tribes first attained greatness. In the east they also left behind their Bat room brothers and the sisters, the Tams and the Ilocs.

One of the four leaders, Balam Akbar, and his tribe, stayed in the east. [Click to enlarge map.] They went to Isla Olomega on Lago Olomega, in the south of present-day San Miguel Department in El Salvador. This is who the Popol Vuh calls the "Olomans". This includes the "Greathouses": the Lencas, the Uluas, the Olmecs, and many more.

The other three tribes were very sad to leave the Olomecans behind. And the people were very hungry. According to the Popol Vuh, the Quiche leader sniffed his staff and wondered if even the wood could be consumed. At that moment the tribes approached the Lempa River, which was so wide it appeared to be a sea. Somehow the sea seemed to part and they were able to cross. It could be that they approached in a drought and the normal June and July rains had not occurred, allowing people to wade across the river. Or maybe they were able to cross on their rafts.

The tribe of Ik Balam went to an island at the mouth of the Lempa River, to a place called Teokan, or island of learning. At that time the ocean would have been at least 100 meters lower and the mouth of the river several miles further south. The island village that they established would have been flooded over between 8000 BC and 5000 BC during the period of global warming. In fact, it is likely that the village would have been re-established several times.

The Popol Vuh says that Ik Balam had no children. While that might be a literal statement, I think it is more likely that this tribe was wiped out, either by disease, by an attack from the Xibalbans, or, most likely, a flood as the ocean levels rose. In fact, my guess is that the early city of Teokan was destroyed in the Lake Agassiz flood of 6400 BC. Lake Agassiz was a huge lake on the North American continent which emptied much of its huge volume of glacial melt into the oceans in about 6400 BC. It is possible that this event caused a tsunami that impacted most coasts around the world, including El Salvador. The civilization of Teokan would have been destroyed and the Ik Balam tribe wiped out. Or maybe not - but more on that later. The Olomecans then resettled Teokan from Lago Olomega and renamed it Teok'an'an, or "island of ripe spring maize."

The other two tribal leaders, Masa Manix and Balam Kitze settled their tribes on Lago Coatepeque (Tammakchan) and Lago Güija, respectively. These became the Quiche and Ch'orti' lineages, respectively, and all the Mayans can trace back their roots to these two tribes. Tammakchan means "deep inside the rainbow" and Güija means "source" or "navel". Lago Güija is one of the sources of the Lempa River, which has great symbolism considering that Teokan was at the mouth of the same river.

From the four islands the Mesoamerican tribes started the American continents agricultural revolution.

Indigenous Highways

Several years ago when I lived on a farm in northern Illinois, I was overjoyed to learn that the small highway that I lived on had previously been a Native American path, probably called the Piscasaw path after the name of the creek it followed. I checked into other Illinois highways and found that nearly every highway, aside from freeways and streets, had been an indigenous path or highway prior to the arrival of Europeans. Highways 41, 12, 14, 64, 34, and 45 radiating out from Chicago had all been indigenous paths. In fact, the same is probably true in any country in the western hemisphere. This indigenous sense of paths and travel has become part of the collective consciousness of all the people, no matter the race.

Whenever, the first peoples traveled from the Bering Strait, across Alaska, and then down to Patagonia, they didn't walk at random through the countryside. Instead, as long as 12,000 years ago there was a coastal path all the way along the Pacific Ocean. Here in California, highway 1 follows this ~12,000 year-old path for most of its course along the coast. Nearly every Pacific-coast country in North, Central, and South America has a similar coastal highway.

In the United States, a little of the indigenous sense of place is retained through these highways, which followed the terrain. That sense of place was greatly diminished when the Midwest was divided up into mile road grids in the 1860s and 1870s when thousands of settlers, like my great, great grandfather 'settled' there from Europe. Just like that, space could be halved, quartered and sold in a most efficient way. In most cases these mile roads did not follow the terrain and space began to have less meaning, except as private property.

The next step in the transformation of our collective sense of roads in the U.S., and further ridding our culture of its indigenous past, was the introduction of the interstate freeway system by President Eisenhower in the 1950s. To make the interstate 'freeways', hills and mountains were blasted away and huge bridges were constructed rather than winding down a valley to cross the rivers in a natural way. This is what 'free' way meant - speed was everything. Towns were bypassed and local economies were transformed and small businesses destroyed. Every interstate exchange became the same indistinguishable mix of corporate fastfood, corporate malls, and truck stops; place soon meant much less.

Today in Mexico and Central America, the elite economic powers that have brought structural adjustment, export economies, free trade for multinational corporations, and escalated immigration due to entrenched poverty, now try, led by the IMF and World Bank, to push the Plan Puebla Panama, which includes a superhighway through Mesoamerica and southern Central America. This superhighway, like the US interstates, would push Central America into the post-modern world where place has no meaning except as something which can be sold, developed, exploited, or used as entertainment, and in all cases, traveled over in the least amount of time possible.

So, to celebrate the indigenous highways of Central America, I have prepared a map [click to enlarge] to demonstrate some of the first roads in El Salvador, as one example. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list and should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, it shows how indigenous peoples traveled along the lay of the land moving between the early cities.

The course of the coastal or 'literal' highway of El Salvador dates from many thousands of years before the start of the Mayans or Lencas and is the oldest road. In some places it moves inland to avoid mangrove swamps and deltas. In other places, like La Libertad department, it follows the coast closely to avoid the steep hills which rise quickly from the sea.

The trail between Chalchuapa in the west and Quelepa in the east, as well as the trail from Chalchuapa west to Kaminaljuyu (later Guatemala City), became the Pan American highway. The Troncal del Norte highway from San Salvador north past Aguilares and into Ocotepeque, Honduras, likely did not become an indigenous path until the founding of the major Classic-era city of Cihuatán in the 8th century. But as the Cihuatanecos traveled north to Copán and the Atlantic Coast they would have established the route through Colima to Tejutla and then joined the existing route over the mountains past La Palma and Citalá to Ocotepeque.

As discussed earlier, there was a distinct connection between Chalchuapa and El Mirador in the Peten as early as 1400 BC. Again, after the Ilopango eruption in 210 AD, the Chorti followed this route to Belize and Tikal. The route would have gone through present-day Santa Ana, past Metapán and Esquipulas, Guatemala, to the Motagua valley. Because of the terrain, the route would have jogged east past Quirigua to go around the Santa Cruz mountains and Lago Izabal. Today there are highways that follow all of these routes. There also would have been a route north from Quelepa in eastern El Salvador to Los Naranjos site at Lago Yojoa, Honduras, and then on to the Atlantic coast. As mentioned earlier, one of the advantages of El Salvador's geography was the short distance between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Later, routes were added between Copán and El Salvador. [Note: Click on map to enlarge. Typo - map should say 'Mayan and Lencan Roads'.]

By the 8th century AD, the Putún Maya arrived in El Salvador, the multi-cultural city-state of Cihuatán was established, and the indigenous highways and political structure of El Salvador would never be quite the same.

Return of the Mayans, the Repopulation of El Salvador in 400 AD

Soon I hope to discuss the Joya de Cerén, one of the most important archeological sites in El Salvador and sometimes referred to as the 'Pompeii of Mesoamerica'. But to set the stage, first it is necessary to talk about the repopulation of western and central El Salvador in about 400 AD. Remember that this region was depopulated after the Ilopango volcanic eruption of about 210 AD, which caused the decline of the entire Pacific coast region and the subsequent rise of cultures to the north, such as Petén, in part due to the immigration of Chorti Maya elites from western El Salvador following the eruption.

With the power vacuum in the southern Maya area following the Chorti movement north, the Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu, near present-day Guatemala City, became the predominant power. Perhaps this role of Kaminaljuyu/Guatemala City remained in the collective memory of Central Americans when Guatemala City was chosen as the capital of the Federal Republic of Central America in the first years of this short-lived republic following independence from Spain in 1821.

By 400 AD, the thick Ilopango ash in western El Salvador was transformed back into soil and the area could be re-inhabited. Pocomam Mayas moved into the extreme western part of the country around Itiquizaya, most likely from western Guatemala. In addition, many Chorti Maya moved back, probably from Copán, but possibly from the Petén.

Copán itself received an influx of elites from the Petén between 300 and 400 AD, its start date as a ceremonial center. Perhaps Copán was chosen as a halfway point between the Petén and the old Pacific Coast centers, like Chalchuapa. Or Copán may have given the Tikal Chorti access to the jade along the Motagua River Valley and allowed them to challenge the supremacy of Kaminaljuyu in the south. Soon Copán would be a regional power on its own.

The Chortis resettled San Andres, Chalchuapa, Santa Leticia, Cara Sucia, and surrounding areas, as well as the present-day area of San Salvador. It is likely that during the time period that Chalchuapa was a bilingual Pocoman-Chorti city. By 400 AD, there was likely significant divergence between these two Mayan languages. It is also likely that some local Chorti elites settled in Matamaras in northern Chalatenango and the Lago Güija in northwestern Santa Ana at this time. Both Chalchuapa and Lago Güija would have given the Chortis access to the obsidian at nearby Ixtepeque, to the northwest.

While Tehuacán along the eastern slope of Chichontepeque volcano in San Vicente may have been a Chorti Maya site prior to 210 AD, or, more likely, a bilingual Chorti-Lenca ceremonial and trade center, it is likely that the Chorti elites left with the other Chortis to the north post-Ilopango. In the early classic period of 210 to 600 AD, Tehuacán was clearly a Lenca site and related most closely to Quelepa to the east, with similar jaguar rock sculptures as Quelepa.

E. Wyllys Andrews, one of the first archeologists to study the Quelepa site, noted that there was no evidence of contact between Quelepa and western El Salvador between 200 and 600 AD. On the other hand, prior to the departure of the Chortis in 210 AD, there had been significant trade and cultural contact between the Chortis in western El Salvador and the Potón Lenca in eastern El Salvador. In the interceding 190 years, the knowledge of each other's languages must have disappeared, as well as Chorti memory of Quelepa as a source of obsidian. Ironically, Andrews found that the Lenca continued to trade with the Olmec/ Totonac people of the Veracruz Coast. There is little evidence of the Lenca having contact with peoples on the overland route to Veracruz so it seems that they traveled by ocean canoes or rafts north and then crossed the Tehuantepec isthmus to Veracruz.

The history of the Salvadoran region would take another major twist in 590 AD, when for the second time in 400 years, a volcano would erupt and interrupt the development of civilization in the region. The history of immigration and disaster recovery would continue for Salvadorans.

Salvadorans, an Immigrant People since 200 AD

Many commentaries and histories of El Salvador refer to its indigenous “pre-Hispanic” past in a static way, as if the indigenous peoples and their geographic distribution at the time of the arrival of the Spanish was the way it always was. In this typical history, the western part of El Salvador is presented as though it were always occupied by the Pipiles. For example, Elsa Ramos provides a very thoughtful historical overview of El Salvador’s indigenous people during the colonial time period, but presents a more static view of the pre-Hispanic history.

During the classic and post-classic Mayan civilization periods – 200 AD to 1100 AD – nothing could be further from the truth. There were numerous immigrations into and emigrations out of El Salvador. The most important was the arrival of the Pipiles, a nahuatl-speaking people from central Mexico, toward the end of the period mentioned earlier. But there were also immigrations of Chorti Maya, Pokomam Maya, Quiche Maya, and Lenca that I will be discussing along the way. Many of these groups intersected at the multi-ethnic city of Cihuatan, just north of present-day Aguilares, by far the most important site in El Salvador during the Classic period.

The reasons for all the movement have to do with specific events both within El Salvador as well as throughout Mesoamerica, including central Mexico. However, the underlying cause relates to the fact that El Salvador is one of the richest parts of Mesoamerica, able to support a very dense population. As one of the birthplaces of the Mayas, El Salvador also held a lot of spiritual and cultural importance for all Mesoamerican peoples. But it is also a land of frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods. This caused many emigrations. Earlier I discussed how the newly formed Lenca federation of villages, formed in about 900 AD, avoided the earthquake- and eruption-prone volcanic valleys of San Miguel and Usulutan, and instead populated both the coastal areas and hills along the northern tier of central and eastern El Salvador.

A major emigration from El Salvador occurred in about 210 AD following the massive eruption of Ilopango volcano, one of the largest eruptions the world has seen in the last 2,000 years. In fact, this ended the preeminence of the Pacific coast as the Mayan cultural center, based in Chalchuapa, and coincides with the rise of the Classic period Maya in Copan, Tikal, and other sites in Guatemala and Mexico. For example, the very first monument at Tikal was built in about 200 AD.

It was the Chorti Maya who lived in western and central El Salvador at this time. Chalchuapa, Santa Leticia, and San Andres were in the debris path of Ilopango’s ash and were totally depopulated for nearly 200 years, according to the archeological record. The Chorti elite dispersed north and west into the classical Mayan areas, especially to western Belize and the eastern Peten. Some Chortis of a more common status likely followed to Copan and the Peten, but many migrated locally into the safer hills of Chalatenango, which helps explain the smaller ceremonial site of Matamaras along the Sumpul River. It appears that Xinca communities (non-Mayan) in far western El Salvador were also depopulated at this time.

The Lencan sites of higher civilization at Quelepa and Tehuacan were not covered in ash and remained during this period. The Lenca continued to trade extensively with the Cacaopera people as well as Matagalpas in Nicaragua. By extension, the Lencas were connected with indigenous of Costa Rica, Panama, and South America. But the close link between the Lenca and Chorti in El Salvador was broken, cutting the trade of the Mayas with areas to the south to a trickle. The Lencas also continued to trade with central Mexico during this period as well as with other Lencas near Lago Yojoa in northern Honduras.

By about 400 AD, the thick Ilopango ash was finally transformed into tillable soil. Mayans from Guatemala and Honduras began to drift back in – the next series of numerous immigrations in El Salvador’s history. We will see that Salvadorans have always been a people who have adapted well to immigration, but not until now have they ever been considered 'illegal'.