The make-up of El Salvador's indigenous peoples changed many times during the Mayan pre-Classic and Classic periods. But one of the key periods was from 400 BC to 200 AD, when El Salvador was the site of the most advanced Mayan cities at that time, along with the southeast coast of Mexico.
The Chol or Chorti Maya began building the Cozumel site at Chalchuapa by 1500 BC, at roughly the same time as Izapa on the Chiapas coast and the first Olmec cities in Veracruz, Mexico. This makes Chalchuapa one of the three most important archeological sites in El Salvador, along with Joyas de Cerén and Cihuatán, important sites in the much later Classic and Post-Classic periods.
By 400 BC, at least three other Mayan cities were established in El Salvador, Cara Sucia, near the Pacific Coast in far western El Salvador, San Andrés, in west central El Salvador, and Quelepa, in eastern El Salvador. Quelepa was a joint Potón-Chorti city and an important trading link with areas to the south. Potón is another name for the Lenca who live in El Salvador.
There are at least three other sites that may have also been established as Mayan cities by 400 BC: Tehuacán, near the Chichontepec volcano in San Vicente; Santa Leticia, in the west near Apaneca; and Las Matamaras, along the Sumpul River in far northern Chalatenango. None of these three sites are well studied, so it is not known when settlements and temples were first built. However, much of Tehuacán is quite similar to Quelepa, which seems to indicate a Potón Lenca-Chorti city that was contemporaneous to Quelepa.
Aside from Cozumel and Quelepa, and possibly Las Matamaras, none of the names used today of these sites was the original Mayan name. Cara Sucia, Santa Leticia, and San Andrés are all Spanish names. Tehuacán is a nahuat name, most likely brought by the Pipiles from the Puebla region of Mexico sometime between 600 and 900 AD.
The Chorti and Potón Lenca were closely allied people who shared at least two cities along with major trade routes. Certainly there were many bilingual residents of the two areas. Among the trade routes managed by the Potón Lenca were those involving the Cacaopera, the Uluas, and the Mangues. The Cacaopera are a Matagalpa people and had significant trade with inland parts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The Mangues extended down along the coast of Nicaragua.
To the west of the Chorti were the Xinca people who were more prominently based in eastern Guatemala. Unlike the Lencas, the Xincas don't appear to have adopted the Mayan philosophy and way of life. Later, during the Classic period, the Pocomam Maya moved into this area, followed, later still, by a small migration of Quiche Maya.
Obviously, all of the groups mentioned extended far beyond the borders of present day El Salvador - the Lenca far into central Honduras, for example, and the Chorti into western Honduras and eastern Guatemala. Later, after the eruption of Ilopango volcano, the Chorti moved their primary eastern city from Cozumel-Chalchuapa to Copán, while other Chorti leaders moved to Tikal, Palenque and other Classic-era sites.
Would rural Chorti of western central El Salvador have also migrated as the people from the cities did after Ilopango? Would it have been possible that people in the balsam mountains could have survived staying behind? If not, do you think that rural Chorti of the balsam returned post-Ilopango? And did any Chorti-Lenca migrate to and from the Lempa-Balsam?
Posted by: Crisanta | 01/29/2011 at 02:20 PM