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.
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