Cara Sucia (Mesoamerican site)
Encyclopedia
Cara Sucia is a Mesoamerica
n archaeological site in western El Salvador
. The site was first settled in the Preclassic period
and was finally abandoned around AD 900, in the Terminal Classic
, when the Pipil people moved into the region, although there is no evidence of Pipil occupation at the site. It is thought that during the Early Preclassic (1200–500 BC), the site was occupied by people who spoke a forerunner of the Mayan languages
, and during the Late Preclassic period the site has evidence of contact with Chalchuapa
and with Kaminaljuyu
in the Guatemalan Highlands
.
The site is one of the most important archaeological sites in western El Salvador, but has not been restored. It consists of a number of grass-covered mounds, some of which are very large. Archaeologist Paul Amaroli has carried out investigations at the site. Stylistic similarities of the architecture
, ceramics and sculpture of the site indicate a link with the Cotzumalhuapa
culture in Pacific Guatemala
. Cara Sucia is the southeasternmost regional centre associated with this culture.
s and a large platform supporting various smaller structures. Cara Sucia appears to have been an important site for the manufacture of ceramic figurines and whistles.
Nineteenth-century historian Santiago Ignacio Barbarena first reported the archaeological site with the discovery of various artefacts there, including a stone sculpture of a jaguar head. Cara Sucia has been severely damaged by looters since the Land Reform Programme of 1980, with over 5000 looters' trenches having been recorded. After controls were placed on the import of artefacts to the United States in 1987, the scale of looting was dramatically reduced by the following year. In 1992 Cara Sucia was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative Lists, together with the El Imposible National Park
.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n archaeological site in western El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. The site was first settled in the Preclassic period
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
and was finally abandoned around AD 900, in the Terminal Classic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
, when the Pipil people moved into the region, although there is no evidence of Pipil occupation at the site. It is thought that during the Early Preclassic (1200–500 BC), the site was occupied by people who spoke a forerunner of the Mayan languages
Mayan languages
The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras...
, and during the Late Preclassic period the site has evidence of contact with Chalchuapa
Chalchuapa
Chalchuapa is a town and a municipality located in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. The city of Chalchuapa is in a wide valley at 650 meters above sea level, and watered by the Pampe River.- Overview :...
and with Kaminaljuyu
Kaminaljuyu
Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, although its remains today - a few mounds only - are far less...
in the Guatemalan Highlands
Guatemalan Highlands
The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north....
.
The site is one of the most important archaeological sites in western El Salvador, but has not been restored. It consists of a number of grass-covered mounds, some of which are very large. Archaeologist Paul Amaroli has carried out investigations at the site. Stylistic similarities of the architecture
Mesoamerican architecture
Mesoamerican architecture is the set of architectural traditions produced by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, traditions which are best known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures...
, ceramics and sculpture of the site indicate a link with the Cotzumalhuapa
Cotzumalhuapa
Santa Lucía Cotzumalhuapa is the name of a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological zone dating mainly to the Late Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology, although it was occupied since the Middle Preclassic period and there is evidence of a major development during the Late Preclassic period...
culture in Pacific Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Cara Sucia is the southeasternmost regional centre associated with this culture.
History
Cara Sucia appears to have experienced two principal phases of occupation, the first of which lasted from the Middle Preclassic through to the Late Preclassic and the second from approximately AD 650 to AD 950, in the Late to Terminal Classic period. The principal structures at the site date to the second phase of occupation, during the Late Classic. Late Classic architecture at Cara Sucia includes temples, rectangular houses, two enclosed Mesoamerican ballcourtMesoamerican ballcourt
A Mesoamerican ballcourt is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. Over 1,300 ballcourts have been identified, 60% in the last 20 years alone...
s and a large platform supporting various smaller structures. Cara Sucia appears to have been an important site for the manufacture of ceramic figurines and whistles.
Nineteenth-century historian Santiago Ignacio Barbarena first reported the archaeological site with the discovery of various artefacts there, including a stone sculpture of a jaguar head. Cara Sucia has been severely damaged by looters since the Land Reform Programme of 1980, with over 5000 looters' trenches having been recorded. After controls were placed on the import of artefacts to the United States in 1987, the scale of looting was dramatically reduced by the following year. In 1992 Cara Sucia was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative Lists, together with the El Imposible National Park
El Imposible National Park
El Imposible National Park is a tropical forest and a national park in El Salvador. It was established on 1 January 1989 and covers an area of 38.20 square kilometres. It has an altitude of between 250 and 1,425 metres...
.