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55-496: It is situated 15 kilometers west from Santa Ana city, in the valley of Cuscachapa. The 'El Trapiche' pool is in the countryside of the city, filled with fresh and transparent waters; and the Mayan structure of Casa Blanca, which exhibits the rock on which General Justo Rufino Barrios from Guatemala was fatally wounded and murdered in the bloody battle of April 2, 1885. It also possesses an old-fashioned church of pure colonial style. It

110-459: A ceremonial and administrative centre surrounded by a vast irregular sprawl of residential complexes. The centres of all Maya cities featured sacred precincts, sometimes separated from nearby residential areas by walls. These precincts contained pyramid temples and other monumental architecture dedicated to elite activities, such as basal platforms that supported administrative or elite residential complexes. Sculpted monuments were raised to record

165-416: A cylindrical ceramic vessel with a polychrome bowl placed upon it like a lid. Within the vessel were two larger pieces of jade and 50 smaller jade fragments, a fragment of seashell and a fragment of snail shell, various pieces of animal bone, mica and traces of red pigment. The offering was covered with a slab of stone. The cylindrical vessel was decorated with two panels, each containing a personage wearing

220-528: A direct Pipil presence, judging by the level of evidence. After 1200, Tazumal was largely abandoned, with occupation shifting westwards towards the centre of what is now the modern town of Chalchuapa. Chalchuapa was still occupied at the time of the Spanish conquest , at which time its inhabitants were Poqomam Maya . The Pokomam are believed to have been relatively late settlers in Chalchuapa, postdating

275-481: A headdress and performing autosacrifice. Structure B1-1 is believed to have developed from a central temple and platforms on each side in the cardinal directions, with the west platforms serving as the main approach. As the complex developed, the space between the platforms was filled to form the Great Platform, the earliest version of which measured 65 by 74 metres (213 by 243 ft). The main pyramid B1-1

330-566: A jaguar effigy sculpture and an anthropomorphic sculpture depicting the central Mexican deity Xipe Totec . These artefacts are stylistically similar to artefacts from central Mexico and the northern Yucatán Peninsula. One of the crude chacmool sculptures is housed in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in San Salvador ; the other is in private ownership. Three gold ornaments have been excavated from Tazumal. They were created using

385-428: A memorial dance ground with ladders. The 'Ball Game' field, almost totally destroyed, used to be located in the current cemetery area. On the western flank of Ku or Teocali, there is a monolith carved in basaltic rock called “Estela de Tazumal” 2.65 meters high and 1.16 meters wide. It represents a richly adorned character, showing on the side hieroglyphical inscriptions that are possibly chronological, but different from

440-657: Is a beautiful architectural jewel consecrated to the patron of the city of Santiago Apostol whose lyric representation on horseback crowns the dome of the Catholic Church. Chalchuapa, which in Nahuatl means 'Río de Jadeitas' or Jade River, was the most remarkable emporium of the civilization of the Pok'omames, town of the Mayan-quiche or Mayan family. It also constitutes some of the most important archaeological areas of

495-457: Is a west-facing pyramid with three stepped levels standing upon a low basal platform. It was built using the talud-tablero style of architecture; the pyramid measures 25 by 25 metres (82 by 82 ft) and stands approximately 6.8 metres (22 ft) tall. In October 2004 the south side of the pyramid collapsed; this is believed to have been caused by a combination of damage caused by the roots of nearby trees and water damage. The restoration of

550-591: Is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the contemporary Maya city of Kaminaljuyu . Tazumal is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of the small Late Classic site of Alumulunga. Chalchuapa was inhabited since the Preclassic period, when massive construction activity took place. Around the boundary between the end of the Late Preclassic and the start of the Early Classic, construction at Tazumal

605-681: Is considered to be one of the first capital cities of the Maya civilization. The swamps of the Mirador Basin appear to have been the primary attraction for the first inhabitants of the area as evidenced by the unusual cluster of large cities around them. The city of Tikal , later to be one of the most important of the Classic Period Maya cities, was already a significant city by around 350 BC, although it did not match El Mirador. The Late Preclassic cultural florescence collapsed in

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660-468: Is the oldest Maya city known, the site was built in 1000 BC, it is thought to have been built by communal labor, an early form of social organization and development where it is believed that many tribes decided to establish a major settlement marking the beginnings of the Maya civilization. Aguada Fenix includes early monumental buildings and the oldest and biggest Maya structure by volume with 1400 meters long, 400 meters wide and 15 meters high. Aguada Fenix

715-694: The Maya city of Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala, which acted to extend the influence of the powerful central Mexican city of Teotihuacan into the Pacific coastal areas of Guatemala and El Salvador. During the Late Classic Tazumal had links with Copán in Honduras , as evidenced by architecture, sculpture and ceramics at Tazumal. The ceramic sequence at Tazumal continues uninterrupted from

770-501: The grid plans of the highland cities of central Mexico, such as Teotihuacán and Tenochtitlan . Maya kings ruled their kingdoms from palaces that were situated within the centre of their cities. Cities tended to be located in places that controlled trade routes or that could supply essential products. This allowed the elites that controlled trade to increase their wealth and status. Such cities were able to construct temples for public ceremonies, thus attracting further inhabitants to

825-475: The highlands and neighbouring Pacific coast, with long-occupied cities in exposed locations relocated, apparently due to a proliferation of warfare . Cities came to occupy more-easily defended hilltop locations surrounded by deep ravines, with ditch-and-wall defences sometimes supplementing the protection provided by the natural terrain. Chichen Itza, in the north, became what was probably the largest, most powerful and most cosmopolitan of all Maya cities. One of

880-520: The lost wax method and have been tentatively dated to the 8th century AD; their presence indicates contacts with lower Central America. These, together with some contemporary metal artefacts from Copán, are among the earliest reported metal artefacts from Mesoamerica. These items were recovered from a Late Classic tomb and at least one item was a traded artefact from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec . According to anecdotal evidence from workers who excavated

935-486: The 1st century AD and many of the great Maya cities of the epoch were abandoned; the cause of this collapse is as yet unknown. In the highlands, Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala was already a sprawling city by AD 300. During the Classic Period (AD 250-900), the Maya civilization achieved its greatest florescence. During the Early Classic (AD 250-300), cities throughout the Maya region were influenced by

990-523: The 9th century AD, the central Maya region suffered major political collapse , marked by the abandonment of cities, the ending of dynasties and a northward shift of population. During this period, known as the Terminal Classic, the northern cities of Chichen Itza and Uxmal show increased activity. Major cities in Mexico 's Yucatán Peninsula continued to be inhabited long after the cities of

1045-613: The Classic period through to approximately AD 1200. A number of Early Classic features indicate links with Chichen Itza , in the northern Yucatán Peninsula , or with Tula in central Mexico. The population of Tazumal coexisted with the Nahua -speaking Pipils from the Classic through to the Early Postclassic until at least AD 1200. The Pipil influence may have been due to trade with neighbouring Pipil populations rather than

1100-535: The Columns standing on the west side of the main pyramid may have served as its main facade. This structure had square columns and two identically sized chambers, separated by a space with two columns. The northern chamber had an entrance on the east side, with a possible additional entrance on the south side. Structure B1-2 dates to the Late Classic. It is located to the southwest of the main pyramid B1-1. It

1155-407: The Great Platform; it is presumed by investigators that the temple was radially symmetrical and that further platforms existed on the east and south sides. The remains of a platform measuring 4 by 3 metres (13.1 by 9.8 ft) were found in roughly the correct position for such a platform on the east side. A test pit sunk into the presumed area of the southern platform uncovered an offering containing

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1210-465: The Maya area, Coba was the most important Maya capital. Capital cities of Maya kingdoms could vary considerably in size, apparently related to how many vassal cities were tied to the capital. Overlords of city-states that held sway over a greater number of subordinate lords could command greater quantities of tribute in the form of goods and labour. The most notable forms of tribute pictured on Maya ceramics are cacao , textiles and feathers. During

1265-473: The Pipil influence that lasted until 1200. Between 1942 and 1944 Stanley Boggs excavated and restored structures B1-1 and B1-2. This restoration included coating the structures with modern cement, which Boggs judged to be sufficiently similar to their original appearance as to justify its use. Boggs' final report was not made generally available and no further archaeological investigations were carried out until

1320-479: The area of the presumed eastern platform of B1-1, many burials were found in that area. However, these were not mentioned by Boggs in any of his excavation reports. Burial 1 was found interred 20 centimetres (7.9 in) under the ledge joining the first and second levels of Pyramid B1-2. The burial consisted of a lower jaw and the remains of several other bones, accompanied by ceramic fragments and some obsidian artefacts. The dispersed remains indicate that Burial 1

1375-632: The capital city of the Kaqchikel Maya. Good relations did not last and the city was abandoned a few months later. This was followed by the fall of Zaculeu , the Mam Maya capital, in 1525. In 1697, Martín de Ursúa launched an assault upon the Itza capital Nojpetén and the last remaining independent Maya city fell to the Spanish. By the 19th century, the existence of five former Maya cities

1430-531: The centres of population of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica . They served the specialised roles of administration, commerce , manufacturing and religion that characterised ancient cities worldwide. Maya cities tended to be more dispersed than cities in other societies, even within Mesoamerica, as a result of adaptation to a lowland tropical environment that allowed food production amidst areas dedicated to other activities. They lacked

1485-463: The city gathered for public activities. Elite residential complexes occupied the best land around the city centre, while commoners had their residences dispersed further away from the ceremonial centre. Residential units were built on top of stone platforms to raise them above the level of the rain season floodwaters. Until the 1960s, scholarly opinion was that the ruins of Maya centres were not true cities but were rather empty ceremonial centres where

1540-529: The city. Those cities that had favourable conditions for food production, combined with access to trade routes, were likely to develop into the capital cities of early Maya states. The political relationship between Classic Maya city-states has been likened to the relationships between city-states in Classical Greece and Renaissance Italy . Some cities were linked to each other by straight limestone causeways, known as sacbeob , although whether

1595-492: The classical of the Mayan culture. An important battle took place in Chalchuapa on April 2, 1885. Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios died during this battle. 13°59′N 89°41′W  /  13.983°N 89.683°W  / 13.983; -89.683 Tazumal Tazumal ( /täsuːˈmäl/ ) is a pre-Columbian archeological site in Chalchuapa , El Salvador . Tazumal is an architectural complex within

1650-488: The country, with five ceremonial centers: Tazumal, Pampe, Trapiche, Casa Blanca, and Las Victorias; also, Cuzcachapa Lagoon. These pre-Columbian vestiges are scattered in an area of 6 square km. The ruins of Tazumal include a main pyramidal structure 23 meters in height (the inferior structures are still buried) located in a block and forming two truncated pyramids to the west. It has eight pilasters with chiseled figures. Northernmost, there are other complex constructions and

1705-550: The deeds of the ruling dynasty. City centres also featured plazas, sacred ballcourts and buildings used for marketplaces and schools. Frequently causeways linked the centre to outlying areas of the city. Some of these classes of architecture formed lesser groups in the outlying areas of the city, which served as sacred centres for non-royal lineages. The areas adjacent to these sacred compounds included residential complexes housing wealthy lineages. Art excavated from these elite residential complexes varies in quality according to

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1760-545: The early 21st century. In 1947 Tazumal was declared a National Historic Monument. Until 2001, the Salvadoran 100 colón note carried an illustration of the ruins of Tazumal. In 2004, the side of Structure B1-2 collapsed and the Salvadoran Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte (CONCULTURA - National Council for Culture and Art) initiated operations to excavate and stabilise the ruins. During

1815-570: The enormous structures of the Preclassic period. The principal structures of the Tazumal group date to the Classic period ( c.  AD 250 –900) of Mesoamerican chronology . By the Late Classic ( c.  AD 600 –900) Tazumal was an important ceremonial complex. Construction activity is evident from the Early Classic through to the Middle Classic ( c.  AD 400 –600). At this time Tazumal had important links with

1870-455: The exact function of these roads was commercial, political or religious has not been determined. Maya cities were not formally planned like the cities of highland Mexico and were subject to irregular expansion, with the haphazard addition to all of the palaces, temples and other buildings. Most Maya cities tended to grow outwards from the core, and upwards as new structures were superimposed upon preceding architecture . Maya cities usually had

1925-467: The final phase of construction and contemporaneous with Burial 1. The burial consisted of many bone fragments, including skull, longbones, ribs, jaw and vertebrae. The teeth indicate that the remains were those of a child. The remains were accompanied by ceramic pieces and some ashes. The ashes were subjected to radiocarbon dating , which indicated a date in the Late Classic to Early Postclassic, between AD 770 and 1000. Maya city Maya cities were

1980-586: The first decade of the 21st century, two simultaneous archaeological projects were initiated, the investigation of Structure B1-2 by CONCULTURA and the Proyecto Arqueológico de El Salvador (PAES) by the Japanese University of Nagoya . All the buildings in the Tazumal complex face west. Tazumal is believed to possess a Mesoamerican ballcourt ; this is based upon the external appearance of two unexcavated mounds that are situated in

2035-528: The great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico . At its height during the Late Classic, Tikal had expanded to have a population of well over 100,000. Tikal's great rival was Calakmul, another powerful city in the Petén Basin. In the southeast, Copán was the most important city. Palenque and Yaxchilán were the most powerful cities in the Usumacinta region. In the north of

2090-472: The larger area of the ancient Mesoamerican city of Chalchuapa, in western El Salvador. The Tazumal group is located in the southern portion of the Chalchuapa archaeological zone. Archaeologist Stanley Boggs excavated and restored the Tazumal complex during the 1940s and 1950s. Archaeological investigations indicate that Tazumal was inhabited from the Classic period through to the Postclassic and that

2145-572: The middle level was then raised an additional 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) and the upper level was increased to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high. Finally, a fourth level was added to the pyramid, bringing its total height to 6.5 metres (21 ft). During the third phase of construction, the structure was increased from four to five levels. The levels varied in height between them, measuring 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), 1 metre (3.3 ft), 1.4 metres (4.6 ft), 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) and 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) respectively. The fourth and final construction phase

2200-519: The monumental masonry architecture , sculpted monuments and causeways that characterised later cities in the Maya lowlands. In the Late Preclassic Period (400 BC - 250 AD), the enormous city of El Mirador grew to cover approximately 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi). It possessed paved avenues, massive triadic pyramid complexes dated to around 150 BC, and stelae and altars that were erected in its plazas. El Mirador

2255-518: The most important cities in the Guatemalan Highlands at this time was Qʼumarkaj , also known as Utatlán, the capital of the aggressive Kʼicheʼ Maya kingdom . The cities of the Postclassic highland Maya kingdoms fell to the invading Spanish conquistadors in the first half of the 16th century. The Kʼicheʼ capital, Qʼumarkaj , fell to Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. Shortly afterwards, the Spanish were invited as allies into Iximche ,

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2310-400: The northwestern portion of the site, within a 20th-century cemetery. One of the mounds is badly damaged. Green obsidian artefacts found at Tazumal indicate links with central Mexico. Structure B1-1 is the principal structure in the Tazumal group and dominates the complex. The pyramid underwent various phases of construction through the Classic and Early Postclassic periods. Structure B1-1

2365-608: The priesthood performed religious rituals for the peasant farmers, who lived dispersed in the middle of the jungle. Since the 1960s, formal archaeological mapping projects have revealed that the ceremonial centres in fact formed the centres of dispersed cities that possessed populations that at some sites could reach tens of thousands. During the Middle Preclassic Period (1000-400 BC), small villages began to grow to form cities. Aguada Fenix in Tabasco , Mexico

2420-473: The pyramid with cement in the 1950s had converted the structure into a water trap, while cedar roots had penetrated the building to a height of 6 metres (20 ft) causing significant cracking. Structure B1-2 underwent four phases of construction. The earliest phase had a total height of 4.7 metres (15 ft); the lowest level measured 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) high while the middle and upper levels both measured 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) high. This first phase

2475-401: The rank and prestige of the lineage that it housed. The largest and richest of these elite compounds sometimes possessed sculpture and art of craftsmanship equal to that of royal art. The ceremonial centre of the Maya city was where the ruling elite lived, and where the administrative functions of the city were performed, together with religious ceremonies. It was also where the inhabitants of

2530-515: The site had links as far afield as central Mexico, the northern Yucatán Peninsula and lower Central America. Metal artifacts from the complex date to the 8th century AD and are among the earliest metal artifacts reported from Mesoamerica. Tazumal is situated within the municipality of Chalchuapa in the department of Santa Ana , within the Río Paz drainage basin. The ruins are at an altitude of 720 metres (2,360 ft) above mean sea level . It

2585-416: The southern lowlands ceased to raise monuments. The Postclassic Period (AD 900-c.1524) was marked by a series of changes that distinguished its cities from those of the preceding Classic Period. The once-great city of Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala was abandoned after a period of continuous occupation that spanned almost two thousand years. This was symptomatic of changes that were sweeping across

2640-413: Was a secondary burial , possibly that of a human sacrifice associated with the dedication of the final phase of the pyramid. The teeth indicate that the remains were those of a young adult; the associated ceramics date the burial to the Terminal Classic or Early Postclassic. Burial 2 was found under the western facade of Structure B1-2. Its dating is uncertain but it is believed to be associated with

2695-557: Was abandoned around the year 750 BC for unknown reasons, after this, several sites started to flourish along the Maya Lowlands . By 500 BC these cities possessed large temple structures decorated with stucco masks representing gods . Nakbe in the Petén Department of Guatemala is the earliest well-documented city in the Maya lowlands, where large structures have been dated to around 750 BC. Nakbe already featured

2750-518: Was badly damaged by the collapse of the structure in 2004. Structure B1-3 and Structure B1-4 are the two structures that comprise the ballcourt. Test pits excavated during the first decade of the 21st century found the mortar floor of an I-shaped ballcourt. Structure B1-8 is a circular platform dating to the Late Classic period. Sculpture at the site dates as far back as the Preclassic period. Two Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic chacmool sculptures were recovered from Tazumal, as well as

2805-480: Was built upon a basal platform, called the Great Platform by Boggs, that measures 73 by 87 metres (240 by 285 ft) (east-west by north-south). The pyramid was surveyed in 2003–2004. A 30 metres (98 ft) long platform runs north-south along the western facade of the pyramid and a platform of similar length runs east-west along the north side of the structure. These two side platforms were originally built as separate structures but were later incorporated into

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2860-422: Was completely covered by the second phase of construction, executed in three sub-phases (labelled 2A, 2B and 2C). This was built in a style very similar to that of the first phase, first with the extension of the lower two levels while still using the earlier top level; a new third level was added later, completely covering the previous version. The lower two levels were first raised to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) high;

2915-533: Was interrupted by the eruption of the Ilopango volcano, some 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the east of the city. This eruption caused a hiatus in construction activity at Tazumal that may have lasted several generations. Activity resumed during the Early to Middle Classic ( c.  AD 250 –650) although the city never fully recovered to its Preclassic levels of activity. The Tazumal complex came closest to matching

2970-463: Was known in the Petén region of Guatemala . Nojpetén had been visited by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1525, followed by a number of missionaries at the beginning of the 17th century. The city was finally razed when it was conquered in 1697. Juan Galindo, governor of Petén, described the ruins of the Postclassic city of Topoxte in 1834. Modesto Méndez, a later governor of Petén, published

3025-460: Was then built upon the Great Platform, behind the western platform and covering the original central temple. The Great Platform was remodelled at least three times before it reached its final dimensions. The western platform of Structure B1-1 supports a superstructure, which has been called the Temple of the Columns. Because of the westward orientation of all the structures at Tazumal, the Temple of

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