El Salvador archaeological sites are places in which is still present the memory of our ancestors who inhabited our lands for centuries, these places were witnesses of the constructions that someday erected indigenous populations throughout the country. The main ones were Maya, Nahua and lencas.
Also to be noted that these witnesses of the indigenous culture places, are part of the so-called archaeological route of El Salvador.
Joya de Cerén
It is located in the Department of La Libertad, 30 minutes from San Salvador. This place was declared as world heritage in 1993, be considered a site of great cultural value. His discovery occurred in 1976.
Joya de Cerén you can see scenes of Indian life from many centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. The tour for visitors is composed of three excavation areas where displayed ten separate structures which shows what life was like in those times.
It is believed that this place was abandoned approximately in the year 600 a.d., due to a volcanic eruption, which left him under the ground.
San Andrés
It is located 32 kilometers from San Salvador. This place was a site where various religious ceremonies which took place between the years 600 and 900 a.d. were carried out. It was also buried by a volcanic eruption that occurred in the year 1658.
It has an area of approximately 35 hectares being one of El Salvador’s largest pre-Hispanic centers. Currently has a Museum, a shop of handicrafts, local guides and cafeteria.
Tazumal
It was discovered in 1892, although it was officially recorded until 1940. Its location is in the municipality of Chalachuapa in the Department of Santa Ana, 80 kilometers from San Salvador.
Tazumal means “place where souls consumed”, so it is believed that it was a kind of Indian Cemetery. Indeed within its structure of 24 metres high, tombs were found with more than 116 vessels, jade jewelry, iron pyrite mirrors, artifacts of ball game and lizard-shaped ceramic.
This sophisticated Mayan settlement that existed around the years 100 to 1200 a.d., which was associated with Copán and Teotihuacan and Toltec influence.
Cihuatán
It includes an estimated 300 hectares of continuous buildings, including a core of large civico-religiosas structures, surrounded by a compact complex of domestic architecture. His name means: “Place of women”.
Cihuatán was only occupied for a short time, between 900 and 1100 a.d., and abandoned during the phase, named Guazapa; It is the largest of El Salvador archaeological site, it has an area of three kilometres.
It is located 37 kilometres north of San Salvador, on the trunk line of the northern highway that goes from San Salvador to La Palma.
Casa Blanca
It is located a few meters from the entrance of Chalchuapa, in the Department of Santa Ana.
It was occupied for 10 centuries, since the year 500 BC, until the arrival of the Spaniards. Four carved stones of more than one meter in height can be seen in its facilities. It currently has a workshop of Indigo in which visitors can participate by creating your own model of stamping.
