El Salvador - A Game You Want to Lose

April 13

Hello everyone!

It’s funny how traffic can cause you to find treasures that would otherwise get missed. In order to avoid sitting in a traffic jam when returning south from Suchitoto, we found that our new route would be passing this…

The pyramid at Cihuatán

Ruins of a lost city from over 1000 years ago

On top of the pyramid

This is Cihuatán, an archaeological site near the town of Aguilares. On its website, the Ministry of Culture describes Cihuatán as ‘one of the most important archaeological sites in Central America.’ When you consider that the region includes places such as Chichen Itza, Tikal and Copan, which are internationally renowned, it is a bold statement.

It is about 24 kilometres west of Suchitoto

Cihuatan translates from the indigenous language as ‘place of the woman’, based on the idea that the nearby volcano looks like a sleeping woman.

The park is a large complex of pre-Columbian ruins which were believed to be constructed between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Many of the remains were discovered in one of El Salvador’s first official digs, by a man called Antonio Sol in 1929. 

A photo of excavators during the 1929 dig

This photo shows how well some sites were hidden

Cihuatán is thought to have been the capital of a region now depicted on maps as the western part of El Salvador. Evidence of this includes a variety of temples and a royal palace. The fact that the latter was covered by a forest at the time of its discovery less than 100 years ago suggests that there may be other memories hiding in plain sight.

The excavation site is about three square kilometres and the park is over three hundred hectares in size

It is the largest archaeological site in El Salvador but is smaller than many others in the Mesoamerica region

The main pyramid is the setting of this palace, upon which the leaders of the tribe would sit and observe. The design allows sound to travel up - we could hear our guide talk to us from the bottom without him raising his voice.

I can't find proof but I think our guide said it was thirteen metres tall

It was also pretty warm when we visited so I hope they had some Sun protection!

Who these rulers were is still a discussion rather than set in stone. What I’ve read is that many of the artefacts found by ceremonial structures suggest ties to the east and north, especially with peoples from Veracruz in Mexico, whilst other artefacts show trade with the Maya peoples of Guatemala and with people to the south in Nicaragua. What is known is that it was a large settlement which had prestige.

The structure had Mayan clues such as those dots

It is very much dry season at the moment -
I imagine it looks a lot greener later in the year

Other elements that have been discovered are two ‘ball courts’. These are seen as a common thread of Mesoamerican identity. It seemed like a game similar to volleyball would be played down a long, narrow alley, with supporters stationed above. The game is known by a variety of names, from 'pelota Maya' to 'pok-a-tok'. The main thing we learnt was that the winners…got sacrificed. Play for a draw?

They also found a 'sauna' room connected to the court

Apparently the game is the oldest known team game, dating back to 1400 BCE 

Another entertainment venue unearthed here is what is known as a ‘dance platform’. The one here has been damaged by the Salvadoran Civil War, when it was used as a platform…for machine guns. It is lucky that much of this site was undamaged by the thirteen-year conflict.

Not sure where the DJ would be based...

Ancient fortifications were easily adapted for modern fighting

The settlement and people that lived here are believed to have been destroyed by a large fire started by invaders in around 1150 CE. Who instigated that fire is not known. Finding obsidian, a material known to be used for lances and arrows, offers historians possible clues.

This may have been a temple

The darkness of the rock, not found in the region, suggests fire

There are five archaeological parks in El Salvador, and hundreds of small sites. It was a pleasant surprise to stumble upon Cihuatán and to learn a little bit about life in the area before the European arrival. In case you’re wondering…traffic was fine!

The trees here were fascinating!

Not worth sacrificing, I think... :-)

Love you all,

Matt