After Ilopango: The urban archaeology of Cuscatlán, during the Classic and Postclassic Periods, El Salvador

Abstract

Since 1978, when Paul Amaroli formally identified an archaeological site after a fortuitous find in the vicinity of La Esmeralda Farm in Antiguo Cuscatlán, that year can be considered to mark the official beginning of archaeological investigations at the Cuscatlán Archaeological Site. In the following lines, the discoveries made to the south of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador will be discussed from the perspective of Urban Archaeology —or, why not, the “Archaeology Modern Urban Development”— highlighting the occupation during the Late Classic, Early Postclassic, and Late Postclassic periods (431/539-1524 CE). This focus is due to the density of archaeological sites prior to the eruption of the Ilopango Caldera, which occurred during the Middle Preclassic, Late Preclassic, and Early Classic periods, although the latter will not be the subject of the present study. Likewise, unpublished photographs of the excavations and a hypothetical reconstruction of the main architectural complex, as well as the current state of the site, will be presented.