The Tazumal archaeological site is located in the heart of the municipality of Chalchuapa, department of Santa Ana, El Salvador, eighty kilometers west of the capital. This area is within the archaeological area of Chalchuapa, whose approximate area is 10 km² and where the archaeological sites of Pampe, Casa Blanca, El Trapiche and Las Victorias are also located. Chalchuapa was a site that received the influence of Copán and the Teotihuacan and Toltec influence.
Tazumal comprises a series of structures that were the scene of an important and sophisticated Mayan settlement that existed around AD 100 - 1200. The remains include water drainage systems, tombs, pyramids and temples. Its greatest development corresponds to the Classic horizon (250 to 900 AD). Since 900 A.D. They built a Toltec-style pyramid, a ball court, among others. Around 1,200 A.D. it was definitely abandoned.
One of the most important sculptures found on this site is the Estela de Tazumal, better known as the Virgen del Tazumal, 2.65 m high and 1.16 wide, where a character with rich costumes was captured holding a scepter. This sculpture that was found by the historian Santiago I. Barberena in 1892 and transferred to the National Museum.
Structure 1 consists of a basement or platform with several structures on top of it, in total it reaches 24 m in height and was built during the classical period (100 to 800 AD). Structure 2 is a terraced platform dating from the postclassic period, as well as structures 3 and 4 that indicate the existence of a ball court. There were several influences that this area had in other times, so it is possible to find traces of different cultures such as the Teotihuacana, the Copán and the Tolteca, among others. The mixture of these cultural traits made this region remarkably rich in artistic and architectural expressions.
Tazumal comprises a series of structures that were the scene of an important and sophisticated Mayan settlement that existed around AD 100 - 1200. The remains include water drainage systems, tombs, pyramids and temples. Its greatest development corresponds to the Classic horizon (250 to 900 AD). Since 900 A.D. They built a Toltec-style pyramid, a ball court, among others. Around 1,200 A.D. it was definitely abandoned.
One of the most important sculptures found on this site is the Estela de Tazumal, better known as the Virgen del Tazumal, 2.65 m high and 1.16 wide, where a character with rich costumes was captured holding a scepter. This sculpture that was found by the historian Santiago I. Barberena in 1892 and transferred to the National Museum.
Structure 1 consists of a basement or platform with several structures on top of it, in total it reaches 24 m in height and was built during the classical period (100 to 800 AD). Structure 2 is a terraced platform dating from the postclassic period, as well as structures 3 and 4 that indicate the existence of a ball court. There were several influences that this area had in other times, so it is possible to find traces of different cultures such as the Teotihuacana, the Copán and the Tolteca, among others. The mixture of these cultural traits made this region remarkably rich in artistic and architectural expressions.
