El Cerén

Located in the highlands of central El Salvador, El Cerén, or Joya de Cerén, has been described as the “Pompeii of the Americas.” Discovered by accident in 1976, the Classic Maya site was covered with more than 5 meters of ash from an eruption of the Loma Caldera volcano circa AD 600, leaving this hamlet in an outstanding condition of preservation. It is registered with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site.

At the time of the Loma Caldera eruption, Cerén was a hamlet on the banks of the Rio Sucio. Data from several years of excavation suggest that people were just finishing their evening meal when the first signs of danger appeared. People fled the site, leaving buildings and belongings as they were. No human remains have been encountered at the site as a result of the disaster, though it is uncertain whether or not the people of Cerén actually escaped the many waves of intense explosions or not.

Outside of the eruption that preserved it, village life at Cerén was not unique. It was one of many villages and towns under the influence of the Classic Maya center at San Andres. San Andres served as the major religious and political center as well as providing a market where people from Cerén could have bartered for needed and desired items such as obsidian, shell, and salt. Life at Cerén however, focused on agricultural production of corn, with some specialized production of ceramics and other crafts.

Excavations at Cerén are notable for three major reasons. First, the sudden abandonment of the site left it in an unparalleled state of preservation. This led to an ongoing series of field projects directed at understanding the details of daily life in a Classic Maya village. Investigations have provided evidence for domestic and public architecture; where and how food was stored, prepared, and consumed; specialized tasks conducted by residents; agricultural practices; as well spatial arrangements within and between dwellings. It was because of the research potential of this unprecedented preservation that Cerén was nominated to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.

Second, Cerén has been both a testing ground and a model for interdisciplinary research and applications of technology in archaeological research. The challenges of conducting excavations of a substantial and [Page 806]deeply buried site promoted the use of remote-sensing technologies, such as resistivity and ground-penetrating radar, and opened up opportunities for collaboration with a variety of natural scientists. Excavation techniques for recovering and analyzing fragile remains of house posts, roof thatching, and growing corn developed over many seasons of fieldwork.

Third, Cerén stands as a model of diplomacy and international cooperation. Initial excavations at Cerén took place during intense conflict and political instability in El Salvador, during which project leaders successfully negotiated for the safety of excavators and the site itself. In addition, the Cerén project became one of the best-documented and most accessible archaeological projects in the world, with a well-maintained site museum and many field reports, photographs, and field specimen lists available through an official Cerén Web site.

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