Sunday, February 27, 2011
Why Cant I Play Port Royale 2 On Vista
Ancient Mesoamerica News Updates 2011, No. 12: Joya de Ceren, El Salvador - Ancient Site in El Salvador
Today, Sunday, February 27, 2011, the online edition of the Mexican daily newspaper El Universal posted an article That Provides an overview of Archaeological Research Carried out at the important site of Joya de Ceren in El Salvador (edited by amanu):
the Pompeii of America is Ceren, a former Salvadoran site - The Ceren deposit has become an archaeological park after it found traces of dwellings, public buildings and artifacts from all type. It was the scene at the time of one of the many volcanic eruptions in the history of El Salvador, a country with 20 thousand square kilometers has 742, according to the National Service Territorial Studies (SNET), 23 volcanoes and five volcanic fields .
A moment of history - The houses, communal buildings, fields and other features of the human settlement were buried under tons of ash and lava from the eruption of Loma Caldera volcano, which occurred between 600 and 650 after Christ, a time that corresponds to the archeologists called the Classical Period, ranging from about 350 to 900
AD eruption of the volcano, which, as the slogan National Archaeological Foundation of El Salvador (Fund), was located about 600 meters north of the present Joya de Ceren, stopped a moment in the history of that village, where, according to the findings, there were no humans at that time, perhaps because they managed to escape in time to register after the eruption.
According to research, the residents of the village fled to the race to sign the first burst, leaving their homes and possessions intact, which is invaluable for archaeologists and anthropologists. Under a thick layer of about five meters of ash and mud buildings were of this small farming village and agricultural crops, vestiges of a civilization that is now being studied to understand the lifestyle and customs of the people of that era.
"The village shows the way people lived, what they grew and also the organizational structure of the houses that people had, where they slept, where they cultivated their fields (...), but also where they cooked" said the Director of National Heritage, Ramon Rivas. At the scene, according to the expert, there were, besides the buildings, artifacts such as pots and pans, as well as corn fields and even same ears intact.
"There were vessels which are pumpkin seeds or pumpkin seeds, chile (pimiento. ..). The odd thing is that everything is in perfect condition (in the time it was discovered), "said Rivas.
However, some smaller remains such as food, when in contact with the natural environment disintegrated, although the scientists working on the excavations were able to make plaster casts that have been preserved in the National Museum of Anthropology El Salvador (MUNA).
Among the buildings was also found a bathhouse, the "steam" feature pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica, a kind of sauna that the locals used communally. "Before the Incas, was a form of purification", he added.
Founding Scientists, an organization that was responsible for the conservation of this and other archaeological sites in the country, support the theory that the roof of the place was a dome built in adobe, a system based on weaving sticks or reeds, to view of this foundation is the only known Mesoamerican architecture.
According to Rivas, although the site have found traces of people, there have been no discoveries of human remains. "There are footprints gives the impression that people went running. Human remains have not been found, which gives us assume is that people had time to run, "he said. The three wineries
found and studied to date were found remains of mice and a duck, as well as weevils that remained between the stored grain corn and beans, while the birds were found outside. We have also found part of a human burial. An ancient settlement
- The site was discovered by chance during excavations conducted in 1976 by the then Controller of Supplies Institute (ARI) for the construction about silos. The works were uncovered a house of the eleven buildings excavated to date in the Joya de Ceren, which led to a research about the ancient inhabitants and customs that still continues.
It was not until 1978 that the archaeologist Sheets Payton, professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado (USA), took charge of the excavations with the support of Christian Zier, member Protoclassic Project, which focused on investigation of the Salvadoran Zapotitán valley, where the Joya de Ceren.
Experts eleven structures excavated and found, but not excavated, six, while the prospective studies suggest that there may be in place "several dozen more." However, for conservation reasons, it has been decided not to continue the excavations and keep an eye care and strict structures exposed for study.
"The problem we have is not so much digging, the problem is the preservation of what is going to find. Today we use in archeology what I call the strategy of the watermelon, we take the slice of watermelon and the rest is buried, "said the Director of National Heritage.
"What we have got is a 'sliced' for visitors, for the student, only imagine what may have in contornos que rodean lo que hoy se ha descubierto al público”, añadió el funcionario, quien estima que este lugar aún da para años y años de investigaciones.
¿Quiénes vivieron allí? - Los estudiosos consideran que ese sitio pudo haber estado habitado por los mayas, aunque Rivas prefiere ser “cuidadoso” y no confirmar de momento qué comunidad indígena habitaba la zona.
“Esta parte del mundo en la época prehispánica era un puente entre las culturas del norte y las culturas del sur”, afirmó Rivas, y relató que en el siglo X empiezan a darse las primeras migraciones desde el centro de México.
Cuando han pasado cientos years of the eruption, the Joya de Ceren is treasuring a place that keeps a portrait of history that is cause for investigation not only of what happened, but its characters, its origin and fate that they ran after that eruption which forced them to abandon their village. (EFE reports; source El Universal )
For more information on the site of Joya de Ceren and the research of Payton Sheets and historical team, check out:
The Ceren Web Resource and
FUNDAR: Joya de Ceren Archaeological Park
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