A Maya centre at Chalchuapa in western El Salvador, occupied from the Classic period through to about AD 1200 without a break in the ceramic record. The main structure, B1-1, was rebuilt over and over through the Classic and Early Postclassic and stands on a great platform 73 by 87 metres. Three gold ornaments came out of here dated to the eighth century AD, which puts them among the earliest metal objects reported anywhere in Mesoamerica. Also recovered: two chacmool figures, a jaguar effigy, a representation of Xipe Totec, and a ceramic vessel packed with jade and shell. Stanley Boggs excavated and restored it between 1942 and 1944; a bad restoration in 2004 damaged it and modern work has been putting that right. Santa Ana department, 720 metres up.
Chalchuapa, El Salvador
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