The Prehistory of the Southeastern Maya Periphery

Sharer, Robert J.; Olea, Horacio Corona; Cowgill, U. M.; Durbin, Thomas E.; Green, Ernestene; Grove, David C.; Hammond, Norman; Haviland, William A.; Hellmuth, Nicholas M.; Kelley, David H.; Kessler, Evelyn S.; Kryzaniak, Lech; Longyear, John M.; Paddock, John; Rucker, Marc D.; Schoenwetter, James; Suchy, Jaroslav; Hübschmannová, Milena; Wetherington, Ronald K.; Willey, Gordon R.

doi:10.1086/201454

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The decimation of human populations in central E1 Salvador has been clearly documented (Sheets 1971(Sheets , 1979(Sheets , 1981(Sheets , 1983a people in the immediate vicinity of the vent during the eruption include: lahars, earthquakes, acid burns, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and flourine poisoning, and coastal tsunamis along the Pacific coast (Blong 1984;Scarth 1999;Thorarinsson 1979).9 Although there is little doubt that central E1 Salvador was completely devastated by the TBJ eruption and void of human life immediately following it, the post-TBJ demography of western E1 Salvador has been the subject of some debate; one side arguing for the virtually complete and prolonged depopulation of the upper Rio Paz drainage basin (Sharer 1974(Sharer , 1978bSheets 1984), and the other for demographic and cultural continuity-suggesting only temporary local displacement of human populations following the TBJ event (Demarest 1986, 1988). Demarest (1986:179-180) speculates that the denizens of Chalchuapa must have remained in western E1 Salvador, moving "up out of ash-buried basins," or that they retreated west to the nearby highlands and coastal plain of southeastern Guatemala.…”

Section: Reevaluating the Archaeological Record: The Tbj Tephra In Cumentioning

confidence: 99%

Volcanism, Ecology and Culture: A Reassessment of the Volcán Ilopango TBJ Eruption in the Southern Maya Realm

2001

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.The Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption of the Ilopango caldera in central El Salvador was one of the largest Holocene volcanic events in Central America, and its ecological and cultural impacts were felt throughout El Salvador and adjoining areas of Guatemala and Honduras. Early radiocarbon measurements established a ca. A.D. 260 + 114 calendar date for the eruption. However, a reevaluation of the original 14C dates, in addition to new AMS 14C assays, shows that the TBJ eruption occurred at least a century and a half later than originally estimated. The revised 14C composite supports an Early Classic Period calendar date for the eruption: 1 sigma = A.D. 421(429)526; 2 sigma = A.D. 408(429)536. A review of archaeological settlement, ceramic, and radiocarbon evidence from sites throughout the area of greatest devastation reveals a large-scale demographic collapse following the event. We believe that the population crash was caused both by the biophysical effects of the eruption and by the resulting disarticulation of the "Miraflores" cultural-economic sphere. The affected areas of El Salvador and southeastern Guatemala did not completely recover until the seventh centusy A.D.La erupcion del Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) de la caldera de Ilopando en la porcion central de El Salvador, fue uno de los eventos volcanicos mas grandes del Holoceno en Centroamerica. El Salvador y zonas limEtrofes de Guatemala y Honduras resintieron el impacto ecologico y cultural de este evento. Con base en los fechamientos de radiocarbono con que se contaba previamente la erupcion se dato hacia 260 + 114 d.C. Sin embargo, una reevaluacion de esas fechas ademas de otras recientemente procesadas, muestran que la erupcion del TBJ ocurrio cuando menos siglo y medio despues de lo que se habia calculado originalmente. De esta manera, se fundamenta la adscripcion temporal de la erupcion en el periodo Clasico Temprano: 1 sigma = 421 (429) 526 d.C.; 2 sigma = 408 (429) 536 d.C. Una revision de los asentamientos arqueologicos, la ceramica y las fechas de radiocarbono de varios sitios en el area que sufrio la mayor devastacion, en el occidente de El Salvador y el sureste de Guatemala, evidencian un colapso demogrXco a gran escala despues del evento. La mayoria de las personas que habitaban en un area de 1000 km2 al occidente de la caldera del Ilopango -incluyendo el valle de San Salvador y partes del valle de Zapotitandeben haber perecido instantaneamente a causa del impacto de materiales piroclasticos; quienes vivfan mas al occidente, en la cuenca del Rfo Paz y en la costa suroeste de El Salvador, probablemente abandonaron los pueblos a causa del colapso agrEcola, el hambre y las enfermedades. En el sureste de Guatemala,...

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Section: Reevaluating the Archaeological Record: The Tbj Tephra In Cumentioning

confidence: 99%

Volcanism, Ecology and Culture: A Reassessment of the Volcán Ilopango TBJ Eruption in the Southern Maya Realm

2001

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“…The Rio Paz Valley in western El Salvador may have been one of the first interior valleys in El Salvador to be permanently settled by farmers, with archaeological data pointing to settlement sometime before 1200 cal yr BC (Sharer, 1974(Sharer, , 1978. A pollen record from Laguna Cuzcachapa largely corroborates the archaeological sequence, and confirms human occupation back to at least ca.…”

Section: The Late Holocene-agricultural Revolution and Anthropogenic mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking El Salvador's ecological predicament: Theoretical templates and “long-view” ecologies

Dull

2008

Global Environmental Change

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“…Although the altitudinal gradient (which runs largely north to south) may create a natural stimulus to local trade, major long-distance trade routes ran east to west (Parsons and Price 1971;Sharer 1974). There may have been several such routes: a highland route, passing over the rough terrain separating montane valleys; a piedmont route, linking the numerous sculpture-rich sites; and a coastal trade route, including an ''inland waterway'' of estuaries and streams (Arroyo 1991(Arroyo , 1994 Hatch have become a point of reference for archaeological study within the Guatemalan highlands and Pacific Coast because they help to define both regions and long-standing traditions of material culture.…”

Section: The Cultural Geography Of Southern Pacific Mesoamericamentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica

Løve

2007

J Archaeol Res

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Recent research on the southern highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica has investigated topics of interest to all archaeologaists. Although best known for studies on the development of early social complexity, research in the region also has addressed hunter/gatherer subsistence patterns, early sedentism, the origins of food production, the development of the state, migration, the construction of social identity, political economy, and the collapse of complex societies. Research has accelerated in the past ten years, fueled by efforts of scholars from a number of disciplines. Recent paleo-ecological studies have provided much needed data for understanding human social action against the backdrop of the natural environment, while the region also has been the scene for testing numerous innovative theories of social change. Studies of identity and its manifestation in material culture have been especially productive.

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The Prehistory of the Southeastern Maya Periphery

Cited by 31 publications

References 10 publications

Volcanism, Ecology and Culture: A Reassessment of the Volcán Ilopango TBJ Eruption in the Southern Maya Realm

Volcanism, Ecology and Culture: A Reassessment of the Volcán Ilopango TBJ Eruption in the Southern Maya Realm

Unpacking El Salvador's ecological predicament: Theoretical templates and “long-view” ecologies

Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica

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