Quelepa
[4] The site appears to have been linked to trade routes extending to western El Salvador and the Guatemalan Highlands and also to the north in Honduras.
[9] The archaeological site divided into East and West groups by a small stream called the Quebrada Agua Zarca, which has high, steep banks.
Although the volcano has erupted 6 times since 1699, most recently in 1924, and continues in a low state of activity it has never dropped sufficient volcanic ash on Quelepa to be detectable archaeologically.
[18] The first inhabitants of the site constructed a platform from plaster and pumice and rebuilt it a number of times[19] Quelepa is generally considered to have been settled by the Lenca people.
[20] Around AD 539 the Ilopango volcano erupted and devastated western El Salvador, breaking Quelepa's link with Mesoamerica.
[22] In the Late Classic to Early Postclassic periods (from approximately AD 625–1000), the ceremonial centre of the settlement was abandoned and smaller structures were built around a small plaza.
This has been interpreted as a Mesoamerican influence with its origins on the Gulf coast of Mexico, or perhaps from Seibal, a Maya city in the Petén Basin of northern Guatemala.
Peccorini reported that the site had many structures faced with stone, a paved "road", artificial terraces and various sculptured monuments, one of which was probably the Jaguar Altar.
The investigations focused on Structure 3 in the East Group and were never completed and the results were unpublished, although the fieldnotes he made were forwarded to E. Wyllys Andrews V.[31] The principal excavations of the site were carried out under the direction of E. Wyllys Andrews from 1967–1969, funded by the Middle American Research Institute of Tulane University and by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
[37] Structure size at the site varies greatly from 10-metre (33 ft) high pyramids to small, badly eroded mounds.
Ramps have also been reported from Los Naranjos in Honduras and from Bilbao on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, although the latter differed in form and function from those at Quelepa.
[42] The area south of the San Esteban River lacks structures but contains a great number of tombs.
[43] A cache was uncovered at the site that contained a collection of artifacts associated with the Mesoamerican ballgame, including finely sculpted yokes, palmas and a hacha.
Two large stone slabs were laid in the centre of the playing area, upon them was a broken sandstone disc that measured 28 by 4.5 centimetres (11.0 by 1.8 in) and was probably a ballcourt marker.
The use of a stairway indicates a major change in architectural style, moving away from the earlier use of ramps and involving the use of poorly reworked stone blocks for the facing of the building.
Burnt remains of wattle and daub were found scattered around the base, together with fragments of mortar and red-painted stucco.
Ceramic evidence indicates that the building was abandoned at the end of the occupational history of the site, around AD 1000 at the beginning of the Early Postclassic period.
[62] The larger palma measured 49 by 16.5 centimetres (19.3 by 6.5 in) and was sculpted to represent a seated deity, probably Ehecatl, the god of wind.
[73] The terrace and the ramps were faced with large volcanic tuff blocks similar to, but larger than, those used to build the base of Structure 3.
Offering 18 was 3 metres (9.8 ft) northwest of the base of the ramp and contained two small ceramic bowls, one inverted over the other.
It is situated 11 metres (36 ft) to the east of the smaller pyramid Structure 4, on the third terrace rising northwards from the river.
Considerable effort was made to artificially level the volcanic tuff surface of the terrace before construction began.
[81] The access ramp was 6.4 metres (21 ft) wide and originally faced in stone, as uncovered during the 1949 excavations by Pedro Armillas.
However, after the excavations, the owners of the Hacienda La Obrajuelo stripped the stone facing to be reused as construction material in San Miguel.
The ramp had a total length of approximately 24 to 25 metres (79 to 82 ft) from base to summit and an initial incline of 18.5° that increased to 28° at the upper levels.
[82] The south face of Structure 3, including the access ramp, is badly eroded with the damage having been accelerated by the original excavations at the site.
[88] Structure 4 was faced with rough volcanic tuff blocks that varied considerably in size, cemented with mud.
The blocks were covered in a coating of mortar that varied between 5 and 7 centimetres (2.0 and 2.8 in) thick and that may originally have been painted although no evidence was found to prove this.
The structure contained seven caches, among the offerings were Early Classic ceramic vessels, jade beads and an onyx bowl.
[95] The altar was removed from the site after Quelepa was excavated by E. Wyllys Andrews and is now in the Museo Nacional de Antropología Dr. David J. Guzmán in San Salvador.
