Tazumal is an architectural complex within the larger area of the ancient Mesoamerican city of Chalchuapa, in western El Salvador.

Tazumal is situated within the municipality of Chalchuapa in the department of Santa Ana,[3] within the Río Paz drainage basin.

Around the boundary between the end of the Late Preclassic and the start of the Early Classic, construction at Tazumal was interrupted by the eruption of the Ilopango volcano, some 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the east of the city.

[6] The principal structures of the Tazumal group date to the Classic period (c. AD 250–900) of Mesoamerican chronology.

[10] A number of Early Classic features indicate links with Chichen Itza, in the northern Yucatán Peninsula, or with Tula in central Mexico.

[13] After 1200, Tazumal was largely abandoned, with occupation shifting westwards towards the centre of what is now the modern town of Chalchuapa.

[14] This restoration included coating the structures with modern cement, which Boggs judged to be sufficiently similar to their original appearance as to justify its use.

[15] Boggs' final report was not made generally available and no further archaeological investigations were carried out until the early 21st century.

[3] During the first decade of the 21st century, two simultaneous archaeological projects were initiated, the investigation of Structure B1-2 by CONCULTURA and the Proyecto Arqueológico de El Salvador (PAES) by the Japanese University of Nagoya.

[18] Tazumal is believed to possess a Mesoamerican ballcourt;[19] this is based upon the external appearance of two unexcavated mounds that are situated in the northwestern portion of the site, within a 20th-century cemetery.

[18] A test pit sunk into the presumed area of the southern platform uncovered an offering containing a cylindrical ceramic vessel with a polychrome bowl placed upon it like a lid.

The restoration of the pyramid with cement in the 1950s had converted the structure into a water trap, while cedar roots had penetrated the building to a height of 6 metres (20 ft) causing significant cracking.

[29] Finally, a fourth level was added to the pyramid, bringing its total height to 6.5 metres (21 ft).

[32] Test pits excavated during the first decade of the 21st century found the mortar floor of an I-shaped ballcourt.

[11] One of the crude chacmool sculptures is housed in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in San Salvador; the other is in private ownership.

They were created using the lost wax method and have been tentatively dated to the 8th century AD; their presence indicates contacts with lower Central America.

The burial consisted of a lower jaw and the remains of several other bones, accompanied by ceramic fragments and some obsidian artefacts.

[31] The teeth indicate that the remains were those of a young adult; the associated ceramics date the burial to the Terminal Classic or Early Postclassic.

The burial consisted of many bone fragments, including skull, longbones, ribs, jaw and vertebrae.