Joya de Cerén (Jewel of Cerén in Spanish) is an ancient site in La Libertad Department, El Salvador. It is the remains of a pre-Columbian Maya farming village. The site is located in the Zapotitán Valley, 36 kilometers northwest of San Salvador, El Salvador. It is sometimes called the "Pompeii of the Americas" because, like the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, it was preserved by a natural disaster.

The site is famous for the excellent preservation of a Classic period settlement. This happened when the village was quickly covered by ash from an eruption of the Loma Caldera around AD 600. Many plant remains were found at Joya de Cerén, more than at other ancient Maya sites. This makes the site important for learning about daily life in ancient Maya farming communities. A discovery of a manioc field at Joya de Cerén was especially significant because it was the first evidence of manioc cultivation found at a New World archaeological site. The village was likely settled between AD 200 and AD 600. Joya de Cerén was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 because of its archaeological value. It is now a major tourist attraction in El Salvador.

Abandonment of Joya de Cerén

The village's population was estimated to be about 200 people when it was abandoned 1400 years ago. The eruption of the Loma Caldera volcano caused volcanic debris to fall over the site, covering it with 10 meters of material. The site was preserved well because the ash fell quickly and was not very hot, forming a layer 4 to 8 meters thick in just a few hours. Archaeologists used plaster casting, similar to methods used in Pompeii, to identify fruiting plants, stored beans, and mature maize, which helped them determine the eruption likely happened in August or September.

Major crops grown by the community included guava, agave, cacao, and manioc. Experts believe an earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale occurred before the eruption, possibly giving residents time to leave. Steam from the volcano might have warned people of the danger, but it is unclear exactly what alerted them. Scholars do not know whether the eruptions lasted several days or weeks. Artifacts suggest the evacuation happened in the early evening: tools were stored near homes, fires were lit in hearths, and sleeping mats had not yet been placed on the floor. No human remains have been found at the ancient Maya site.

The Plaza

Joya de Cerén is divided into three areas: northeastern, southeastern, and northwestern. The northwestern area includes Household 1 and Structures 1, 5–6, 10–12, and 17. These structures have milpas (cornfields) and a kitchen garden. The southeastern area includes Household 2 and Structures 2, 7, 9, 13, and 18. These structures contain a temascal (sweat house), milpas, and a basurero (trash pit). The northwestern area also includes Households 3–4 and Structures 3–4, 8, 14–16. These structures have milpas, fruit trees, and another basurero. Archaeologists have identified 18 structures at the site. Of these, 10 have been excavated. Scholars distinguish ceremonial buildings from non-ceremonial buildings by examining factors such as building orientation, platform heights, floor plans, construction techniques, altars, caches, and burials.

Structure 10 is a multi-roomed building with many corridors. Archaeologists believe Structure 10 was used for community festivals during the Classic Maya period, based on features linked to ceremonial activities. Inside Structure 10, a north corridor was used for food preparation, while an east corridor stored several vessels. For example, decorated vessels and a red painted deer and twine headdress were found in Structure 10. These items are thought to be connected with fertility and harvest rituals. Vessels filled with achiote seeds, found near ceremonial objects, suggest that a volcanic eruption may have interrupted a ceremony. Archaeologists also propose that the north corridor was used for food preparation and the east corridor for storage.

Structure 12 is located 5 meters from Structure 10 and has a doorway and two lattice windows that controlled movement inside the building. Like Structure 10, archaeologists believe Structure 12 was used for religious activities. Artifacts associated with women, such as ceramic figurines, shell fragments, beans, and antlers, were found in a niche of an earthen bench. These items suggest the building may have been used for divinatory activities by a diviner.

Structure 1 is also called Household 1 in archaeological records and has been fully excavated. Archaeologists suggest that Structure 1 had a service relationship with Structures 10 and 12, as its kitchen likely produced masa (corn dough) for ceremonies in those buildings. Differences in hearth wear helped scholars determine if a building was used for ritual activities. Using phosphorus detection and heavy metal analysis, archaeologists found that each household stored about 70 vessels for cooking, as well as for serving food and drinks in kitchen and midden (waste) areas, compared to other areas.

Economy

The community of Cerén made items such as agave fibers, manos, metates, and pottery vessels locally. They also bought items from other places, including cutting tools made from obsidian and chert, jade from the north (Sierra de las Minas), and fancy pottery from Copán, likely through markets managed by elites. After households owned these items, they often traded surplus goods with other families in the village or nearby areas. The way households were arranged in the village and the types of items found in each home helped researchers understand that the buildings were used for daily activities, not for special ceremonies.

Discovery

The site was found in 1976 by a bulldozer driver who was flattening the land for a government farming project. The first buildings uncovered were Structure 10 and 12, located in the northeastern part of the village. In 1978 and 1980, Payson Sheets, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, studied the area carefully. Digging began again in 1988 and has continued ever since. About 70 buildings have been found so far, including storage buildings, kitchens, living areas, workshops, a religious building, and a communal sauna.