El Baúl is a

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

in present-day Escuintla Department,

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. El Baúl, along with the sites of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

and El Castillo, is part of the Cotzumalhuapa Archaeological Zone. It was occupied during the prehistoric Formative stage of the Americas.

Site

The El Baúl acropolis is located 4 km north of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, above sea level, from the Pacific Ocean. Its southern acropolis complex was destroyed in 1997 by urban development and the main groups are now covered by

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

fields. The ballcourt is located north of the acropolis with several residential groups in between. It is united by two causeways. The site's geologic context is volcanic; it is located just south of an active stratovolcano, Fuego volcano. The site contains monumental architecture in its acropolis as well as a probable sweatbath and

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

workshops. Analysis of these deposits is particularly important for the study of the ancient obsidian industry. The P31 stratigraphic pit continued below these deposits to a depth of , revealing

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...

layers derived from the adjacent Fuego volcano.

Obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

debitage In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This Assemblage (archaeology), assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic fla ...

continued below these ash layers, suggesting that the area was used as a refuse deposit for a prolonged period. The largest causeway is long and ranges from wide, joining the acropoli of Bilbao and El Baúl. Before entering El Baúl, the causeway ran across a large bridge over the Santiago River gorge. The foundation walls of the bridge, which most probably sustained a wooden structure, are still visible along a 3 span of the river course. An excavation carried out on the western side of the river gorge revealed two constructional stages for the causeway at this location, both of which date to the Late Classic period. Many monumental sculptures have been found along the causeways.

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External links

El Baúl and surrounding sites, history and photo gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Baul Baul, El Archaeological sites in Guatemala Former populated places in Guatemala Escuintla Department Formative period in the Americas Classic period in Mesoamerica

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