page_title: Lenca
section_title: Archaeology
hierarchical_section_title: Lenca / Archaeology
caption_attribution_description: Español: Vasija del clasico
context_page_description: The Lenca are a Mesoamerican indigenous people of southwestern Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They once spoke the Lenca language, which is now nearly extinct. In Honduras, the Lenca are the largest indigenous group, with an estimated population of 100,000. El Salvador's Lenca population is estimated at about 37,000.
  The pre-Conquest Lenca had frequent contact with various Mayan groups as well as other indigenous peoples of the territory of present-day Mexico and Central America. The origin of Lenca populations has been a source of ongoing debate among anthropologists and historians. Research has been directed to gaining archaeological evidence of the pre-colonial Lenca.
context_section_description: Until recently, archaeological research and investigation of Lenca settlements had been limited. In studies of how the indigenous and colonial cultures affected each other, more attention had been given to colonial-era settlements influenced by Europeans. In addition, many indigenous sites are isolated and difficult to access. Researchers may also have difficulty conducting excavations because the sites are found in agricultural fields under cultivation. Surface evidence in rural areas reveals that pre-Columbian indigenous settlements existed in many regions. Many surface-visible earthwork mounds have been damaged from being plowed over by rural farmers.
  The evidence for pre-Columbian Lenca has come from research and excavation of several sites in Honduras and El Salvador. It shows that Lenca occupation was characterized by a relatively continuous pattern of growth.
  The Comayagua Valley is located at the highland basin linking the Pacific and Caribbean drainage systems of Honduras. The valley provides evidence for a rich setting of cross-cultural relationships and Lenca settlements. According to Boyd Dixon, research in the area has revealed a complex history spanning approximately 2500 years from the early pre-classic period to the Spanish Conquest of 1537. Prehistoric Lenca settlements were typically located along major rivers to afford access to water for drinking and washing and to waterways for transportation. The lowlands were typically fertile areas. The Lenca built relatively few and small monumental public structures, except for military fortifications. Most constructions were made of adobe rather than stone.
  In his research of the Comayagua Valley region, Dixon finds ample evidence of cross-cultural relationships; many artifacts have been found that show that settlements were linked through ceramics. The production of Usulua Polychrome ceramics has been shown to link Lenca settlements with neighboring chiefdoms during the classic period. The Lenca sites of Yarumela and Los Naranjos in Honduras, and Quelepa in El Salvador, all contain evidence of Usulután-style ceramics.
  Yarumela is an archaeological site in the Comayagua Valley believed to be a primary Lenca center during the middle and late formative periods. The site contained a large primary residential center several times the size of that of its neighboring settlements which were secondary centers in the region. The site was most likely chosen because of its proximity to some of the major floodplains in the valley, whose fertile soil was cultivated for agriculture. The pattern and scale of the late pre-classic settlements suggest the existence of a ranked society. All corners of the basin were located within a half-day walk of Yarumela.
  Other features found in the area are at the sites of Los Naranjos and Chalchuapa in El Salvador, each dominated by a single constructed earthen mound. Many other sites appear to share site-planning principles and structural forms with these examples, having large, open, flat plazas, leveled by manual grading, and dominated by a massive two- to three-tiered pyramidal earthwork mound.
  Quelepa is a major site in eastern El Salvador.  Its pottery shows strong similarities to ceramics found in central western El Salvador and the Maya highlands. Archaeologists speculate that Quelepa was settled by Lenca speakers from Honduras. Population pressure may have prompted their migrations to new territory.
  Since the late 20th century, scholars have focused on researching and exploring settlement patterns of the Lenca in order to better understand the chronology of settlement during the pre-Columbian era.
caption: Lenca pottery from the mid Mesoamerican Classic period.
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