F U N D A R

F U N D A C I Ó N N A C I O N A L D E A R Q U E O L O G Í A D E E L S A L V A D O R

23ª Avenida Norte, No. 1214, segundo nivel, Colonia Médica, San Salvador, El Salvador, Centroamérica Telefax: (503) 2235 – 9453 E-mail: fundar123@yahoo.com

San Salvador, 3 de marzo, 2010

Licda. Deysi Reynosa Financial Administrative Officer Secretary of Culture San Salvador Subject: information concerning damage to the archaeological site Pueblo Viejo Las Marías. Dear Licda. Reynosa: In accordance with our mission to contribute to the protection of our archaeological heritage, I wish to informe you that today FUNDAR received a telephone call from a person who lives within the archaeological site Pueblo Viejo Las Marías, also known as “Las Marías”. This person wishes to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals. Las Marías is located in the extreme north of the jurisdiction of Quezaltepeque (Figure 1). It is the largest archaeological site known in El Salvador and contains hundreds of structures. (Figure 2). Between 2001 y 2009, FUNDAR undertook a project whose aim was to acquire land for the State with the purpose of protecting the site and developing it into an archaeological park. Although some of the objectives of the project were met, it was not possible to acquire the land because, at first no one had the legal papers which would enable them to sell the land and then the landowners asked for exorbitant sums for their property or refused to sell. The person who called said:

1) Last week and today 2 ox carts arrived and were used to take stone from the Prehispanic ball court of Las Marías. This ball court was one of the best preserved in El Salvador (Figure 3).

2) Las week a group of men who identified themselves as representing the Secretary

of Culture arrived in Las Marías. They called a meeting of the residents with the

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objective of negotiating the buying of the archaeological site. One of these men gave his name as name as “Arnulfo Palacios”.

With respect to the first point, we urgently recommend that the Department of Archaeology undertake an inspection of the site to verify damage to the ball court and, very possibly, to other archaeological structures and do whatever is possible to stop further damage. Just as with Cihuatán, the total area of the archaeological site of Las Marías is protected under an internal resolution of CONCULTURA (Figure 4). In this case it is Internal Resolution 0003/2007 published the 21st of April, 2007 in the Diario Oficial ( Vol. 375, no. 72). We include a copy of this resolution as Appendix 1. The resolution specifies various means of protection for the site and specifically prohibits the taking of stone. In 2007 a copy of the resolution was given to the cooperative to which the residents of Las Marías all belong and it was read to them in a general assembly. We also wish to note that this resolution was based on the investigations undertaken by FUNDAR, specifically the survey which determined the absolute size of the site and the location of its limits. With respect to the second point, we would be extremely happy if it were certain that the Secretary of Culture was continuing with the Project to buy the site area in order to protect Las Marías. Nonetheless, it is not clear that these people are representing themselves veraciously and it may well be they came to Las Marías were simply using the name of the Secretary of Culture in order to acquire the archaeological site for their own purposes, purposes probably unfavorable to its preservation. For example, they may be trying to acquire the site in order to loot it. Or, perhaps, they are trying to buy the land relatively cheaply so that they may, later, sell it at a high price to the State. Given the urgency of this situation, this afternoon we telephoned the Department of Archaeology and left a message for its Coordinator, Lic. Shione Shibata, concerning this situation. Sincerely, Dr. Rodrigo Brito President, FUNDAR

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cc: Lic. Shione Shibata Coordinador del Departamento de Arqueología

FIGURE 1 Location of the archaeological site Pueblo Viejo Las Marías, also known as “Las Marías”. It is located in the extreme north of the municipality of Quezaltepeque.

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FIGURE 2 A map made by FUNDAR archaeologicsts of the central part of the archaeological site of Pueblo Viejo Las Marías. The ball court is slightly above the center of this map.

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FIGURE 3 The Las Marías ball court when it was being mapped by FUNDAR. It is one of the best preserved of the Prehispanic ball courts in El Salvador.

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FIGURE 4 The limits (in red) of the protected area of the archaeological site Pueblo Viejo Las Marías as named in Resolución Interna 0003/2007 de CONCULTURA, publicada el 21 de abril, 2007 en el Diario Oficial, Tomo 375, Número 72.

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The red triangle indicate the approximate location of thePrecolumbian ball court.

APPENDIX 1

Copy of the Internal Resolution 0003/2007 de CONCULTURA, Publisher the 21st of April, 2007 in the Diario Oficial, Volume 375, Number 72.

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