Ilopango

The site of a catastrophic volcanic eruption in south-central El Salvador in the late Pre-Classic Period, c 260 AD. At least two volcanic events occurred close together and the effects devastated a large area, forcing the local populations of early Maya to migrate north and east into the lowlands of central Guatemala and Belize. This sudden influx of migrants may have given rise to the improved agricultural methods which mark the beginning of the Classic Maya civilization. Archaeological evidence at Barton Ramie (and at Altar De Sacrificios) indicates a period of noticeable environmental and demographic change at that time.

In the late Pre-Classic Period (c260 ad), Mount Ilopango in El Salvador was the centre of a catastrophic volcanic eruption. At least two volcanic events, temporally very close together, blasted an estimated 40 cubic kilometres of ash into the atmosphere. Aside from the direct effects of the blast, an area of maximum devastation some 3000-5000 km around the crater was covered with ash to an average depth of one metre. A further 50,000 square kilometres around this core received sufficient fallout to effectively destroy most subsistence vegetation. These events, it is suggested, caused the local populations (early Mayan groups) to migrate out northwards and eastwards into the lowlands of central Guatemala and Belize. It is possible that the pressure of this sudden influx of migrants may have given rise to the improved agricultural methods which mark the beginning of the Classic Maya civilization. Certainly, archaeological evidence at Barton Ramie (and to a lesser extent at Altar de Sacrificios) indicates a period of noticeable environmental and demographic change which can be roughly synchronized with (and would be appropriate to) such events.