Nahua-Pipil diasporic migration and symbolic landscape in Early Postclassic El Salvador

Abstract

This research explores the Postclassic period migrations of Nahua speaking groups from Mexico to Central America, which is known as one of the best examples of large-scale population movements in New World culture history. The reasons why Nahua-Pipil groups migrated into this particular landscape in El Salvador and the sociopolitical situation that emerged from this population movement are still unclear. This study analyze the earliest Nahua-Pipil settlements established in the Balsam Coast Range of the western part of El Salvador during the Early Postclassic (AD 800-1200) period. Specifically, this research seeks to discuss the possible reasons why the Nahua-Pipil decided to build their settlements in the Balsam Coast Range and to what extent the location of these archaeological sites is a cultural process of symbolic appropriation of the landscape as a reflection of emulation associated with a diasporic migration phenomenon. The study of Nahua-Pipil population movement to the Balsam Coast in El Salvador contributes to better understanding of identity in archaeology to comprehend why these communities maintained their Nahua-Pipil identity through landscape, understanding that landscape is a conceptual and behavioral process, scholars now understand that the analysis should encompass not only what is on the land, but also human perceptions about the land. In addition, productive lines of research are developed through asking questions about the particular characteristics of different man-made environments and the symbolic influence of these characteristics on specific social formations.