Los Cerritos Lecture by Oswaldo Chinchilla

Boundary End Archaeology Reserach Center presents a virtual lecture on the Ancient Americas:

The Sculptures of Los Cerritos and the Archeology of Pacific Guatemala

Oswaldo Chinchilla, Yale University

Dr. Chinchilla will present online, via YouTube, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 6:00 pm EST.

You may join us on May 7 on YouTube by following this link.

Archaeological sites in the region of Los Cerritos, near the modern city of Escuintla, Guatemala, occupy a privileged position, at a crossroads for communication between the valley of Guatemala and the Pacific coast. Not surprisingly, there is a long history of human occupation in the area, extending from the Middle Formative period to the present. In this talk, I will discuss the archaeology of Los Cerritos and describe a small but important corpus of sculptures from the sites of Los Cerritos Norte and Los Cerritos Sur. The sculptures include examples of various genres, including a niche sculpture, a potbelly (barrigón), a Teotihuacan-style balustrade, and two large stelae in the Cotzumalhuapa style. Together, they encapsulate the region’s culture history, with broad ramifications for the archaeology of southern Mesoamerica.