Yarumela

Yarumela also called Hiarumela, llarumela, or "El Chilcal", was an Lenca settlement from the Middle Formative period in Mesoamerica, a period that ran from approximately: 900 BC-300BC. The Lenca are an indigenous mesoamerican people from southwestern Honduras and eastern El Salvador. Yarumela was part of a region the covered around 16,000 square kilometres and shared the region with other archaeological sites such as: La Venta, Los Naranjos, Lo de Vaca and Playa de los Muertos.

southeastern aerial view of Yarumela

Located sixty kilometres south of the Los Naranjos, the site of Yarumela yielded information that led archaeologists to believe that it was another imposing Middle Formative center. This information also led archaeologists to believe that Yarumela as a center had a focus on precious commodities. Much like the settlement found at Los Naranjos, Yarumela’s area was protected by the location in which it was found. On the Eastern side the settlement at Yarumela was protected by the Humuya River, which was a branch off of the Ulua, and on the western side it was protected by a large man-made ditch. The settlement at Yarumela was considered to be a large and prosperous trade center; archaeologists determined this from the numerous large structure mounds they found on the site as well as some of the material artifacts located there as well. Artifacts like shells, jadeite, obsidian fragments as well as exotic ceramics.

The settlement of Yarumela covered approximately 74 acres (30 hectares) of territory in the Comayagua Valley and because of its location the site exploited a major passageway between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Seas. This was evidenced by the large among of ornamental shells found at the site, shells that were native to both coastal regions, this paired with the amount of Guatemalan jade and other exotic items found by archaeologists at the site location leads researches to believe that it was indeed a central trade route for the region.

The site at Yarumela yielded many large structural mounds, including the largest one which reached a height of approximately 19 metres or sixty two feet high, Structure 101, named “El Cerrito”. This was determined to be the ‘main mound’ and was located in the central district of the site. Archaeologists determined that when it was fully functional and maintained the structure was visible from almost any point in the valley where the site was situated. El Cerrito is the main focus/attraction of the site at Yarumela, along with another visible large mound and a reconstructed small step pyramid close to the river opposite the large mounds.

On April 11, 2019, the mayor of the town of Yarumela and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History with the support of the national police of Honduras, restored structure 102 and managed to rehabilitate a good part of the site, installing signs where there is information about the history of the place. It is currently open to both national and foreign public.

Evans, Susan Toby. 2008 Ancient Mexico & Central America Thames & Hudson Ltd. London