Given their striking location, they may have played a role in public rituals, according to the researchers.
The figurines, along with other artifacts found in the funerary depositsuch as jade pendantssuggest connections to other regions.
The figurines style, for example, has also been noted in western El Salvador and southern Guatemala.
The figurines from El Salvador.© J. Przedwojewska-Szymańska/PASI
Similar jade pendants have been documented in parts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
This discovery contradicts the prevailing notion about El Salvadors cultural backwardness or isolation in ancient times, Szymanski concludes.
It reveals the existence of vibrant and far-reaching communities capable of exchanging ideas with remarkably distant places.
This gets worse the further back in time we look.
Unlike some modern dolls, these ancient puppets cant talkbut they have a lot to say.
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