Gaby
A team led by archaeologist Jan Szymanski of the University of Warsaw uncovered five ceramic figurines with dramatic facial expressions at the San Isidro site in El Salvador. The artifacts date back roughly 2,400 years.
The team believes the figurines were used as puppets in rituals performed atop the pyramid.
Three of the dolls stand about 30 centimeters tall, while the other two measure about 18 and 10 centimeters.
What Makes This Discovery Special?
All the figurines have open mouths—some even show their tongues. The three largest have removable heads and small holes in their necks and headdresses. Excavation leader Jan Szymanski realized that threading a string through those holes would let a puppeteer move the heads, creating the impression that the dolls were singing, chanting, or speaking.
Radiocarbon dating and ceramic analysis indicate these items were likely buried at the top of the pyramid around 400 B.C., placing them in the Middle Preclassic period—a time when Mesoamerican cultures, including the nearby Maya, were developing writing systems and more complex social hierarchies.
Barbara Arroyo suggested the dolls’ westward orientation might link them to sunset and death symbolism in the Mesoamerican worldview.
The “Bolinas Figurines”
Arkeonews reports the artifacts belong to a style called “Bolinas figurines,” a type previously identified at various archaeological sites. Often these dolls are found fragmented. In 2012, archaeologists uncovered intact movable figurines used in Maya funerary rituals at Takalik Abaj in Guatemala.
The dolls found at Takalik Abaj and elsewhere often featured intricate decorations, skirts, and hairstyles carved from clay. One figurine at Takalik Abaj even had a removable jade earring.
Szymanski’s team thinks the San Isidro dolls may have worn miniature accessories and clothing made of fabric or straw, and might even have worn wigs. Szymanski suggested changing outfits could let the “clay actors” play different roles. He added that their facial expressions seem to shift depending on the viewing angle. While some performances may have been educational or entertaining—similar to a puppet theater—the dolls’ primary role was likely religious.
The team is continuing excavations at the pyramid to learn more about the performances, the associated rituals, and the puppeteers who operated the dolls. Scholars think the San Isidro settlement may have served as a trade hub, exchanging cultures, ideas, and languages across Central America and beyond.
The study’s findings were published in the journal Antiquity.
