A collection of 2,400-year-old ceramic puppets found atop a Salvadorian pyramid are forcing archaeologists to rethink the country’s historical connection with its Central American neighbors. Three of the figures were made of fine clay and had adjustable heads with holes in them that may have been controlled using a string, much like a marionette puppet. They also had uniquely carved faces with expressions that seem to change depending on the angle they are viewed from. 

These remarkably well-preserved “Bolinas” figures are similar to others found at the Mayan burial site Tak’alik Ab’aj in Guatemala. The researchers argue these connections suggest the culture behind the puppets in El Salvador may have communicated and interacted with others in the region. The findings were published this week in the journal Antiquity. 

“This discovery contradicts some prevailing notion about El Salvador’s cultural backwardness or isolation in ancient times,” University of Warsaw archaeologist and paper author Jan Szymański said in a statement. “It reveals the existence of vibrant and far-reaching communities capable of exchanging ideas with remarkably distant places.”

Figures resembles others found across pre-Columbian Central America

Bolinas figurines refer to various human-modeled statues created throughout the Middle and Late Preclassic (1000–350 BCE and 350 BCE–250 CE) along the coast of Guatemala and western El Salvador. These figures come in various sizes and are normally made of light cream or reddish-brown paste. The vast majority of previously discovered Bolinas figures depict females wearing clothes. That wasn’t the case for these findings. All three of the larger figures recently found in El Salvador were nude, and researchers suspect one of them is male—a rarity for the medium.

The figurines were uncovered