f:T46b,Cihuatán was apparently established in the 8th or 9th century AD on a previously uninhabited site, and occupation was relatively brief, not lasting more than a century or so. The founding of the city coincides with the abandonment of major Classic period cities in the surrounding region, which had strong links to the Maya cities of Honduras. The founding of Cihuatán may have been a by-product of the disruption caused by the Classic Maya collapse and corresponding shift in trade routes. About 100 to 150 years after it was founded, Cihuatán was destroyed by a massive fire that spread rapidly throughout the city. Excavated evidence indicates that those inhabitants that did not die in the flames fled, abandoning their belongings. Spear points were frequent finds in the burnt layers and human remains were found trapped in drains in the acropolis that dated to the time of the city's destruction. ==Artifacts==10:T4eb,Ceramics excavated at Cihuatán include large locally-produced ceramic effigies of central Mexican deities such as Tlaloc and Xipe Totec, and are very similar in style to effigies recovered from Central Mexico and the Gulf coast. Locally-produced utilitarian ceramics are of a type common to the southern Mesoamerican region during the Early Postclassic. Other ceramics include spiked incense burners, small anthropomorphic figurines, wheeled figurines, and clay boxes. Both locally-produced and imported ceramics appear to have close affinities with ceramic styles from Veracruz, on the Gulf coast of Mexico, and may have derived from them, although they are combined with strong local influences. Large quantities of obsidian artefacts were found at Cihuatán, in both residential and ceremonial contexts. These included obsidian cores, prismatic blades, and tools. Bifacial projectile points were also recovered, but were uncommon. These stone artefacts were typical of the Early Postclassic period. ==Site description==