It has been argued that the success of social development is fundamentally linked to a collective cultural identity.  Identity is the language of culture and its history, and it also legitimizes tradition, values, unity, and pride.  If this link is broken, however, it can lead to social disintegration and loss of culture.  Latin America's Pre-Columbian history changed in the 16th century: a link was broken; can archaeology mend this broken link?
This presentation focuses on the history of archaeological research in El Salvador and how it has shaped notions of identity through time.  What do people call themselves in the present and how these definitions can shape their future?  What is the role of archaeology in creating social awareness and empowering groups that have been invisible and silent in the past?  Can we really define the identity of the people of El Salvador?  These are among some of the questions that will be discussed in the presentation.  
Fabio Esteban Amador was born in El Salvador, and is the program officer for the NGS/Waitt Grants Program at National Geographic, an associate research professor of anthropology at George Washington University, and a research associate at the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA).  He is an archaeologist specializing in documentation and visualization of terrestrial and underwater cultural heritage sites.  Amador studied archaeology at Rutgers University and received Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo.  He has worked in archaeological sites in North, Central, and South America and is presently conducting research in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.  Before joining National Geographic, he was a professor of archaeology and a researcher for the Council for Scientific Investigation at the National University of El Salvador.  Fabio Esteban is also a founding member and coordinator for OLAS (Latin American Organization for Underwater Archaeology).