The coastal plain around Cara Sucia is very suitable for growing cotton, and the abundance of malacates at the site indicates the importance of this crop and of textile manufacture. It has been suggested that the production of salt and cacao may have been other vital economic activities for the inhabitants of the site. In addition to some small settlements with Tamasha occupation, two other affiliated monumental centers are presently known in El Salvador, La Danta (on the border with Guatemala) and Huiscoyolate (next to Izalco). Four large stone sculptures have been found at Cara Sucia. They were removed from the site between the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and their original locations within the site are unknown. The sculptures follow the canons of Cotzumalhuapa art. Only one of the sculptures (designated as Monument 1) is in the collection of the National Museum of Anthropology, and consists of a disk with a feline face. The Cotzumalhuapa culture is noted for its portable sculptures related with the ballgame, especially yokes and hachas, both of which have been found at Cara Sucia, La Danta, and Huiscoyolate. Relations between the Tamasha area and that of the principal contemporary culture of western El Salvador, Payu, were apparently quite limited. The Payu commercial ware called Copador Polychrome was massively produced and distributed in its time, but is very scarcely represented at Cara Sucia. On the other hand, Tamasha figurines, which were very commonplace within their area, have only rarely been found at Payu sites. The Tamasha phase has a Terminal Classic facet marked by the introduction of the Cozatol ceramic group and a local fine paste ware. Cara Sucia's abandonment in the early 10th century AD is a matter requiring further investigation. Although the burning of structures on the acropolis may suggest a violent end, it is equally possible that it was caused by lightning strikes following the site's abandonment, since at the time these structures the most prominent points on the coastal plain within a radius of kilometers. Historian Santiago Barberena was the first to mention Cara Sucia in 1892, and had Monument 1 transferred to the National Museum. The site was covered by coastal forest until 1964, when bulldozers were used to clear the land for growing cotton, resulting in severe damage to the site; witnesses relate that numerous small platforms (presumably residential) were completely destroyed at that time. In 1967, Stanley Boggs visited and mapped the exposed site.