Museo Regional de Arqueología de la Democracia, Escuintla
Encyclopedia
The Museo Regional de Arqueología de la Democracia ("Regional Archaeological Museum of La Democracia") is an archaeological museum in the municipality
of La Democracia
in the department
of Escuintla in Guatemala
. The museum displays pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica
n artefacts from the Pacific
lowlands datingfrom the Preclassic Period through to the Postclassic Period, with a particular emphasis upon the local Monte Alto culture
. The museum is open from Tuesday through to Saturday from 8am to 4pm.
style. La Democracia is situated in the department of Escuintla at an altitude of 165 metres (541.3 ft) above mean sea level
. It is 92 kilometres (57.2 mi) from Guatemala City. The local climate is hot, with an average temperature of 35 °C (95 °F).
, who observed that archaeological remains were frequently uncovered by tractors. The museum was placed in a school building that was refurbished by INGUAT, the Guatemalan Institute of Toursim; it had previously housed the Escuelas Urbanas de la Democracia. The museum opened its doors on 22 May 1972. As part of the refurbishment, Guatemalan artist Guillermo Grajeda Meno painted 21 murals within the museum.
in New York.
Municipalities of Guatemala
The departments of Guatemala are divided into 332 municipalities or municipios. The municipalities are listed below, by department:-Alta Verapaz Department:*Cahabón*Chahal*Chisec*Cobán*Fray Bartolomé de las Casas*Lanquín*Panzós*Raxruha...
of La Democracia
La Democracia, Escuintla
La Democracia is a municipality in the Escuintla department of Guatemala. It is most notable for the crude Olmec-influenced carved stone heads from the Monte Alto culture now on display around the town square. The town possesses a small archaeological museum, the Museo Regional de Arqueología de la...
in the department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Escuintla in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. The museum displays pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n artefacts from the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
lowlands datingfrom the Preclassic Period through to the Postclassic Period, with a particular emphasis upon the local Monte Alto culture
Monte Alto culture
Monte Alto is an archaeological site on the Pacific Coast in what is now Guatemala.-History:Located 20 km southeast from Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa in Escuintla, Monte Alto was occupied as early as 1800 BC, but has a fairly light presence – less than either El Bálsamo or Los Cerritos Sur located...
. The museum is open from Tuesday through to Saturday from 8am to 4pm.
Location
The museum is situated opposite the central park of La Democracia, which is notable for its display of large prehispanic sculptures in the potbellyPotbelly sculpture
Potbelly sculptures are in the round sculptures of obese human figures carved from boulders, they are a distinctive element of the sculptural tradition in the southern Maya area of Mesoamerica. The precise purpose of potbelly sculptures is unknown, although they appear to have been the focus of...
style. La Democracia is situated in the department of Escuintla at an altitude of 165 metres (541.3 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. It is 92 kilometres (57.2 mi) from Guatemala City. The local climate is hot, with an average temperature of 35 °C (95 °F).
History
The museum was founded in February 1966 at the instigation of Rubén Chévez van Dorne, who had regualarly been given pre-Columbian ceramic pieces by teachers working on a cotton plantation in the neighbouring municipality of La GomeraLa Gomera, Escuintla
La Gomera is a municipality in the Escuintla department of Guatemala....
, who observed that archaeological remains were frequently uncovered by tractors. The museum was placed in a school building that was refurbished by INGUAT, the Guatemalan Institute of Toursim; it had previously housed the Escuelas Urbanas de la Democracia. The museum opened its doors on 22 May 1972. As part of the refurbishment, Guatemalan artist Guillermo Grajeda Meno painted 21 murals within the museum.
Collection
Aside from its archaeological collection, the museum possesses an exhibition of modern art by Guatemalan artists, displayed on the upper floor. The museum also holds a collection of historical books and documents. The anthropomorphic sculpture of a head outside the museum entrance was loaned for two months for display at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York.