Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art

• Illustration — Photo taken in 1900 of the museum's building, the Palacio de la Real Aduana. Items in the museum's collections are drawn from the major pre-Columbian culture areas of Mesoamerica, Intermediate / Isthmo-Colombian, Pan-Caribbean, Amazonia and the Andean. The museum has over 3,000 pieces representing almost 100 different groups of people. The collection ranges from about 10,000 years. The original collection was acquired based on the aesthetic quality of the objects, instead of their scientific or historical context. The collection is broken up into four areas: • Area mesoamerica: Includes a statue of Xipe Totec, an incense burner from the Teotihuacan culture, and a Mayan bas-relief. • Area Intermedia: Showcase pieces include pottery from the Valdivia people, and Capuli figures chewing coca leaf. Gold objects from the Veraguas and Diquis cultures are also represented. • Area Andes Centrales: Features masks and copper figures, of which many were confiscated from graves. Examples include those from the Moche and textiles. The oldest textile in the museum is in this area, a painted cloth almost 3,000 years old from the Chavín culture. • Area Andes del Sur: This collection features modern Chilean and Argentinian pieces. Ceramic urns from the Aguada culture, snuff trays from the San Pedro culture, and an Incan quipu.