Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita
The Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita (MAB) in Los Llanos de Aridane on the island of La Palma is an archaeological museum that deals with the history and culture of the indigenous people of the island, the Benahoaritas .
History of the museum
The Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita was created in 2007 by the Cabildo Insular de La Palma to make the now-vanished culture of the Benahoaritas, the indigenous people of the island, better known on the island of La Palma, to promote archaeological research on this culture on the island and the to preserve historical remains threatened by destruction and make them accessible to the public. For this purpose, various z. In some cases private collections that have not been accessible to the public have been brought together in order to present them in an appealing way. The museum is not only aimed at the people of La Palma, but also at tourists, who make up more than 60% of its visitors. The information is offered in both Castilian and English .
MAB's holdings come to a large extent from the possession of the “Sociedad la Cosmológica”, an association founded in 1881, which has collected a large number of archaeological finds at its headquarters over the course of its existence. Three extensive private collections and a large number of individual items were given to the museum when it was founded. There were also results from excavations on La Palma, which were stored in the Archeology Department of the University of La Laguna and the branches of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park . Since the locations and circumstances of a large part of the objects collected are not known, they had to be recorded and evaluated according to scientific criteria when the museum took over. The museum has received a large number of archaeological finds over the course of its existence, which did not always come from legal excavations.
building
The MAB is located in downtown Los Llanos de Aridane in a purpose-built building designed in 2001 by the architect Antonio Gregory Garritano Pérez. Construction began in 2002. On April 30, 2007, the Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita was opened.
The building has a circular plan. In the basement there are storage rooms and the rooms for supplies. The ground floor is symmetrically divided into two parts, between which there is a hall that can accommodate 178 people for conferences, theater performances or concerts. It can be used as an additional area for special exhibitions. The administrative area and the library as well as an area for special exhibitions are located in the northern part. In the southern part there is the reception, the restoration workshops and a room for courses (workshops). The permanent exhibition is located on the upper floor on an area of 900 m².
Permanent exhibition
The permanent exhibition gives an overview of the Benahoaritas culture. The vast majority of the pieces on display are originals. The use of replicas, models, photographs, audiovisual demonstrations, light panels, diagrams, drawings, etc. makes the presentation more understandable and entertaining for the viewer.
The tour begins with an audiovisual demonstration, which is used to provide an introduction to all the topics that will be explored in the course of the tour.
The questions about the origin of the Benahoaritas, the time of their arrival on the island, their social organization and political participation are dealt with in an audiovisual montage that is projected onto a round table.
The living space of the 12 domains into which the island was divided at the end of the 15th century at the time of the conquest is shown on various light boards. The boards also provide information about the first settlements in the individual areas of the island through photographs and drawings. This information is completed by a full-size replica of three huts from the village in the Barranco de Las Ovejas (El Paso).
The Benahoaritas had a shepherding-based economy, although they also engaged in agriculture and ancillary activities such as gathering plants, catching birds, fishing, and harvesting seafood. This diversity is shown on information boards as well as some audio-visual displays. The livestock consisted of goats, sheep and pigs.
The objects of daily use are presented in a large number of original pieces. The Benahoaritas made a wide variety of objects from basalt and obsidian, which were used for grinding, chopping, cutting, scraping and polishing. Items made of bones, fur, plant fibers, and wood were also of great importance. The Benahoaritas loved to adorn themselves with all kinds of pearl necklaces and pendants made of stone, sea shells, wood and especially bone.
The ornate ceramic objects, hundreds of examples of which are on display, are of particular importance because they divide the period from the first settlement of the island to the time of the conquest in the 15th century into four sections with different subsections. This is possible due to the different shapes and decorations of the found objects, in which a clear change in style can be traced.
At the end of the tour, the burial customs of the Benahoaritas are shown, among other things, through a replica of a burial cave and the exhibition of the mummy of Barranco El Espigón.
activities
The museum has so far had a number of special exhibitions such as B. the one to feed the Benahoritas from April 12th to May 27th 2017. These were accompanied by lectures and special events for children and young people.
The public events include the organization of seminars, meetings and discussions, in which internationally renowned archaeologists also take part.
The MAB takes part in various regional, national and international research projects and almost all archaeological excavations on the island of La Palma.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the information comes from the article Felipe Jorge Pais Pais: Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita (Isla de La Palma. Canarias) . In: Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional . No. 35 , 2017, ISSN 2341-3409 , p. 771–778 (Spanish, [1] [PDF; accessed August 16, 2018]).
- ^ José Melquiades López Mederos: Sociedad la Cosmológica . In: Revista de estudios generales de la Isla de La Palma . No. 0 , 2004, ISSN 1698-014X , p. 433-446 (Spanish, [2] [accessed August 22, 2018]).
- ↑ Noticias de La Palma: El Cabildo recibe una entrega anónima de más de un centenar de piezas arqueológicas benahoaritas. Noticias de La Palma, 2018, accessed on August 14, 2018 .
- ↑ M. Chacon: Abre el Museo Arqueológico, un lugar de encuentro con la historia de la Isla. el día.es, 2007, accessed August 16, 2018 (Spanish).
- ↑ Nuria Álvarez Rodrígez, Jorge Pais Pais, Antonio Moreno González: Momias y huesos en la necrópolis del Espigón (Puntallana, La Palma) . In: Revista Otarq . tape 1 , 2016, ISSN 2530-4933 , p. 50 (Spanish, [3] [accessed May 13, 2018]).
literature
- Felipe Jorge Pais Pais: Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita (Isla de La Palma. Canarias) . In: Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional . No. 35 , 2017, ISSN 2341-3409 , p. 771–778 (Spanish, man.es [PDF; accessed on August 16, 2018]).
Coordinates: 28 ° 39 '24.4 " N , 17 ° 54' 36.8" W.