Visit Costa Rica's Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
Costa Rica’s Pre- Columbian Gold Museum (Museo de Oro del Precolombino), holds the largest collection of Pre-Columbian Gold in Central America with more than 20,000 troy ounces of gold and 2,000 individual pieces.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica began collecting archaeological objects in 1950, and then later added ceramic and stone works. The objects collected were crafted in the territory which is known today as Costa Rica, between 300 A.D. and the time of European contact in the 16th century. The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum has a program of ongoing research in its archeological collections.
On display is the history of gold making in this area with techniques learned from the area of Columbia. There are basic hammered pieces of gold with elaborate designs as well as designs using a molding technique.
Gold served as a method of exchange from the areas of Columbia through Panama and Caribbean Costa Rica. Metallurgy replaced jade as the primary form of exchange. They also made symbols of rank in the form of personal adornments and created offerings for the outfit of the deceased. Some objects were also made to be used in rituals by shamans or priests.
The gold pieces represent many of the fauna of the area illustrating the importance of nature to the people. Representations of crocodiles, fish, crabs, turtles, armadillos, deer, jaguars, lizards and frogs are often seen. Compound forms, creatures that are part human and part animal, are also seen and symbolically represented very important people, such as shamans and priests.
The building, in which the museum is located, in and of itself, is a work of art and a landmark in Costa Rican architecture. Designed specifically as a museum by Costa Rican architects Jorge Bertheau, Jorge Borbón and Edgar Vargas, this is the country’s only underground construction. It is designed with three architectural levels that reach a depth of 12 meters (approximately 40 feet) below street level. The museum is shaped like an inverted pyramid.
This museum complex also includes a gallery for temporary art exhibits, as well as separate numismatic (coins) and philatelic (stamp) museum.
The museums are located under the Plaza de la Cultura in the center of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. The Plaza itself is a great place to spend several hours.
For more information, visit the Museums of the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s website:
http://www.museosdelbancocentral.org/content/