Museo arqueológico La Merced, Archaeological museum in historic center, Cali, Colombia

Museo arqueológico La Merced occupies the colonial La Merced complex in Cali's historic centre, where the Mercedarian order founded a convent in 1539. Its six permanent rooms hold funerary urns, vessels, graters, rollers, anthropomorphic figurines, alcarrazas, plates and ocarinas from cultures including Calima, Muisca, Nariño, Quimbaya, San Agustín, Sinú, Tairona, Tierradentro, Tumaco and Bajo Magdalena. A replica of a Tierradentro hypogeum stands in the central garden.

In 1539 the Mercedarian Order founded the Real Convento de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes to teach Catholic doctrine to the region's indigenous people. After the Law of Expropriation of Minor Convents the building passed to the Colegio de Santa Librada, then served as a military fort and as the city's first hospital, run by Augustinian Recollect nuns. In the 1970s the Banco Popular funded restoration of the complex through its Fondo de Promoción de la Cultura, and the museum opened alongside the colonial art museum, chapel and cloister, declared national monuments.

The complex began in 1539 as the Real Convento de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, founded to teach Catholic doctrine to the region's indigenous people. The museum opened beside the restored Museo de Arte Colonial y Religioso, the chapel and the cloister, all declared national monuments. Its garden holds a replica of a Tierradentro hypogeum, a type of underground tomb built inside mountains.

The museum sits in the historic centre of Cali, within the La Merced religious complex, and can be reached on foot from the surrounding streets. Its rooms are arranged around a central garden where a replica of a Tierradentro hypogeum is displayed. A 120-seat hall is used for video screenings.

The museum space serves beyond its displays, hosting lectures, educational workshops, and film presentations throughout the year. This approach keeps the collection connected to the living culture of the city today.