Museo de Oro Tairona, Pre-Hispanic gold museum in Santa Marta, Colombia.
The Museo de Oro Tairona houses over 500 artifacts, including gold objects, bone and stone tools, and wooden pieces from pre-Columbian times. The collection displays the craftsmanship and material culture of this civilization across four thematic galleries.
The museum is housed in the Casa de la Aduana, a colonial building from the 1600s that served as a customs house during Spanish rule. The structure itself witnesses the layering of pre-Columbian indigenous heritage with the colonial period that followed.
The name Tairona refers to the indigenous group that shaped this region before Spanish arrival, and their artistic legacy comes alive through the objects on display. Visitors can observe how this community used gold and other materials for both everyday and ceremonial purposes.
The museum is centrally located in Santa Marta and easily accessible on foot, with regular hours on weekdays and Saturdays. The entrance is situated in a historic building that is straightforward to navigate.
The collection includes 51 recovered colonial pieces discovered during archaeological excavations, representing half of the museum's total holdings. These finds reveal a notable presence of European objects alongside indigenous creations.
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