After being closed for almost six years, the Archaeology Gallery of the Regional Museum of Chiapas, in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, reopened to the public with a new exhibition featuring 643 archaeological pieces, 123 of which are being displayed for the first time.
The reopening, which took place during International Museum Day, is the result of several years of work updating the museum’s history, led by an interdisciplinary team from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), comprised of archaeologists, physical anthropologists, museographers, architects, designers, and communicators.
The new gallery will feature a careful selection of objects resulting from decades of archaeological research conducted by national and international academic institutions, as well as the INAH itself.
With a renewed scientific focus and now under the name: Pre-Hispanic Societies of Chiapas, the space exhibits the complex process of historical and cultural development achieved by the human groups that inhabited this territory, from the arrival of the first settlers, around 12,000 BC, until contact with the Spanish conquistadors in the first half of the 16th century.
It is remarkable how ancient human groups adapted and thrived in diverse ecosystems across the vast geography that today occupies the state of Chiapas: coasts, valleys, jungles, river and lake margins, caves, and mountains.
This valuable heritage bears witness to the grandeur of Chiapas’s pre-Hispanic past, represented in sites influenced by the Olmecs and in the Zoque, Mayan, and Chiapanec cultures. Its remains help reconstruct its history by providing a detailed picture of its political and social organization, worldview, technological advances, architecture, urban planning, customs, food, and ritual practices.
The curatorship and museographic design of the Archaeology Room were led by INAH-Chiapas researchers Eliseo Linares Villanueva, Alejandro Tovalin Ahumada, Víctor Manuel Ortiz Villareal, Javier Montes de Paz, Julia Moscoso Rincón, and assistant archaeologist Socorro Olivares Suárez. The museum was also supported by the director of the state INAH Center, Olivia Lara Jiménez, and coordinated by Andrés Brizuela Casimir, the head of the Regional Museum of Chiapas.
The graphic design was carried out by Diana Roldán Chávez, and the museography was carried out by Rubén Anza Vázquez and museum staff. The staff of the National Coordination of Museums and Exhibitions of the INAH also collaborated during the validation process of all the information generated.
The Regional Museum of Chiapas is located at Calzada de las Personas Ilustres s/n, downtown Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is currently free.
Source: gob
