El Museo Canario (English: the Canarian Museum) is an archeological museum in

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

, the capital city of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

. It is dedicated to the pre-colonial history of the Canary Islands.

History

The museum was founded after a group of intellectuals led by Dr

Gregorio Chil y Naranjo Gregorio Chil y Naranjo (born 13 March 1831, Telde, Gran Canaria, died 4 July 1901 Las Palmas) was a Spanish doctor, historian and anthropologist. Biography Chil was educated at home by his father before attending the Conciliary Seminary of Las P ...

and Agustín Millares Torres met in 1879 to set up a historical society. In 1880 they opened a small museum and library on the second floor of Las Palmas City Hall with the aim of promoting the study of Canarian history. There were no higher educational institutions in Gran Canaria at the time, and the museum became the main driving force behind historical research on the island. Archaeologists from the museum organised field trips into the island interior to gather artefacts from ancient settlements of the

Guanches The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

, the original

indigenous inhabitants Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the Canary Islands prior to European settlement. Scholarly interest in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

had been fuelled in the late 19th century by the discovery of Cro-Magnon man in France in 1868, and the first Canarian archaeologists founded the museum as part of their programme to promote the mistaken idea that there was a link between the European paleolithic populations and the ancient Canarian Guanches (it is now known that Guanches were North African in origin). A number of the museum's founders had close scientific links with some of the leading French archaeologists of the day, including René Verneau,

Paul Broca Pierre Paul Broca (, also , , ; 28 June 1824 – 9 July 1880) was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that is named after him. Broca's area is involve ...

Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau (10 February 1810 – 12 January 1892) was a French biologist. Life He was born at Berthézène, in the commune of Valleraugue (Gard), the son of a Protestant farmer. He studied science and then medic ...

and Ernest Hamy. Dr Chil died in 1901, and after the death of his widow in 1913, their home in the Vegueta district of Las Palmas was bequeathed to the museum society. The museum collection relocated there in 1923, but its opening was delayed until 1930 by the economic crisis that followed

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The museum continues to operate today in the former Chil residence.

Collection

The museum's

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

collection mainly consists of

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...

remains and historic artefacts originating from the early human populations on Gran Canaria, as well as artefacts originating from other islands in the Canarian Archipelago. Items on display include ceramic vessels, religious idols,

pintadera Pintaderas are a form of stamp used by the pre-Hispanic natives of the Canary Islands. They were commonly made of fired clay. However, a number of wooden ''pintaderas'' have also been found. Most ''pintaderas'' come from archaeological sites in Gran ...

s, tooled implements made of bone or wood, animal skins and other remains. As the largest archaeological collection in the Canary Islands, El Museo Canario is an important resource in the study of prehispanic society in the archipelago. It has been described by '' El Mundo'' newspaper as "one of the best archaeological museums in Spain". The museum today is a popular tourist attraction in Las Palmas, and its displays include Canarian ceramics,

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

and a reproduction of the

Painted Cave, Galdar The Painted cave is an archaeological museum and park in the town of Galdar, located the northwest of Grand Canary in the Canary Islands, Spain. This centre is part of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Historic Heritage and Museums of the town c ...

References

External links

Canarian Museum
on Tripadvisor
El Museo Canario Official Website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Las Palmas Tourist attractions in Las Palmas Museums in the Canary Islands

Canario Archaeological museums in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Las Palmas