The Museo Popol Vuh (''Popol Vuh

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

'') is home to one of the major collections of

Maya art Ancient Maya art is the visual arts of the Maya civilization, an eastern and south-eastern Mesoamerican culture made up of a great number of small kingdoms in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Many regional artistic traditions e ...

in the world. It is located on the campus of the

Universidad Francisco Marroquín Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical ...

in Zone 10,

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

and is known for its extensive collection of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

and colonial art of the

Maya culture The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, archi ...

. The Popol Vuh Museum is a private, nonprofit, scientific institution supported by its own funds and external donations. The museum is operated by a Board of Directors of citizens of Guatemala interested in the preservation and public display of the exhibits. One of its missions is to provide an educational focus for people who want to see and learn about the pre-Columbian past of Guatemala with the preservation, research, and diffusion of information. Although the museum is well known for its funerary

ceramic art Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. ...

, the collection includes a variety of portable stone sculptures, especially from the Preclassic period, and from the coast and adjacent highlands. The section on Maya pottery includes some of the best preserved Maya vases and bowls.

History

The origin of the museum dates back to 1975, when Mr. Jorge Castillo hired Maro Tejada, a student of archaeology at la Universidad del Valle, to classify his extensive collection. After it was classified and set up for display in chronological order and it was opened up to the public in zone 1. After Mr.Castillo died in 1977, he decided to donate the collection to the Universidad Francisco Marroquín. The museum was created originally in 1977 to house the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Castillo and now forms part of a beautiful architectural complex of the

in Guatemala City. Jorge and Ella Castillo donated most of their collection of archaeological and colonial pieces in 1978 which are the basis of the Popol Vuh Museum today. They began their private collection of archaeological and colonial objects years before they established founding in 1977. The first location was in La Reforma Ave and 16th street,

, but later moved to the Galerias Reforma building in Zone 9 in Guatemala City after three years. Sixteen years later, it was moved to Zone 10, where it stands today. The museum is named after the

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and ...

, a book written soon after the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

of Guatemala. It narrates myths and

history of the Quiche, whose kings dominated great part of the Western plateau of Guatemala. The collection at the Popol Vuh Museum includes many objects related to the narratives of the

book.

Buildings and facilities

The Museo Popol Vuh is one of the most modern of all the museums in Guatemala in terms of physical facilities. It has a very geometric architectural style opposed to the Mayan ruins and

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

styles erected by the Spanish in

. The museum has its preservations behind clear walls with advanced technology of display. The inside walls maintain neutral colors to keep focus on the artifacts. The Popol Vuh Museum is located on the campus of Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Zone 10 of Guatemala City. It is open Monday through Friday from nine to five, Saturday from nine to one and is closed on Sunday. Wheelchair accessibility is available in the facility. There are no bus routes available to the museum. Transportation includes walking downhill from Sexta Avenida or yellow cab service. The museum offers guided tours of each gallery along with workshops such as archaeological excavation, restoration activities, Mayan pottery creation, etc. Presentations, lectures, and courses are organized throughout the year to educate the community of the Mayan culture in the Guatemalan heritage.

Collections and holdings

The exhibit galleries are organized chronologically beginning with the Paleoindian, Archaic, Preclassic, Early Classic, Late Classic, and

Postclassic In Human history, world history, post-classical history refers to the period from about 500 AD to 1500, roughly corresponding to the European Middle Ages. The period is characterized by the expansion of civilizations geographically and develop ...

periods of the ancient Maya and ending with Colonial Art . More than 400 archaeological and colonial treasures are on display. ''Paleoindian (15,000 – 9000 BC):'' The oldest object in the Museum, which dates back to 9000 BC, is a clovis point, used as a sharp stone tool. It was found in Nahuala in Guatemala’s western highlands and is one of the few found in the country. The Paleoindian period is characterized by hunter-gatherer groups who entered the America by crossing a land bridge connecting eastern Siberia and Alaska. ''Archaic (9000 – 1500 BC):'' Most of the art found from the Archaic period was excavated from the central highlands and eastern pacific coast and includes many styles of ceramics, in specific, pottery. The Archaic period is recognized as the second period of human existence in the Americas and the shift from agriculture to sedimentary farming. Political organizations of chiefs and

caciques A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

and permanent agricultural settlements had been established by the end of this era. This civil structure influenced artists and what was painted on surface drawings on pottery art. ''Preclassic (1500 BC – 250 AD):'' Popular material found in artifacts during the Preclassic period involves ceramic, jade, and stone, much of which was traded with the

Olmecs The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that ...

in the southern coast. The most notable site where most objects were found is the

Kaminaljuyu Kaminaljuyu (pronounced ) is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe ...

in the valley of Guatemala, which became popular for its irrigation canal system and its great buildings. The scale of their development reflected the status, power, and wealth of the chiefs of

. Many of the oldest examples of hieroglyphic texts are from Guatemala from this rich site. Exhibits from this era include ceramics from the Middle and Late Preclassic era from the Kaminaljuyu and southern coast. ''Early Classic (250–600):'' During this period,

hieroglyph A hieroglyph ( Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatoni ...

text was adopted as the main form of communication and art and multi-colored ceramics emerged as a popular element of Classic Maya art. Exhibits include polychrome ceramics from this period. Influence from the large city of

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...

in central Mexico is evident in

with incense burner and cylindrical tripods of decorative styles. The largest area of the permanent exhibit at the Popol Vuh Museum is dedicated to the Classic period. ''Late Classic (600 – 900):'' This period is known for the greatest exponential growth of population in the northern lowlands. The Mayan hieroglyphic texts excavated from this region were advanced, indicating a great level of complex interaction between cities and their political leaders. Exhibits include painted

of several regional styles depicting mythology, religion with god like figures containing hieroglyphic texts, and often indicating the owner of the piece and the artist. ''Postclassic (900 – 1,500):'' This era is registered as the decline of the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...

prior to the

. During this time, much of the population in the highlands and southern coast sough change with the use and trade of gold and copper. Exhibits in the museum from this era include plumbate pottery which has orange and grey tones and depicted lives of animals and supernatural entities of their surfaces. Such pottery was greatly influenced by Mexican culture and was widely traded throughout the

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

until the end of the Early Postclassic period. ''Colonial Period (1500 – 19th century):'' The colonial period followed the

and was marked by a rigidly stratified society. During the Colonial period in Guatemala, artistic forms were predominantly educational and religious. Guatemalan sculptures of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries include examples of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, Baroque, and Neoclassic styles.

Notes

References

External links

Museo Popol Vuh
official website

{{Coord, 14, 37, 29, N, 90, 31, 58, W, type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Museo Popol Vuh Archaeological museums in Guatemala Art museums established in 1978 Museo Popol Vuh Mesoamerican art museums

Museo Popol Vuh