Welcome to the Jade Museum
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In the lobby area there is a large jade stone brought from Motagua, Guatemala, the raw material from which the objects exhibited in the Museum were made of. Jade is a metamorphic rock formed by the minerals jadeite and nephrite, it is characterized by its hardness, color, brightness, and its chemical composition.
This room emphasizes the role that jade pieces and other associated materials played in the autochthonous development of the human groups settled in the territory of Costa Rica. The tour highlights the social changes that occurred in the populations that used jade as a prestige good used by chiefs, religious leaders and their families between 500 BC to 800 AD.
In this room, through everyday objects, the activities related to the daily life of people, their relationship with animals and the natural environment are shown. Also the main activities that the pre-Columbian inhabitants carried out to obtain food, such as gathering, hunting, agriculture, fishing and others.
This room alludes to the world of spirits, the supernatural, shamanic rites, funerary rites and the theme of war. In the tour, several pieces represent animals of nocturnal habits, especially the theme of the winged pendants that recreate the flight of the bat. Also the sculptures like ceremonial metates elaborated in stone.
Topics such as gender role, sexuality, clothing focused on body decoration and attire are presented; the musical instruments used for parties and celebrations are shown. In addition, several ethnographic objects can be observed, which are pieces of the current indigenous population, such as tufts, baskets, weavings and arrows, among others; these show how the ancestral traditions continued through time.
In this room the ceramic, stone and jade objects are arranged in a set of showcases and drawers, according to the three different archaeological regions of Costa Rica from which they come from. The pieces are part of the collection in movement, since they constitute the support material for scientific research and future temporary and itinerant exhibitions, both inside and outside the country.