The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña''; MAAM) is an

archaeology museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum.'' Cambridge, Ma ...

located in the historical center of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, Argentina, which conserves and exhibits collections related to the ''

Capacocha ''Capacocha'' or ''Qhapaq hucha'Of Summits and Sacrifice: An Ethnohistoric Study of Inka Religious Practices'', University of Texas Press, 2009 ( noble, solemn, principal, mighty, royal, crime, sin, guilt Hispanicized spellings , , , also ) wa ...

child sacrifice Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result. As such, it is a form of human ...

ceremonies performed by the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

in the high peaks of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, mainly the

Children of Llullaillaco The Children of Llullaillaco (), also known as the Mummies of Llullaillaco, are three Inca child mummies discovered on 16 March 1999 by Johan Reinhard and his archaeological team near the summit of Llullaillaco, a stratovolcano on the Argent ...

mummies discovered in 1999 at the top of the Llullaillaco volcano. Inaugurated in 2004, the museum was specially created by the government of

Salta Province Salta () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa Province, Formosa, Chaco Province, Chaco, Santiago del Estero Province, Santiago del Es ...

to preserve and display the Llullaillaco findings, and during its first years it exhibited only a few artifacts, as it had to develop a unique exhibition system to correctly display and preserve the mummies that would not be completed until 2007. In 2005, the MAAM expanded its holdings with the donation of the Teruel collection, composed of various objects and skeletal remains discovered on the '' finca'' of the Teruel family of Salta in the department of San Carlos in the 1980s. The following year, the mummy known as Reina del Cerro (Spanish for "Queen of the Hill") and its accompanying objects were donated to the museum, whose sanctuary on the Chuscha hill was discovered and looted in the 1920s and passed through various private collections in a neglected manner for decades. In addition to exhibiting and preserving, the museum also carries out various educational and scientific research projects. In its 20 years of existence, the MAAM has positioned itself as one of the most important spaces for the cultural and tourist development of Salta, with an important influx of local and foreign visitors. In 2024, it became the highest rated museum in all of Argentina on the

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platform, and has received the company's Traveller Choice award that year and also previously in 2021 and 2022. However, since its founding, the museum has received numerous criticisms from local indigenous groups, who denounce the unconsulted removal and exhibition of the children as a

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Overview Many consider acts of desecration t ...

as well as a violation of indigenous rights.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Commons-inline Salta Museums in Argentina Tourist attractions in Salta Province Archaeological museums History museums 2004 establishments in Argentina

See also

References

External links