Ganot-Peschard Museum of Archeology facts for kids
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| Established | August 3, 1998 |
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| Location | 315 Zaragoza, Zona Centra Durango, Mexico |
| Type | Archaeology museum |
The Ganot-Peschard Archaeology Museum is a cool place in Durango, Mexico. It's located in the city's central area, Zona Centro. This museum is super important for keeping the history of the native people of Northern Mexico safe.
The museum has many ancient items. You can see things like burial urns, skulls, pots, arrowheads, and other neat decorations. These items come from people who lived long ago, before the Spanish arrived in Mexico. The main goal of the museum is to protect and share the archaeological treasures from Durango and nearby states like Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco.
The Ganot-Peschard Museum has seven main rooms. Each room shows a different part of history. These include the Lytic Stage, Loma San Gabriel, Chalchihuita Culture, Guadiana Culture, Aztatlán Culture, Rock Art, and The Archaeological Method. Since it opened, more than 250,000 people have visited the museum!
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About the Museum Building
The building where the Ganot-Peschard Museum is located is very old. It was built in the late 1800s. Over the years, it has been used for many different things. It was once a house, a printing shop, and even a place to keep state records.
Today, this historic building is officially recognized. It is part of a special list of historical monuments kept by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
Why the Museum Was Started
The museum building was fixed up in 1998. A historian named Javier Guerrero Romero and an architect named Juan Águila helped with this work. The museum officially opened its doors on August 3, 1998.
Its main purpose was, and still is, to protect and share the ancient history of Durango. It also covers the history of the areas around it, including Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco. The museum holds important knowledge about the native people who have lived in these states for over 15,000 years!
Exploring the Museum Building
The outside of the museum building is quite simple. It has a main entrance gate made of quarry stone. Inside, the museum is not very big. It has seven rooms where you can see permanent exhibits.
One special room is the Loma San Gabriel Stage room. It shows what homes and tools looked like about 3,000 years ago. These items belong to the Loma San Gabriel culture. This ancient culture might be connected to today's Coras, Huichols, and Tepehuanes who still live in Durango.
The museum also has a lobby, a patio, and two arched walkways. In these walkways, you can see a large mural. This mural shows the different natural areas of the State of Durango. It includes the Semi Desert, the Plains, the Valleys, the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, and the deep Quebradas (ravines).
Besides looking at exhibits, you can do other fun things at the museum. They offer guided tours and trips to real archaeological sites. You can also take classes like clay modeling or saddlery.
What You Can See in the Collection
The museum's permanent exhibits are organized by time periods and cultures. Here are some of the main ones:
- Paleo-Indico y Arcaico: These are the oldest items, from about 12,000 to 2000 BC.
- Loma San Gabriel, Primeros Asentamientos (First Settlements): From 1000 BC to today.
- Cultura Chalchiuites (Chalchiuites Culture): From 200 to 850 AD.
- Cultura Guadiana (Guadiana Culture): From 850 to 1300 AD.
- Cultura Aztatlán (Aztatlán Culture): From 1350 AD until the Spanish arrived.
- Pinturas Rupestres (Cave Paintings)
- Método arqueológico (Archaeological Method)
Many of the items in the museum were found by Drs. Jaime Ganot Rodríguez and Alejandro Peschard Fernández. They collected these materials over 30 years of research.
The Chalchiuites Culture (200-850 AD)
One of the main exhibits focuses on the Chalchiuites culture. This culture existed from about 200 to 850 AD. The museum explains how this culture grew and its connections to the powerful Teotihuacan empire:
The Teotihuacan empire started to grow by trading with other areas. Their trade routes reached as far as the Southwestern United States. Trading for turquoise was very important.
Following these trade paths, astronomers from Teotihuacan found a special spot. It was the northernmost place where the sun moves during the year. There, they built a ceremonial center in Alta Vista, Chalchiuites, Zacatecas. This spot, near the Tropic of Cancer, was like an ancient observatory. It helped them figure out the equinoxes, which are when day and night are equal.
The Chalchiuites culture began when these Teotihuacan people met the local inhabitants. It was a mix of both groups. By 850 AD, this culture started to decline, just like the Teotihuacan empire.
The Guadiana Culture (850-1300 AD)
Another important exhibit shows items from the Guadiana culture. This culture lived from 850 to 1300 AD:
Around 850 AD, a new expansion began in central Mexico. The Tolteca people were expanding north. They mainly traded using two routes. One went through the middle of the country. The other went west towards the Pacific coast.
The first route caused some tension. This made some of the Chalchiuites people move north. They settled in what is now part of Durango. When they met the people already living there, a new culture formed. At first, it was called the Guadiana Branch of the Chalchiuites. But now, it's known as a completely different culture. Their main ceremonial center was La Ferrería, which is very close to the modern city of Durango.
Selected collection highlights
The Aztatlán Culture (1350 AD)
The museum's fifth exhibit features items from the Aztatlán culture. This part of the exhibit is titled Hasta el contacto Español, meaning "Until Spanish contact":
The Aztatlán people lived in a large area of Western Mexico. This included the Pacific coast, reaching up to the state of Sinaloa. Some groups of Aztatlán people had to move through the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. They traveled to the center of the state of Durango. Many archaeological sites in Durango show proof of this journey.
Archaeologists have found many interesting things from the Aztatlán culture. These include ceramic pots, copper objects, burial urns, and pipes. They also found objects with intentional skull shaping and items decorated with gods from the Mesoamerican pantheon.
The Aztatlán culture mixed with the Guadiana culture. One special art style from this time is a type of mixed ceramic. It appeared just before the Spanish arrived, and it's called El Molino style.
Selected collection highlights
Images for kids
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Logo of the museum
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Exterior view of the museum
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Arqueología Ganot-Peschard para niños
