Museo Enrique B. Mántica

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Anyone with even a passing interest in archaeology should stop in here, one of the finest museums in the country. The beautifully displayed collection focuses on pre-Columbian ceramics and is presented in a logical timeline, from the early inhabitants up until the arrival of the Spanish. It's a little tricky to find, signposted off the NIC-24, near Farallones Hotel, amid workshops where local youth study various trades.

There are about 1500 pieces in the collection, of which about 400 are on display, from polychrome jaguar jars and ceremonial metates to fine gold jewelry. Of particular interest is the small collection on burial rituals, where the guide will no doubt put forward the theory that the flesh of human sacrifices was sometimes eaten as a religious practice.


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