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Museum of High Altitude Archaeology

Coordinates: 24°47′20.38567″S 65°24′39.74638″W / 24.7889960194°S 65.4110406611°W / -24.7889960194; -65.4110406611
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Museum of High Altitude Archaeology
Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (Spanish)
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Established19 November 2004 (2004-11-19)
LocationSalta, Argentina
Coordinates24°47′20.38567″S 65°24′39.74638″W / 24.7889960194°S 65.4110406611°W / -24.7889960194; -65.4110406611
TypeArchaeology museum
Key holdingsChildren of Llullaillaco
OwnerGovernment of Salta Province
Websitemaam.gob.ar

The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (Spanish Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña; MAAM) is an archaeology museum located in the historical center of Salta, Argentina, which conserves and exhibits collections related to the Capacocha child sacrifice ceremonies performed by the Inca in the high peaks of the Andes, mainly the Children of Llullaillaco mummies discovered in 1999 at the top of the Llullaillaco volcano.[1] Inaugurated in 2004, the museum was specially created by the government of Salta Province 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.[2][3]

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.[4] 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.[5][6] In addition to exhibiting and preserving, the museum also carries out various educational and scientific research projects.[1]

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.[7] In 2024, it became the highest rated museum in all of Argentina on the Tripadvisor platform,[8] and has received the company's Traveller Choice award that year and also previously in 2021 and 2022.[7][9] 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 as well as a violation of indigenous rights.[8][10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Presentación" (in Spanish). Salta: Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM). Gobierno de Salta. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  2. ^ "El MAAM, un museo único, para el asombro". El Tribuno. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Exhiben por primera vez las momias de niños incas" (in Spanish). Infobae. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Colección Teruel" (in Spanish). Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM). Gobierno de Salta. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Exhiben momia inca". Clarín. Buenos Aires. 22 October 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Colección Reina del Cerro" (in Spanish). Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM). Gobierno de Salta. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b Costello, Carina (19 November 2024). "20 años del MAAM, un ícono de la cultura a nivel mundial". El Tribuno (in Spanish). Salta. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Según el público, el MAAM es hoy el mejor museo de la Argentina para visitar". Salta12. Página/12 (in Spanish). 4 July 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Noticia: El MAAM fue distinguido nuevamente por TripAdvisor" (in Spanish). Salta: Gobierno de Salta. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Controversia por la exhibición en Salta de momias de 500 años". La Nación (in Spanish). 13 September 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
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