Argentina Guide
The Northwest
Museo Antropológico Juan Martín Leguizamón
Opening time: Mon– Fri 8am–7pm, Sat & Sun 9am–1pm & 3-6pm
Price: $1
Address: Ejército del Norte and Ricardo Sola
The varied collection at he modern Museo Antropológico Juan Martín Leguizamón could be better presented, and most of the explanations in Spanish are sketchy and inaccurate, but many of the items on display are worth seeing. One highlight is another well-preserved mummy found on Volcán Llullaillaco, also bearing signs that it may have been a human sacrifice, while the centrepiece of the extensive ceramics collection is a set of finds from Tastil, along with a petroglyph known as the Bailarina de Tastil, a delightful dancing figure painted onto rock, removed from the pukará, or pre-Columbian fortress, to the safety of a glass case. A well-executed reconstruction of a pre-Columbian burial urn shows how the local climate preserved textiles and wood in perfect condition for centuries. Finally, the section on festivals and carnival includes photographs of celebrations in Iruya and displays examples of the so-called máscaras de viejo, the old-man masks worn during the ceremonies there, along with the distinctive Chané masks, animal and bird heads made of palo borracho wood and the grotesque carnival masks from Oruro in Bolivia.