El Museo Canario

El Museo Canario is an archaeology and anthropology museum on Calle Doctor Verneau in the Vegueta quarter of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Founded in 1879 by local scholars led by Dr Gregorio Chil y Naranjo, it preserves the most extensive collection on the pre-Hispanic peoples of Gran Canaria, whose culture developed in isolation until the Castilian conquest of the late 15th century. The permanent exhibition is arranged thematically and broadly chronologically, beginning with the island's natural environment and moving through settlement, economy, religion, funerary practice and the colonial encounter. Visitors see mummified remains and skeletons, pottery, stone and bone tools, ornaments, wooden objects and the clay figurines known as idols, including the celebrated Tara idol. Reconstructions and models help explain cave dwellings, granaries and burial sites, and the museum interprets the painted-cave art of Gáldar. The neoclassical building has been extended and renovated across the 20th and 21st centuries to improve display, storage and climate control, and conservation of organic material such as mummies remains an ongoing task. Beyond the galleries, the museum maintains a research library, archive and photographic collection that serve scholars of Canarian history. A visit gives essential background before touring archaeological sites elsewhere on the island and it sits a few minutes from the cathedral and Casa de Colón. Interpretation is primarily in Spanish with English support, and admission is about EUR 5, which makes it one of the more affordable heritage visits in Vegueta. Weekday opening hours run late in the day, which is useful for those exploring the old quarter in the afternoon, while weekend hours close earlier. The museum is also a venue for temporary exhibitions, lectures and educational activities for school groups.