Description of the attraction
In the city of San Pedro de Atacama, there is a large Gustavo Le Page Archaeological Research Institute and Museum under the leadership of the Catholic University of del Norte with a large collection of finds: approximately 450 thousand artifacts and ethnographic objects of the pre-Columbian era from the Atacama culture found in the region …
The museum is named after its founder, Jesuit missionary Father Gustavo Le Page from Belgium. He has made tremendous efforts to preserve the archaeological heritage of the Atacama region, creating one of the most important archaeological and ethnographic collections in Chile and Latin America. Father Gustavo Le Page's dream of building a museum building to house the collected unique archaeological material came true on January 6, 1963. The first hexagonal pavilion of the museum was built.
Father Gustavo Le Page not only conducted excavations, but also carefully recorded the excavation of the pre-Columbian culture of the Atacama region with its 11,000 years of history - the various elements of the setting that make up each grave. Thus, the museum acquired its own handwritten notes, which constitute the main source of study of the life of the people who inhabited this area of the pre-Columbian period. Some artifacts were made to perform certain ritual activities that were used to inhale hallucinogenic substances and tobacco during religious ceremonies. Some of the most important museum exhibits are about 4,000 skulls, countless mummies, a dress made of llama fiber, clay containers of various shapes, metal products, wickerwork, products made of wood and bone, very fine workmanship and great difficulty in manufacturing. Hunting knives and spears, processed by a special method of grinding and processed animal skins.
