Archaelogical Museum, Los Llanos

For some time now - in fact, ever since it opened - I have been hankering after visiting the new museum in Los Llanos, the Museo Arqueologico. Unfortunately, the opportunity had so far eluded me.
So I could hardly believe my luck last week when a collision of events co-operated enough to allow me the chance of a visit. Miraculously, we were in Los Llanos not only when the museum was open and not only with an hour to spare but also early enough to spend it before the museum closed again for the afternoon.  YES!

The building itself is both tantalising and impressive, built in a circular design with just a hint of Colosseum.
Met at the door by a friendly member of staff, we were pointed in the right direction for the main museum exhibition and also the current photographic exhibition. This confused me slightly as the first thing I expected to do was to pay! But no, it was entirely free of charge 'for the moment.' So, with my sense of fairness rather troubled that I wasn't contributing to the running of the museum, we headed off to the first floor exhibition hall.

So what's the museum all about? Not of the stuffed birds and oil painting variety but all about the history of the island, going right back to its volcanic roots, so to speak.
Starting off with back-lit display boards, the information in both Spanish and English is concise, interesting and broken up into bite-size pieces that encourage you to read further.
Life size poster boards and 'real' caves display life as it was for the Benahoarites, the Aborigines of the island.

The depiction of life on La Palma is very much brought alive by realistic stone dwellings in the centre of the room. These small stone dwellings are still evident on the island - there are some very interesting ones just off the road a little before the Roque de Muchachos. So it is very easy to imagine people living in them and it seemed almost cheeky to peer inside just in case somebody still was.

On the other hand ... there was definitely no signs of life from other exhibits.

But of course they can tell an awful lot about lifestyle from the skeleton and I suddenly found myself fascinated by dentistry - who ate what, when and why.
One particular exhibit took the story way, way further back though and this was a block of lava with pieces of human jawbone and ribs bedded into it. Apparently, analysis suggests the bones date from around 1090, an age which coincides with the chemical composition of the rock they were found in and which further co-incides with an eruption on the Cumbre - 9km from where the rock was found. Curious! Nothing else like this has been found and it is a piece which the museum is rightly proud of. 

Fascinating as that is, my favourite section of the museum was the display of what might be called 'natural tools.'  I have always been impressed by how resourceful our Palmeran neighbours are - something obviously handed down through the generations but also a necessity for anyone before DIY superstores and Sunday opening were invented.
Of course, stone and leather had many uses but I didn't realise just how much animal bones were used.  I'm not talking about chicken soup but rather the use of sharp bones for piercing and threading leather for example, or for decorating pottery. Seashells were used as spoons with the aid of a small wooden handle and palm fronds were used to make mats, bags and baskets. It was certainly not a throwaway society.

But if you would like to throw something their way, donations are gratefully received and you can put a few coins in the basket at reception.
Opening hours: 10.00 - 14.00 hr and 17.00 - 20.00 hrs. Tuesday to Saturday.