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| Museo Regional de Ica Daniel Hernández | |
|---|---|
| Name | Museo Regional de Ica Daniel Hernández |
| Established | 1946 |
| Location | Ica, Peru |
| Type | Archaeological museum |
Museo Regional de Ica Daniel Hernández is a regional archaeological museum located in Ica, Peru that houses significant collections from pre-Columbian cultures of the Peruan south coast. The museum presents material culture from cultures such as the Paracas culture, Nazca culture, Chincha culture, Huari (Wari) and Inca Empire, alongside holdings related to colonial-era Spanish Empire contact and Republican-era developments in Ica Region. It serves as a center for display, research, and conservation connected to regional sites like Paracas Peninsula, Nazca Lines, Ocucaje, and Huacachina.
The museum was founded in the mid-20th century amid national efforts linked to figures and institutions such as Daniel Hernández Morillo's namesake legacy, the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (Perú), and municipal authorities of Ica Province. Its early collections grew through excavations involving archaeologists affiliated with the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia del Perú, and foreign missions from institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Over time the museum responded to events including the 1970 Ancash earthquake, the 2007 Peru earthquake impacts, and heritage policy shifts under administrations of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and international conventions such as the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
Housed in a purpose-adapted complex near the historic center of Ica, Peru, the museum's architecture reflects restoration campaigns influenced by conservation standards promoted by organizations including the International Council on Monuments and Sites and partnerships with the Getty Conservation Institute. Facilities include climate-controlled galleries, storage areas modeled on best practices from the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia del Perú and the Museo Larco, lab space for artifacts inspired by protocols at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and archival rooms comparable to holdings at the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú. The building layout supports exhibitions, a library, offices, and a conservation laboratory that collaborates with laboratories at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina and the Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Glaciares y Ecosistemas de Montaña on materials analysis.
The permanent collection presents ceramics, textiles, funerary bundles, mummified remains, lithics, metalwork and painted pottery from cultures such as Paracas culture, Nazca culture, Chincha culture, Ica-Chincha, Huarcapay, Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku), Wari (Huari), Chavín de Huántar, and regional interactions with the Moche culture and the Chimú polity. Highlighted artifacts include polychrome ceramics, embroidered mantles comparable to examples at the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, geoglyph documentation analogous to studies of the Nazca Lines, and funerary assemblages echoing finds from Cerro Sechín and Ocucaje. Rotating exhibits have featured loaned objects from the Museo de Sitio Maranga, Museo Larco, Museo de la Nación (Peru), and international borrowing programs with the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Natural History, Lima. Thematic displays connect to regional iconography studied in works comparing Nazca ceramics to motifs from Moche iconography, Chavín art, and later Inca Empire incorporations.
The museum functions as a hub for archaeological projects in collaboration with universities such as Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and international teams from institutions like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, and the Field Museum. Research priorities include site survey of the Paracas Peninsula, mapping of the Nazca Lines with remote sensing methods promoted by agencies such as NASA and the National Geographic Society, stratigraphic analysis of coastal sites like Ocucaje, and conservation of organic materials following methodologies tested at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the British Museum. Scientific techniques applied include radiocarbon dating coordinated with labs at the Smithsonian Institution and isotope studies comparable to projects at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Bradford.
Education programs are developed with regional schools, municipal cultural offices, and national initiatives run by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, and engage partners such as the UNESCO Lima Office, ICOMOS Perú, and local NGOs like Condesan. Activities include guided tours referencing comparative exhibits at the Museo Larco, workshops on textile conservation informed by protocols from the Textile Museum (Washington), lectures by scholars from Universidad San Marcos, and collaborative events tied to the Festival of Corpus Christi season and regional celebrations in Ica Province. Outreach extends to community archaeology initiatives mirroring models from Proyecto Qhapaq Ñan and capacity-building courses co-organized with the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The museum is situated in central Ica Province near landmarks such as Plaza de Armas (Ica), the oasis of Huacachina, and regional wineries like Tacama Bodega and San Isidro Ranch. Visiting hours, admission policies, guided tour availability, and accessibility services follow standards comparable to museums such as the Museo Larco and the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia del Perú. Visitors commonly combine museum visits with excursions to the Nazca Lines, dune excursions in Huacachina, vineyard tours, and day trips to archaeological sites including Paracas National Reserve, Río Ica, and the coastal site of Cerro Blanco. Public transit connections include regional bus companies serving Ica, Peru from Lima, Nazca, and Arequipa.
Category:Museums in Peru Category:Archaeological museums