Zihua’s Archaeological Museum

El Museo Arqueologico de la Costa Grande

Museo Arqueologico de la Costa Grande

The regional archaeological museum, or Museo Regional de la Costa Grande, contains hundreds of local artifacts as well as extensive maps and information.

The museum is located on Olaf Palme Plaza along the Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman’s Walk) in downtown Zihuatanejo, next to the bridge over flood control canal leading to Playa Madera.

There are often special events and art expositions taking place at the museum, so keep your eye out for notices.

Zihuatanejo was once known as Cihuatlan or “place of women” which refers to the western paradise of the Nahuatl universe, home of the “Goddess Women”. Legends say the goddess women rose in the afternoon to lead the sun to the dusk where the sun entered Mictlan, the world of the dead, to give a dim light to the dead.

There are many artifacts from settlements established on the coasts of Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima and Guerrero and ceramics and carvings discovered in the Zihuatanejo area. The museum also featured information about the native cultivation of food plants and uses of natural resources such as the bajareque technique of walls made of interwoven branches and clay, and details of village life and cultural exchanges during pre-colonial times. The artifacts included here span many centuries and include examples of jewelry, clay and ceramic figurines and bowls, shells and carvings.

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A stone water filter displayed in the museum was made about 300 years ago in what is now Tecpan and weighs over 200 kilograms (440 pounds). Water is placed in the bowl and slowly seeps through the rock, leaving impurities behind.

Also on view is a cannon, dated 1762, is from pirate William Draper’s vessel which burned and sank in Zihuatanejo Bay. It was discovered by local divers and donated to the museum.

The Zihuatanejo Archaeological Museum is open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. Telephone: 755-554-7552.