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Museum of World Treasures exhibit on pre-Hispanic cultures

December 09, 2011|by Marielkis Salazar

You don’t have to travel to Latin America to learn about pre-Hispanic cultures.  Instead, just take a trip to the Museum of World Treasures in Wichita.

Click here to see photos.

The museum has a new exhibit, with artifacts from more than 10 Hispanic countries.

“The focus is on pre-Hispanic cultures of central and south America and on artifacts that were found in tombs there,” says curator Tim Howard.

Part of the exhibit is a small human head.  Warriors from an Indian tribe in the equator used to shrink the heads of enemies they killed to the size of tennis balls and carry them as proof of their skills at war and to keep the spirits of the enemies away.

Among the pieces you can also see are crafts from the Mayans and the Incas and even though the museum has many originals it also has a section of reproductions so people can learn how to tell the different.

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“A lot of people who do reproductions see indigenous cultures as less artistic or less trained,” says Howard.  “That means the reproductions are very basic…something that’s obviously wrong.”

Most of the artifacts were donated by various collectors 

The Museum of World Treasures is located at 835 E 1st St. in Wichita’s Old Town district and is open  Monday –Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sun from noon – 5 p.m.

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