Costa Rica's Pre Columbian Gold Museum is characterized by being one of the largest and most beautiful of its kind. Over 1.600 pieces in gold, dating back from 500 - 1500 A.D. are exhibited in its precincts, a guarantee of an unforgettable visit for tourists.
This museum's extraordinary collection of gold objects, reflects Costa Rican Pre Columbian people's Cosmic Vision, social structure and gold works.
The exhibition shows the use and function of the pieces, the technology, and their relationship with nature as well as everyday life of human settlements.
The Gold Museum is divided in two levels. The introductory area is located on the second level of the building, and interprets the socio cultural and archaeological evolution of pre Columbian cultures. Pottery pieces including tools and objects of daily use are also in exhibit in this space.
The exposition of gold objects, on the building's thi level show gold representations of the tropical forest's animals; likewise, the maximum spiritual leader of the indigenous groups: the shaman. When this singular tour ends, visitors will know a little more about the different indigenous groups currently occupying the Costa Rican territory and their geographical location.
Presently the Temporary Exhibitions Room of the Gold Museum also offers visitors the exhibit of "Clay Women", displaying the female representations of Pre Columbian pottery. It's possible to learn of the different roles women played in these societies, from their reproductive part as mothers to the one of higher hierarchy positions.
Historical Traces
Gold workers lived in the Southern Pacific region of Costa Rica and used their mastery of ceramics to produce gold objects of the most diverse types. There's an abundance of designs: anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and anthropo-zoomorphic figures, combining human characteristics with animal features. These objects were produced to be used in ritual activities and as hierarchical rank signs.
The mastery of so complex techniques as gold working reflects the organization of these societies that for that moment in time possessed a relatively complex political organization, including social differentiation. Specialization of labors and centralization of power. They grouped in villages of great size, architecturally developed, practiced intensive agriculture and cultivated many agricultural and coastal resources.
Programs and Services
The Pre Columbian Gold Museum shows one of the collections of Costa Rica's Central Bank Museums, also offering the public its Numismatic Museum, a collection of paper money, coffee and banana tickets dating back to 1500 up to our days and the Temporary Exhibitions Room, that presents art exhibits every three months.
The Central Bank's Museums are lodged in one of San José most beautiful underground buildings, with its exquisite inverted pyramid architecture; located in a spot surrounded by various facilities, and of easy access for visitors. It's bordered by other tourist centers like the National Theater and the National Museum.
The Museums own a shop offering replicas of the gold pieces as well as crafts elaborated by members of our country's indigenous communities: there are also books and catalogs of the different exhibitions. For groups interested in our indigenous past there are guided visits too.
People and Society 
