MUSEUM OF NATURE AND MAN TENERIFE

This worthy museum, situated in a most attractive former hospital with a galleried courtyard, deals seriously but accessibly with the archaeology, anthropology and ethnography of the Canary Islands, as well as the natural history The museum is essentially two museums in one Nature and Man being dealt with separately and is split in half, naturally following the plan of the building. Archaeology and the history of the Canaries lie on the left of the entrance and the fauna and flora of the islands on the right. Ten distinct sections tackle these different aspects of the Canary Islands with displays as varied as African and pre Columbian art, aboriginal therapy, the Canaries during the Spanish Conquest and the Canary Islands today.

The main emphasis is placed on the islands' pre-Hispanic history and culture. Much of the evidence of Guanche culture relates to burial, and the museum displays fascinating material from Guanche tombs and burial sites. Some dramatic exhibits include Guanche preserved bodies in a display on mummification, as well as skeletons and hundreds of skulls, some of them trepanned (with drilled holes). Interesting too, though less dramatic, are the displays of Guanche household items, pottery, tools and body decorations, as well as indigenous Canarian plant and animal life.