"Father Vázquez" Archaeological Museum of Fuerte Quemado

Located on route No. 40
Tel. 0838-23163 Has no fixed timetables.
There is always someone in.
Knock on the door to visit it.

This museum was founded in 1980 and belongs to don Filomena Pastrana.
It harbors a collection of urns belonging to the Santa María culture that flourished between 1350 and 850 B.C.. Father Vázquez was the parish priest of Santa María and a genuine precursor of archaeological research in the area. Exhibits include a collection of metal pieces, conanas (mortars), grooved stones used by Indian women to give birth, mortars and other objects related to the life and history of the town, such as guitars, saddles, loom reeds and an image of St. Joseph.

Santa María
The city of Santa María is located 320km. north of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, on national route No. 40. It is reached by taking provincial route No. 1 up to Andalgalá, and then switching to provincial route No. 47 up to its intersection with route No. 40. It is considered the National Capital of Archaeology. There are noteworthy sites belonging to the Acalín Indians of Loma Rica, and the most important field of petroglyphs in South America. The city has an important hotel and gastronomic facilities.