Museum of Natural Sciences of the National University of La Rioja

Science and Technology Campus
Tel. 0822-26069
Open Mondays through Fridays from 9a.m. to 1p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m.

It was built around the material assembled during 25 years by the Institute of Anthropology of the National University of La Rioja. Studies and research work first focused on the field anthropology, later on archaeology and, finally, on paleontology. Exhibits include pieces discovered with fossil remains in sites dating back to the Triasic period. One of the most valuable pieces is a local dinosaur known as the "Riojasaurus" which is slightly more modern than those found in Ischigualasto, but is the sole specimen known in South America to have a complete skull. Amongst the exhibits, there are also very primitive reptiles that lived before the dinosaurs as well as the oldest tortoise shell in South America. These pieces were found in the geological formation known as Los Colorados that dates back 200 million years and is more modern than the formations in Ischigualasto and Valle de la Luna.
Other noteworthy exhibits include a series of objects made of wood, wickerwork and vegetable fibers dating back 1,800 years that were found in the caves of Talampaya, Two mummified bodies were also found in different sites in this area. One belongs to a young woman of approximately 18 years of age, Complete with mortuary accouterments and vestiges of skin, flesh and nails. The other belongs to a man who suffered a violent death. The mummification in these two cases was not artificial but the result of a natural process favored by the prevailing climatic conditions. Both mummies are 1,000 years old according to dating tests carried out with carbon 14.

La Rioja
The city of La Rioja, capital of the province with the same name, lies at the foot of the Sierra de Velasco. The characteristic features of a Spanish colonial city blend with an active and lively commercial center. It is located 1,167km. away from the city of Buenos Aires and lies 500m. above sea level. To reach this city one must travel down national route No. 9 up to the city of Córdoba and then take national route No. 38.