The Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria occupies a modern 2,000m² exhibition space in the Mercado del Este of Santander, in which 2,600 pieces are exhibited, many of them unpublished, through an itinerary where dissemination and new technologies take precedence.
The space offers a chronological itinerary by stages, from prehistory to the Middle Ages, in which pieces, scenographies and informative and didactic material constitute the common elements of the route. The successive rooms and monographic spaces present differentiating elements, emphasising, depending on the materials, the scenographic and environmental contribution, interaction or direct exhibition. In this sense, the museum pays attention both to the object of use or instrument, contextualising its contents, and to the art object and its artistic and historical value. Each space is equipped with interactive digital screens, panels and videos, with different reading levels. This ensures that the visitor can choose from the most direct, visible and superficial information about the contents to the possibility of going deeper into them.
All the information on pieces, dates, periods and curiosities, including historical questions and enigmas, is available in Spanish, English and French.
Scenographies and showcases fill the presentations, from the first hominids to the Magdalenian period and the importance of the bone industry, as well as graphics, drawings and audiovisual materials that recreate customs, uses and rooms. A reproduction of the main gallery of La Garma and a room in the form of a sanctuary, which brings together the supports of Palaeolithic art, are two of the museum's jewels.
