The Ancient America collection established by the Basel merchant Lukas Vischer in the years 1828 to 1837 is one of the museum's most important features and is one of the very earliest to have gone on show anywhere in Europe. The carved lintels from Tikal, which are the museum's most valuable treasure, provide unique testimony to the high level of culture attained by the Maya civilisation. They reached Basel from Guatemala in 1878 through the intervention of the explorer Gustav Bernoulli. Pre-Hispanic America and the everyday cultures of the indigenous people of the South American lowlands are particularly well represented.
Alexander Brust M.A
alexander.brust@bs.chFurther information
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