This September 17, the Major General Vicente García Provincial Museum honored Cuban Archaeologist Day with lectures, words of homage to Ramón Garrido Padilla (who left his mark here in the specialty), and the inauguration of the traveling exhibition Archaeological Traces of Cuba.
Las Tunas.- Tania Tamara Fernández Cervantes, senior specialist of the Office of Monuments and Historic Sites in the province, referred to the importance of archaeology in preserving the heritage, historical memory, and past of the peoples. Likewise, Ricardo Ávalo Avilés and Aliec Justo Bosch spoke about related topics. The latter, for example, pointed out the challenges of the Atabex-Maniabón Group, of which he has been president for about a year.
In conversation with 26, Justo Bosch mentioned among the current guidelines: the need to consolidate training in the subject, attract new talents, work on vocational training, create new spaces for the socialization of knowledge, expand the publication of his research, advocate for more sensitivity from the authorities towards this work, as well as explore less studied areas such as the valleys of the Yarey, La Cana and Naranjo rivers, as well as the municipality of Manatí (which has been little explored), among others.
As part of the celebration, the traveling exhibition Archaeological Traces of Cuba was inaugurated, promoted by the National Council of Cultural Heritage, which encourages an approach to sites and excavations in Granma, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, Trinidad, Isla de la Juventud, and Havana. Objects found in the northern Las Tunas municipality of Puerto Padre, such as pestles, clay vessels, shell scrapers, and an idol (a reproduction), are included.
"Whoever visits the museum these days could appreciate the evolution of this discipline in Cuba. The exhibition also alludes to the evolution of man and cities. Likewise, one can see rock art, how cemeteries were like at a certain time, objects discovered through underwater explorations, among other attractions," said Fernández Cervantes.
The temporary room of the Provincial Museum Major General Vicente García hosts the exhibition this month and, later, it will move to Puerto Padre, where the children of Villa Azul will enjoy more than a dozen pieces, including photographs and museum objects.
The expo pays tribute to the archaeologists and researchers who have contributed in some way to treasuring an important part of our historical memory. José Martí said it well: "The past is the root of the present. We must know what was because what was, is in what is."