This archaeological museum, located in the city of San Jose, displays pre-Colombian jades, valuable stone artifacts such as statuettes, grinding stones, ceramic objects, and others. The museum is named after its founder, Marco Fidel Tristan Castro.
One hall is dedicated to the Meso-American influence (North Pacific or Nicoya or Guanacaste), and one contains the exhibits of the South Pacific. (also called Diquis.) The jades have been mounted and lighted to show their intricacy and translucency.
Foreing style jades have been assembled in a separate section, the same as those from Intermontane and Atlantic Watershed regions. There are several showcases of jade necklaces and other jade ornaments. Two mannequins dressed with jade emphasize the importance that the Indians attributed to the semi-precious stones.
The Jade Museum has two temporary exhibition halls, one for archaeological artifacts and the other is a gallery dedicated to exhibitions of national and international artists.
