Acahualinca Footprints Museum, Tourist Attractions, Culture

The Footprints of Acahualinca, or Huellas de Acahualinca in Spanish, is a renowned archaeological site located near the Nicaraguan city of Managua. The Acahualinca Footprints Museum is dedicated to this fascinating find and documents scientific conclusions regarding the site. Also in the museum of Acahualinca are a number of artifacts from various localities in Nicaragua, such as mammoth footprints, pre-Columbian tools and a skull from León Viejo. This is a very popular attraction in Nicaragua, so make a point of heading off to Huellas de Acahualinca.

So what exactly is the Huellas de Acahualinca archaeological site? Back in 1874, a group of workers on the edge of Lake Managua came across a number of footprints imprinted on the ground. After researchers from the Carnegie Institute studied the footprints, they came to the conclusion that they dated back some 6000 years. They were dubbed the oldest human footprints discovered on the American continents. The tracks are said to be the petrified footprints of a group of Paleo-Indians who were walking to collect water or food. Whilst there were animal prints in the same ground, they were not traveling with the people. The footprints were well conserved due to volcanic activity in the area. Jorge Espinoza decided to investigate further in 1978 and, after digging a further four meters into the earth, more buried footprints were found.

The Acahualinca Footprints Museum can be found in the region of Managua. It is a small museum and has recently been revamped. Inside you will find various archaeological discoveries based around the footprints of Acahualinca. You will also come across other fascinating ancient discoveries at the Acahualinca Footprints Museum. Reaching the museum is no problem as most taxi drivers will know exactly where to go at the mention of Huellas de Acahualinca. The museum is open on Mondays to Friday between 08:00 am and 05:00 pm and on the weekend between 09:00 am and 04:00 pm

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