The Suruma Museum

Gran Tierra Energy in partnership with Corpoamazonia and the Colombia Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) built and opened, in November 2021, a museum in Putumayo that will serve local communities as a permanent archaeological exhibition.

The Suruma museum is located in the Amazon Experimental Centre (CEA) and is an educational space to preserve historical artifacts and tell the story of the history and culture of the Putumayo department. There are 15 permanent museum exhibits, distributed in two structures and a central area showcasing the reconstruction of an archaeological excavation area.

All of the artifacts housed in the Suruma Museum were discovered by Gran Tierra Energy through our archaeological activities in Putumayo. These specific archaeological activities took more than four months of​ work and during this period of time, 25 archaeologists and 160 local field helpers excavated more than 3,300 square metres.

To date, more than 20 tons of archaeological materials have been recovered and the inventory of the recorded archaeological material is composed of ceramic fragments, lithic artifacts (two carved projectile points), complete pottery pieces, archeological features (coal and fire pits) and a goldsmith’s piece.

“We celebrate that Gran Tierra has voluntarily built this museum helping to safeguard Colombia’s anthropological and historical knowledge for the public. The project was designed and implemented with institutional collaboration, and built upon community ideas. It shows the Company is focused on creating social capital and considers how its actions can contribute to society in a positive way.”

Nicolás Loaiza

Former General Manager, ICANH

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