Coordinates : 19.

426°N
99.186°W

National Museum of Anthropology

(Mexico)
The National Museum of Anthropology (Spanish : Museo
Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico .
National Museum of
It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the
Anthropology
area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street
within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City ,[2] the museum contains
significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from
Mexico's pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun (or
the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

The museum (along with many other Mexican national and regional
museums) is managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e
Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History), or INAH. Museum's front entrance, depicting:
It was one of several museums opened by Mexican President Adolfo MUSEO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGÍA
López Mateos in 1964.[3].

Assessments of the museum vary, with one considering it "a

national treasure and a symbol of identity. The museum is the
synthesis of an ideological, scientific, and political feat."[4] Octavio
Paz criticized the museum's making the Mexica (Aztec) hall central,
saying the "exaltation and glorification of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
transforms the Museum of Anthropology into a temple."[5]

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Contents Established 1964

Architecture Location Mexico City, Mexico

History Coordinates 19.426°N 99.186°W

Exhibits Type Archaeology museum
Exhibits gallery Visitors 2,336,115 (2017)[1]
See also Public Auditorio Station (line 7)
Further reading transit
Notes access
References Website www.mna.inah.gob.mx (htt
External links p://www.mna.inah.gob.mx)

Architecture
Designed in 1964 by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez , Jorge Campuzano, and Rafael Mijares Alcérreca , the monumental
building contains exhibition halls surrounding a courtyard with a huge pond and a vast square concrete umbrella
supported by a single slender pillar (known as "el paraguas", Spanish for "the umbrella"). The halls are ringed by
gardens, many of which contain outdoor exhibits. The museum has 23 rooms for exhibits and covers an area of 79,700
square meters (almost 8 hectares) or 857,890 square feet (almost 20 acres).
History

The Central Courtyard Umbrella

Top View of the Stone of Tizoc. The
stone is currently in the National
Museum of Anthropology.[6]
At the end of the 18th century, by order of the viceroy of Bucareli, the items
that formed part of the collection by Lorenzo Boturini — including the
sculptures of Coatlicue and the Sun Stone — were placed in the Royal and
Pontifical University of Mexico , forming the core of the collection that
would become the National Museum of Anthropology.

On August 25, 1790, the Cabinet of Curiosities of Mexico (Gabinete de Historia Natural de México)[note 1]
was
established by botanist José Longinos Martínez . During the 19th century, the museum was visited by internationally
renowned scholars such as Alexander von Humboldt . In 1825, the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria ,
advised by the historian Lucas Alamán , established the National Mexican Museum as an autonomous institution. In
1865, the Emperor Maximilian moved the museum to Calle de Moneda 13, to the former location of the Casa de
Moneda.

In 1906, due to the growth of the museum's collections, Justo Sierra

divided the stock of the National Museum. The natural history collections
were moved to the Chopo building, which was constructed specifically to
shelter permanent expositions. The museum was renamed the National
Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnography, and was re-opened
September 9, 1910, in the presence of President Porfirio Díaz . By 1924 the
stock of the museum had increased to 52,000 objects and had received
more than 250,000 visitors.
The "La Malinche" huipil it is made
In December 1940, the museum was divided again, with its historical of cotton with feathers, wax and
collections being moved to the Chapultepec Castle , where they formed the gold thread. The design is
Museo Nacional de Historia , focusing on the Viceroyalty of the New Spain dominated by an image of a double
and its progress towards modern Mexico. The remaining collection was headed eagle, showing both
renamed the National Museum of Anthropology, focusing on pre- indigenous and Spanish influence. It
is part of the collection of the Museo
Columbian Mexico and modern day Mexican ethnography .
Nacional de Antropología.[7]
The construction of the contemporary museum building began in February
1963 in the Chapultepec park. The project was coordinated by architect
Pedro Ramírez Vázquez , with assistance by Rafael Mijares Alcérreca and Jorge Campuzano. The construction of the
building lasted 19 months, and was inaugurated on September 17, 1964, President Adolfo López Mateos , who declared:

The Mexican people lift this monument in honor of the admirable cultures that flourished during the
Pre-Columbian period in regions that are now territory of the Republic. In front of the testimonies of
those cultures, the Mexico of today pays tribute to the indigenous people of Mexico, in whose example
we recognize characteristics of our national originality.
Exhibits
The museum's collections include the Stone of the Sun, giant stone heads
of the Olmec civilization that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and
Veracruz , treasures recovered from the Maya civilization , at the Sacred
Cenote at Chichen Itza , a replica of the sarcophagal lid from Pacal's tomb at
Palenque and ethnological displays of contemporary rural Mexican life. It
also has a model of the location and layout of the former Aztec capital
Tenochtitlan , the site of which is now occupied by the central area of
modern-day Mexico City .

The permanent exhibitions on the ground floor cover all pre-Columbian

civilizations located on the current territory of Mexico as well as in former
Mexican territory in what is today the southwestern United States. They
are classified as North, West, Maya , Gulf of Mexico, Oaxaca, Mexico,
Toltec, and Teotihuacan. The permanent expositions at the first floor show
the culture of Native American population of Mexico since the Spanish
colonization. Original Aztec Sunstone

The museum also hosts visiting exhibits, generally focusing on other of the
world's great cultures. Past exhibits have focused on ancient Iran , Greece , China , Egypt , Russia , and Spain
.

Exhibits gallery
Reproduction of the Temple of the Disc of Mictlantecuhtli
feathered serpent in Teotihuacan

Statue of Chalchiuhtlicue Olmeca-Xicalanca - Cacaxtla bird

man mural

Mural and model of Tenochtitlan , Ocelotl-Cuauhxicalli

looking east
Teocalli of the sacred war Statue of Xiuhcoatl

Statue of Aztec goddess Coatlicue Xochipilli

Skull covered with turquoise Replic of Codex Borbonicus

Feather headdress replic of Relief of Toniná
Moctezuma II

Lintel 26, Yaxchilan Ceramic of the Jaina Island

Reproduction of the mausoleum of the Mortuary mask of K'inich Janaab'

Palenque ruler, K'inich Janaab' Pakal Pakal
Frieze of Placeres Mask of Chaac

Zapotec mask of the Bat God Reproduction of the Tomb 105 of

Monte Albán

Mixtec ceramic Mixtec pectoral of gold and turquoise,

Shield of Yanhuitlán
 Olmec colossal head Olmec wrestler

Tuxtla statuette Reproduction of the sculpture of

Mictlantecuhtli in El Zapotal

Mask of Malinaltepec

See also
Doris Heyden
Felipe R. Solís Olguín , director 2000–2009

Further reading
 Aveleyra, Luis. "Plantación y metas del nuevo Museo Nacional de Antropología. Artes de México, época 1, año
12, no. 66-67: 12-18. Mexico 1965.
Bernal, Ignacio. El Museo Nacional de Antropología de México. Mexico: Aguilar 1967.
Castillo Lédon, Luis. El Museo Nacional de Arquelogía, Historia, y Etnografía. Mexico: Imprenta del Museo
Nacional de Arquelogía, Historia, y Etnografía 1924.
Fernández, Miguel Ángel. Historia de los Museos de México. Mexico: Fomento Cultural del Banco Nacional de
México 1987.
Florescano, Enrique. "The Creation of the Museo Nacional de Antropología of Mexico and its scientific,
educational, and political purposes." In Nationalism: Critical Concepts in Political Science, edited by John
Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith. Vol. IV. pp. 1238-1259. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. Reprinted
from Collecting the Pre-Columbian Past: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 6th and 7th October 1990, Elizabeth
Hill Boone (ed.), Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1993, pp. 83-103.
Galindo y Villa, Jesús. "Apertura de las clases de historia y arqueología." Boletín del Museo Nacional I: 22-28,
Mexico 1911.
Galindo y Villa, Jesús. "Museología. Los museos y su doble función educativa e instructiva." In Memorias de la
Sociedad Científica Antonio Alzate 39:415-473. Mexico 1921.
León y Gama, Antonio de Descripción histórica y cronológica de las Dos Piedras. Mexico: Instituto Nacional de
Antropología 1990.
Matos, Eduardo. Arqueología e indigenismo. Mexico: Instituto Nacional Indigenista, 1986.
Matute, Alvaro. Lorenzo Boturini y el pensamiento histórico de Vico. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México 1976.
Mendoza, Gumersindo and J. Sánchez, "Catálogo de las colecciones históricas y arqueológica del Museo
Nacional de México." Anales del Museo Nacional pp. 445-486. Mexico 1882.
Núñez y Domínguez, José, "Las clases del Museo Nacional." Boletín del Museo Nacional, segunda época: 215-
218. Mexico 1932.
Paz, Octavio. Posdata. Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno Editories 1969.
Ramírez Vázquez, Pedro. "La arquitectura del Museo Nacional de Antropología". Artes de México, época 2, 12
(66-67): 19-32. Mexico: 1965.
Villoro, Luis. Los grandes momentos del indigenismo. Mexico: Casa Chata 1979.

Notes
1. This early cabinet of curiosities, Gabinete de Historia Natural de México, became years later the nowadays
Museo de Historia Natural in Mexico City.

References
1. "Estadística de Visitantes" (http://www.estadisticas.inah.gob.mx/) (in Spanish). INAH. Retrieved 25 February
2018.
2. "Plan Your Visit (http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/tu-visita/plan-your-visit.html)." National Museum of Anthropology.
Retrieved on April 12, 2016. "The Museum is located at Av. Paseo de la Reforma y Calzada Gandhi s/n, Col.
Chapultepec Polanco. Delegación Miguel Hidalgo. C.P. 11560, México, D.F."
3. Arnaiz y Freg, Arturo. "Los Nuevos museos y las restauraciones realizados por el Presidente López Mateos."
Artes De México, no. 179/180, 1974, pp. 62–67. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24317704 accessed 11 March 2019
4. Enrique Florescano, "The creation of the Museo Nacional de Antropología and its scientific, educational, and
political purposes." In Nationalism: Critical Concepts in Political Science, Vol. IV p. 1257. John Hutchinson and
Anthony D. Smith, eds. London and New York: Routledge 2000.
5. Octavio Paz, Posdata, Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno 1969, quoted in Florescano, "The creation of the Museo Nacional
de Antropología", p. 1258, footnote 9.
6. Museo Nacional de México (1877-01-01). Anales del Museo Nacional de México (https://archive.org/details/anale
sdelmuseona00muse). México : El Museo.
7. Ana Mónica Rodríguez (April 27, 2011). "Espectadores podrán conocer el enigma del huipil de La Malinche" (htt
p://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/04/27/cultura/a04n1cul). La Jornada. Mexico City. p. 4. Retrieved May 5, 2012.

External links
 Official website (http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx)
Website of the INAH (http://www.inah.gob.mx/)

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