Museo Nacional de Antropología (Spanish) | |
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 The museum's front entrance in 2006 | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Established | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mexico City,Mexico |
| Coordinates | 19°25′34″N99°11′10″W / 19.42611°N 99.18611°W /19.42611; -99.18611 |
| Type | Archaeology museum |
| Collection size | 600,000[1] |
| Visitors | 3,700,000 (2024)[2] |
| Public transit access | Auditorio Station (line 7) |
| Website | mna.inah.gob.mx |
TheNational Museum of Anthropology (Spanish:Museo Nacional de Antropología,MNA) is anational museum ofMexico. It is thelargest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area betweenPaseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street withinChapultepec Park inMexico City,[3] the museum contains significantarchaeological andanthropological artifacts from Mexico'spre-Columbian heritage, such as theStone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and theAztecXochipilli statue.
The museum received 3,700,000 visitors in 2024, making it the most-visited museum in Mexico, and the 17th most-visited museum of the arts in the world.[4]
The museum (along with many other Mexican national and regional museums) is managed by theInstituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History), or INAH. It was one of several museums opened by Mexican PresidentAdolfo López Mateos in 1964.[5]
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."[6]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."[7]
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Designed in 1964 byPedro Ramírez Vázquez, Jorge Campuzano, andRafael 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 8hectares) or 857,890 square feet (almost 20 acres).
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At the end of the 18th century, by order of the viceroy of Bucareli, the items that formed part of the collection byLorenzo Boturini — including the sculptures ofCoatlicue and theSun Stone — were placed in theRoyal and Pontifical University of Mexico, forming the core of the collection that would become the National Museum of Anthropology.
On August 25, 1790, theCabinet of Curiosities of Mexico (Gabinete de Historia Natural de México)[note 1] was established by botanistJosé Longinos Martínez. During the 19th century, the museum was visited by internationally renowned scholars such asAlexander von Humboldt. In 1825, the first Mexican president,Guadalupe Victoria, advised by the historianLucas Alamán, established the National Mexican Museum as an autonomous institution. In 1865, the EmperorMaximilian 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 PresidentPorfirio Díaz. By 1924 the stock of the museum had increased to 52,000 objects and had received more than 250,000 visitors.
In December 1940, the museum was divided again, with its historical collections being moved to theChapultepec Castle, where they formed theMuseo Nacional de Historia, focusing on theViceroyalty of the New Spain and its progress towards modern Mexico. The remaining collection was renamed the National Museum of Anthropology, focusing onpre-ColumbianMexico and modern day Mexicanethnography.
The construction of the contemporary museum building began in February 1963 in theChapultepec park. The project was coordinated by architectPedro Ramírez Vázquez, with assistance byRafael Mijares Alcérreca and Jorge Campuzano. The construction of the building lasted 19 months, and was inaugurated on September 17, 1964, PresidentAdolfo 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.
On 25 December 1985, 124 artefacts were stolen from the museum by two veterinary students for unknown motives. Most of the pieces were recovered in 1989, while four remain missing. One of the thieves was arrested while the other remains at large. The events became the subject of the 2018 filmMuseo.
The museum's collections include the Stone of the Sun, giant stone heads of theOlmec civilization that were found in the jungles ofTabasco andVeracruz, treasures recovered from theMaya civilization, at theSacred Cenote atChichen Itza, a replica of the sarcophagal lid fromPacal's tomb atPalenque andethnological displays of contemporaryrural Mexican life. It also has a model of the location and layout of the former Aztec capitalTenochtitlan, the site of which is now occupied by the central area of modern-dayMexico 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.
The museum also hosts visiting exhibits, generally focusing on other of the world's great cultures. Past exhibits have focused on ancientIran,Greece,China,Egypt,Russia, andSpain.
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