National Museum of Anthropology

The National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is Mexico's national museum of anthropology and the largest and most visited museum in the country. Located in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street, it houses significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexico's pre-Columbian heritage. 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 worldwide. It is managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH).

The museum's origins trace back to the earliest efforts at cultural preservation in Mexico. In 1790, the monolith of Coatlicue was discovered, and the Count of Revillagigedo, then viceroy of New Spain, placed it in the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, an act considered the first instance of cultural heritage conservation in the country. That same year, the Stone of the Sun was displayed at the base of the southwest tower of the metropolitan cathedral, marking the first "museum" in a broad sense. In 1822, a conservatory of antiquities and natural history was created at the university, and in 1825 the "Mexican National Museum" was born, with some collections tracing back to the collection of Lorenzo Boturini de Benaducci assembled between 1735 and 1743. The institution underwent several name changes and relocations, including assignment to the Casa de Moneda in 1865 by Maximilian of Austria and renaming to the "National Museum of Anthropology, History and Ethnology" in 1909. By 1947, the collections had grown so large that a new building was contemplated. In 1959, President Adolfo López Mateos approved construction of the new museum, which was inaugurated on 17 September 1964 after an 18-month construction period employing 800 engineers and 1,200 workers. In 2025, the museum was awarded the Princess of Asturias Prize for Concord.

The museum's collection spans Mexico's pre-Columbian past and its living indigenous cultures. The ground floor and outdoor areas present indigenous cultures and epochs through archaeological collections and architectural examples, covering civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Nahua, Toltec, and Aztec. The upper floor is devoted to ethnography, displaying the present-day indigenous peoples of Mexico with their traditional costumes and examples of their craft and architectural traditions. The museum also houses 15,000 square meters of storage and laboratory facilities, as well as the National Library of Anthropology and History, which holds more than 85,000 volumes, 72,000 images, and 11,000 maps. The 23 exhibition rooms are organized around thematic and regional lines, from introductions to anthropology and the peopling of Mesoamerica through specific culture areas.

The most celebrated object in the museum is the Stone of the Sun (Piedra del Sol), also known as the Aztec calendar stone, the best-known and most important exhibition piece. Other signature works include the Aztec Xochipilli statue, Olmec heads from Tabasco, treasures from the cenotes of Chichén Itzá, and a statue of Tlaloc from Teotihuacán. The museum also contains a replica of the tomb of Pacal the Great, king of Palenque, and the renowned mural of Tenochtitlan by Dr. Atl. The collection has been shaped by significant historical moments, including the 1790 discovery of the Coatlicue monolith and the 1825 founding of the national museum. More recently, the Young Woman of Amajac was presented at the museum for the exhibition "La Grandeza de México" before being returned to Hidalgo Amajac for a cultural festival.

The museum building was designed in 1964 by architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Jorge Campuzano, and Rafael Mijares Alcérreca. Ramírez Vázquez, a graduate of UNAM's School of Architecture, had previously designed the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico and other significant buildings. During the design phase, the architects visited museums abroad for inspiration; the courtyard was derived from the neoclassical rotunda by John Russell Pope at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The structure covers 79,700 square meters (almost 8 hectares) with 23 exhibition rooms, though the built area is 44,000 square meters supplemented by 35,700 square meters of open space. The building is organized around a central patio featuring the iconic "el paraguas" (the umbrella), a vast square concrete roof of 54 by 82 meters and 16.80 meters high, supported by a single slender pillar. This steel-reinforced concrete and aluminum construction covers a semi-enclosed space where visitors feel sheltered yet not fully enclosed, with a water mirror occupying the open portion. The architects incorporated nature through courtyard gardens containing outdoor exhibits, and drew on Mayan architectural inspiration for the steel tracery and quadrangle layout that creates flow between buildings surrounding the patio. Historical ornaments such as Maya decoration and traditional materials including lava rock connect the modern structure to Mexican cultural origins. Artists contributed to the interior design, including Mathias Goeritz, who created large textile murals for Mexico's Huichol people and blended traditional and modern elements. The entrance facade in marble bears the national emblem of Mexico, and a large Mexican flag flies on the access esplanade. A fountain with a sculpture of Tlaloc from Coatlinchán is installed outside the building.

The National Museum of Anthropology is located in the Primera Sección del Bosque de Chapultepec in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City. It sits within Chapultepec Park, a wide-open natural park with historical significance as a place where Aztec emperors spent time. The museum is owned and managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), like many other Mexican national and regional museums. Its present role as the most-visited museum in Mexico and one of the most significant cultural institutions in the Americas continues to draw millions of visitors annually to explore the country's archaeological and ethnographic heritage. The museum's website is https://www.mna.inah.gob.mx.