National Museum of Antropology

In the early 19th century, during the first years of independent Mexico, the need arose to strengthen the new state and forge a national identity. In 1822, Lucas Alamán proposed to Emperor Agustín de Iturbide the creation of a Conservatory of Antiquities and a Cabinet of Natural History. These were established in the halls of the former Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico and, in 1825, merged to form the Mexican National Museum. Its first curator was Isidro Ignacio de Icaza.

 

From its earliest years, the museum was not only a repository for archaeological and natural artifacts, but also an educational center, producing significant academic work. These advances were shared through publications such as the Annals of the Museum (from 1877) and the Museum Bulletin (from 1903).

 

Over time, the museum evolved. In 1909, its natural science collections were transferred to the new National Museum of Natural History. From then on, it was renamed the National Museum of Archaeology, History, and Ethnography, a title it held for more than three decades.

 

n 1940, under President Lázaro Cárdenas, the museum underwent another transformation: Chapultepec Castle became the home of the new National Museum of History. Collections related to the post-Conquest period were moved there, while the original site remained focused on archaeology and ethnography. Thus, the National Museum of Anthropology was formally established. That same year, a presidential decree created the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which has since overseen the study, protection, and dissemination of Mexico’s cultural heritage.

 

The growing collections highlighted the need for a new, larger space, leading to the construction of the current building in Chapultepec Park in 1963. Officially inaugurated on September 17, 1964, it opened with 22 exhibition halls and more than 45,000 square meters of space, making it the largest museum in the country and one of the most important in the world.

 

Today, the National Museum of Anthropology stands as one of Mexico’s most emblematic cultural institutions — a symbol of national identity, a place of learning, and a meeting point with the country’s Indigenous and cultural roots

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