The Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City exhibits pre-Columbian past and present native cultures of Mexico.
Architecture of the central courtyard
Located in Chapultepec Park, it consists of a central patio connected to 23 exhibition halls. The exhibition area is 79700 square meters. The patio center is an impressive reinforced concrete-aluminum structure (umbrella) of 54 by 82 meters and a height of 16.80 meters.
History
The museum was inaugurated on September 17, 1964, after a construction period of 18 months. The collection itself originated as a university collection on March 18, 1825, with parts dating back to the collection of Lorenzo Boturini de Benaducci. This Boturini collection was created between 1735 and 1743 and is the earliest significant collection of Mexico's history.
Collection
On the first floor and partly outdoors, Mexico's Indian cultures and eras are represented through an archaeological collection and architectural examples. The most famous and important exhibit is the Stone of the Sun (Piedra del Sol). On the upper floor are the ethnological halls. Here are exhibited the present Indian peoples of Mexico with their traditional costumes and examples of their craftsmanship and architecture.