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Top 10 Interesting Facts about the National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico)

Entry of the National Museum of Anthropology by Kornemuz/

National Museum of Anthropology, Spanish Museo Nacional De Antropología, in Mexico City.

It’s a world-famous repository of some 600,000 pieces of art and other objects relating to Mexico.

The National Museum of Anthropology is the oldest and the richest in Mexico, as time went by, its collections became so big that they had to divide it into two.

The management of the National Museum of Anthropology tries to make the ancient city of Mexico more popular.

The museum was dated August 25, 1790. It was initially named the Museum of National History.

1. The remarkable National Museum of Anthropology is located on Mahatma Gandhi Street

Museo Nacional de Antropología by Juan Carlos/

The Museum is located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City.

The museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexico’s pre-Columbian heritage.

The institution seeks to preserve the archeological and anthropological heritage of pre-Columbian Mexico and promotes modern Mexican ethnography.

The museum is managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia also known as the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

2. The amazing National Museum is long with a rectangular courtyard 

The museum’s long, rectangular courtyard is surrounded on three sides by two-level display halls.

The 12 ground-floor halls are dedicated to pre-Hispanic Mexico, while upper-level sales show how Mexico’s indigenous descendants live today.

The building is surrounded by gardens where they frequently throw various events – themed exhibits, lectures, and concerts.

The collections of museums are symbolically divided into archaeology and ethnography, with contemporary cultures located directly above their ancestral civilizations.

3. The exquisite museum has a large pond on the patio with a large concrete Umbrella

The building housing the anthropology museum has a modernist design with halls surrounding a central courtyard or patio.

There is a large pond on the patio and a large concrete umbrella supported by a single concrete pillar.

An artificial cascade falls around the umbrella. All the halls are surrounded by landscaped gardens, many of which have outdoor exhibits.

The institution not only presents the anthropology of the pre-Columbian era but also helps visitors to learn about ethnic groups in modern Mexico and how they live today.

4. The National Museum interestingly has rooms for anthropology and archeology

Museo Nacional de Antropología by Juan Carlos/

On the ground floor are located the rooms dedicated to the introduction to anthropology and the cultures of the Mexican territory.

The rooms of anthropology and archeology are arranged around the uncovered part of the central courtyard.

The first room of the MNA corresponds to an introduction to the activity of anthropology. Originally conceived as a space to bring visitors to the four branches.

The museum’s third room is dedicated to the people who lived in the Neovolcanic Axis and surrounding areas during the first centuries of Mesoamerican civilization.

The fourth permanent room of the museum is dedicated to Teotihuacan culture, whose city of greatest splendor was Teotihuacan, meaning the city where the gods are born.

5. The interesting Aztec Stone of the sun depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun

Aztec Calendar Stone by Rob Young/

The Aztec Sun Stone depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec mythology, the stone was discovered in December 1790 CE in the central plaza of Mexico City.

The stone is an elaborately carved solar disk, representing rulership for the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures.

At the center of the stone is a representation of either the sun god Tonatiuh or Yohualtonatiuh or the primordial earth monster Tlaltecuhtli.

Around the central face at four points are the other four suns which successively replaced each other after the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca struggled for control.

6. The astonishing Jade mask was created between 100 BC also known as the Zapotec Bat god

The Jade mask was discovered by archaeologists excavating a tomb in the ruins of the ancient city of Monte Alban, once the heart of the powerful Zapotec civilization.

It’s believed the mask was created between 100 BC and 200 AD at the height of Monte Alban’s dominance of the region.

Now on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, it is known as the mask of the Zapotec bat god.

Bats were highly symbolic to the Zapotec civilization and in the wider Mesoamerican cosmovision for several reasons.

7. The interesting National Anthropology Museum is open from 9 am to 7 pm 

The museum is open from 9 am to 7 pm every day except Thursdays, when it is closed to the public.

The entrance fee is 51 pesos but if you are a Mexican national or a foreign resident of the country you may enter for free on Sundays.

The museum highlights are The Sun Stone or Aztec Calendar, the Recreation of Pakal’s tomb in the Maya exhibit room, and the Jade mask of the Zapotec Bat God in the Oaxaca exhibit room.

On the left of the entrance are halls devoted to other cultural areas of Mexico. The Oaxaca and Maya rooms are also awe-inspiring.

8. The remarkable museum’s gift shop is known for its impressive collections

Gift shop by Peter Ivey Hansen/

The museum’s expansive gift shop is often mentioned in listings of the city’s best museum stores.

It is overflowing with renditions of the facility’s impressive collection of textiles, pottery, furniture, and alebrijes, brightly colored Oaxacan folk-art sculptures.

The souvenir shop is the best during anyone’s Mexico trip. If you want any gift of good quality and reasonable price, this is the right place to go.

9. The astonishing Porfirio Coapa offers contemporary Mexican cuisine 

It is a restaurant that praises the best of Mexico, transforming its traditional flavors, textures, and aromas into the most exquisite dishes of Mexican haute cuisine.

It renews the concept of contemporary urban cuisine, balancing homemade recipes with accents taken from every corner of Mexico.

It has one of the most complete menus with unique specialties that reinterpret traditional dishes.

Porfirio’s Coapa Restaurant awaits you with the best in Mexican cuisine at Calz Acoxpa 610, Coapa, Equipment Plaza Coapa, Tlalpan, 14390 Mexico City, CDMX.

10. The amazing Wild Oscar hotel situated 300m away from the museum is the best place to stay

Set in Mexico City, In the Polanco neighborhood, The Wild Oscar offers private residential-style accommodation.

Guests can enjoy the on-site Restaurant-Bar, social and work areas. Free WIFI is available throughout The Residence.

The Wild Oscar is 300 m from the National Museum of Anthropology. The Mexico City airport is 15 km away.