General Aztecs Maya Tocuaro Kids Contact 19 Mar 2024/2 Death
Text Size:

Please support us on Patreon!
Search the Site (type in white box):

Article suitable for Top Juniors and above

Dr. Leonardo López Luján

Question for December 2012

Which museum has the most Aztec objects in it? Asked by Hobletts Manor Junior School. Chosen and answered by Dr. Leonardo López Luján.

The Mexica Hall of the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, with the Sunstone in the background
The Mexica Hall of the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, with the Sunstone in the background (Click on image to enlarge)

The leading collection in the world is that of the National Museum of Anthropology, followed by the Templo Mayor Museum (both in Mexico City). After these, also located in the Mexico City area, are the museums of Santa Cecilia, Tenayuca, Anahuacalli, etc.
Outside Mexico the most important are those of the British Museum, the Ethnographic Museum in Basel (Switzerland), the Pigorini Museum in Rome, the Quay Branly Museum in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, the Philadelphia University Museum, etc. Oddly, the poorest collections are in Spain, despite having owned the land occupied by the Mexica empire for 300 years...

The Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, Rome
The Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, Rome (Click on image to enlarge)

Spanish:-
La principal colección del mundo es la del Museo Nacional de Antropología y después la del Museo del Templo Mayor. Luego,hay otras en el DF, como el museo de Santa Cecilia, el Museo de Tenayuca, el museo del Anahuacalli, etc.
En el extranjero, las más importantes son el British Museum de Londres, el Museo Etnográfico de Basel, el Museo Etnográfico de Viena, el Museo Pigorini de Roma, el Museo del quai Branly en París, el Museo Metropolitano en NY, el Museo del Indio Americano en Washington, el Museo Universitario de Filadelfia, etc. Curiosamente, las colecciones más pobres son las de España, dueña durante 300 años del territorio ocupado por el imperio mexica...

Picture sources:-
• Photo of the National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City) by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore
• Photo of the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography (Rome) from Wikipedia.

Dr. Leonardo López Luján has answered 4 questions altogether:

Which museum has the most Aztec objects in it?

Did the Aztecs bury things for future generations like us to find?

When you find something buried [in Mexico], how do you know it’s Aztec?

Were children allowed to go to the market by themselves?

Comment button