- 2011. Archaeology and Indigenous peoples: a maturing

relationship? Annual Reviews of Anthropology 40:363-378.

- (ed.) 1999a. Time and archaeology. London: Routledge.- 1999b. Encyclopedia of archaeology: the great archae-

ologists. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Press.MURRAY, T. & A. MAYNE. 2001. Imaginary landscapes:

reading Melbournes Little Lon, in A. Mayne &

T. Murray (ed.) The archaeology of urban landscapes:explorations in slumland: 89-105. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

MURRAY, T. & J. P. WHITE. 1981. Cambridge in the bush?

Archaeology in Australia and New Guinea. WorldArchaeology 13: 255-263.

Further ReadingMURRAY, T. (ed.) 2001. Encyclopedia of archaeology:

history and discoveries. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIOPress.

Museo Nacional de Antropologa,Mexico

Isabel Medina-Gonzalez

Escuela Nacional de Conservacion, Restauracion

y Museografa, Instituto Nacional de

Antropologa e Historia (INAH), Mexico, DF,

Mexico

Brief Definition of the Topic

The Museo Nacional de Antropologa (The

National Museum of Anthropology), hereafter

MNA, is the oldest, largest, and most famous

anthropological museum in Latin America.

Located in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City,

the MNA focuses on displaying the cultural

diversity and development of native societies of

Mesoamerica through an exhibition that begins

by explaining the meaning and practice of

Anthropology. It then addresses the origins of

the American indigenous peoples (including the

theories of Paleo-Indian migration and settlement

in the Americas) and goes on to explain in a rather

monographic fashion, the characteristics and

achievements of the principal pre-Columbian

ancient civilizations from the pre-Classic,

Classic, and post-Classic periods (i.e., Olmec,

Teotihuacan, Toltec, Mexica-Aztec, Maya, Mix-

tec-Zapotec, and Occident and Northern cul-

tures). The exhibition culminates in an

ethnographic exhibition on various indigenous

communities currently living in Mexico. This

perspective, broad in both time and space, repre-

sents the core spirit of the Latin American School

of Anthropology to study and disseminate Amer-

ican indigenous cultures, which is also articulated

in the museological and architectural rationale of

the MNA, as well as in its research, dissemina-

tion, and educational activities.

History

The genesis of the MNAs archaeological collec-

tion can be traced back to the scientific cabinets

of collections accumulated in New Spain and,

in particular, to the late-eighteenth-century

collection preserved at the Real y Pontificia

Universidad de Mexico (15511865), an early

academic and higher-educational institution,

where inspired by a Creole nationalistic

ideology the first Museo Nacional Mexicano

(Mexican National Museum, MNM) was offi-

cially founded by the government of the newly

independent Mexican Republic in 1825 (Morales

Moreno 1994: 164, 172). Although Mexican

archaeology was a subject of burgeoning interest

for both local and foreign scholars during the first

half of the nineteenth century, local political

instability surely limited the academic and cura-

torial development of the MNM until 1865, when

it was relocated to the former Casa de Moneda,

a northern annex of the Palacio Nacional (Solis

2001: 34).

The following three decades saw the consoli-

dation of theMNMwith the opening of a series of

themed galleries, like the famous Galeria de

Monolitos, displaying documents, natural history

specimens, antiquities, and historical artifacts;

the establishment of a library devoted to both

public instruction and scholarly research; the

publication of scholarly journals (Anales del

Museo y Revista Cientfica Mexicana); and thelaunching of a series of courses and academic

events on national history, archaeology,

M 5104 Museo Nacional de Antropologa, Mexico

ethnology, and indigenous languages that can be

considered the disciplinary origins of anthropol-

ogy in Latin America (Morales-Moreno 1994:

238304).

With the departure of the natural history col-

lections to the Museo del Chopo in 1906, the

MNM reformulated its reason detre according

to its newly acquired name: Museo Nacional de

Arqueologa, Historia y Etnografa (the National

Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnogra-

phy, hereafter MNAHE), a process that initiated

a flourishing era with growing responsibilities.

Apart from the accession of a large number of

antique sculptures and artifacts from all over the

country acquired from private collections and

field expeditions organized, authorized, or

supported by the museum itself, aid from the

federal government enabled the renovation of

the exhibition galleries that became not only the

depositary of national treasures but also the

showcases for the visualization of an imaginary

golden pre-Columbian time that provided ideo-

logical foundations for the Porfiriato regime from

a scholarly perspective (Morales-Moreno 1994:

30583).

By 1910, the narrative of this political agenda

that reconciled patriotic visions of ancient and

modern Mexico was articulated by the museum

hosting the celebrations of the 100th anniversary

of the Independence of Mexico. Then the

MNAHE also evolved into a complex multiface-

ted institution that consisted of departments of

archaeology, anthropology, history, ethnography,

anthropometry, industrial art, conservation of

archaeological and historical monuments, publi-

cations, and education. Furthermore, within the

framework of the XVI International Congress of

Americanists, American Anthropology experi-

enced a key event in its professional evolution

with the founding of the International School of

Archaeology and Ethnology within the MNAHE,

the predecessor of the ENAH-INAH (Rutsch

2007).

Although, the Mexican Revolution brought

about the interruption of the museums activities

for period of time, post-revolutionary govern-

ments later ensured that the MNAHE maintained

its long-standing position as the national insti-

tute par excellence, that unlike any other,

reflected the very patriotic essence of Mexico

(Castillo Ledon 1924, in Morales Moreno 1994).

Further acknowledgment of the museums edu-

cational role was confirmed by its incorporation

into the Secretara de Educacion Publica (the

Public Education Ministry) in 1921. During the

1930s, ethnographic research by the MNAHE

was central to the articulation of an indigenous

policy articulated by the regime of President

Cardenas as well as to the development of

avant-garde anthropological studies, congresses,

and exhibitions (Solis 2001: 35).

After the establishment of Instituto Nacional

de Antropologa e Historia (the National Institute

of Anthropology and History) in 1939 and the

foundation of the Museo Nacional de Historia

(the National Museum of History) in 1944, the

MNAHE underwent its last organizational trans-

formation becoming the Museo Nacional de

Antropologa (MNA), a museological, research,

and scholarly institution with a solid and growing

international reputation.

In 1964, with the full support of President

Lopez Mateos, a new building for the MNA was

inaugurated at Chapultepec Park. Its architectural

design, by Pedro Ramrez Vazquez (2008),

represented a revolutionary concept, with a total

area of 70,000 m2 with 30,000 m2 for galleries

and open spaces for exhibition purposes and

15,000 m2 for collection deposits, curatorial,

research, and service sectors.

Today

The MNA, a major touristic and educational

landmark in Mexico, is an icon of Mexican

museography worldwide. Its galleries are orga-

nized around an open central patio, decorated

with the famous parasol a monumental roofed

pillar with engraved decoration inspired by pre-

Colombian figures and an internal garden water

mirror, which provides independent access to

exhibitions and thus free visitor movement and

permits the integration of the museum with

Chapultepec Park. Specifically designed decora-

tive architectural elements and a series of

Museo Nacional de Antropologa, Mexico 5105 M

M

commissioned works of art by famous modern

Mexican artists (Rufino Tamayo, Carlos Merica,

Rina Lazo, Mathias Goeritz) complement the

exhibition setting, which includes replicas of

pre-Columbian buildings and life-like recon-

structions of some aspects of indigenous cultures

(Ramrez Vazquez 2008).

The MNA houses the National Anthropologi-

cal Library, which holds the most important and

largest collection of pre-Columbian codices in

the world. It additionally, has three large audito-

riums for academic events; galleries for tempo-

rary exhibitions, recently presenting displays on

ancient world civilizations; open spaces, used for

academic and more recently political ceremo-

nies; administrative, research, and laboratory

areas; offices for educational services and guided

tours; parking lots; shops; a restaurant; and

a cloakroom.

The order of the archaeological galleries,

defined by a cultural-historical theoretical

approach, as well as the prominent position of

the Aztec culture in the arrangement, has been

subject to several critiques, including one by

Octavio Paz (1970: 27981), who exposed the

political agenda implicit in the representation of

Mesoamerican cultures, stating that the MNA is

a architecturally crafted myth that represented the

currency of an ideological nationalistic model

based on the political domination of the central

Mexican political aristocracy and thus questioned

the idea that Mexicans are still articulating its

patriotic archetype on the basis of admiring pre-

Columbian ruins. Further criticism regarding the

political bias that uncovers the ethnographic dis-

plays has also been addressed (i.e., Carillo Sierra

1994: 48).

Since its inauguration, the MNA has under-

gone few changes in its original architecture and

museography, although from 1998 to 2004, some

galleries, including the Temporary Exhibition

sector, were renovated as part of a major

restructuring plan. This work was concluded

before 2005, when the museum celebrated its

80th anniversary (Ramrez Vazquez 2008).

The MNA is one of the national museums

under the domain of the INAH.

Cross-References

Colonial Expansion, Invasion, and Nation-State Building: Influences on Archaeology

Heritage Museums and the PublicMuseums and the Distortion of Archaeologyfor Political Purposes

Nationalism and ArchaeologyNorth America (USA and Canada): Museums

References

CARILLO-SIERRA, D. 1994. Cien anos de Etnografa en elMuseo. Mexico: INAH.

MORALES-MORENO, L. 1994. Ancestros y Ciudadanos: El

Museo Nacional de Mexico 17901925. Unpublished

PhD dissertation, Universidad Iberoamericana.

PAZ, O. 1970. Postda, Mexico: Siglo XXI.RAMIREZ VAZQUEZ, P. 2008. Museo Nacional de

Antropologa: gestion, proyecto y construccion,Mexico: INAH.

RUTSCH, M. 2007. Entre campo el gabinete Nacionales yextranjeros en la profesionalizacion de laantropologia Mexicana (18771920). Mexico:INAH/IIA-UNAM.

SOLIS, F. 2001. El Museo Nacional de Antropologa y su

Historia. Alquimia 4: 12: 3841.

Further ReadingMUSEO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGIA, MEXICO. n.d. Avail-

able at: http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/.

Museo Nacional de Arqueologa,Antropologa e Historia del Peru

Carmen Arellano Hoffmann

Museo Nacional de Arqueologa, Antropologa

e Historia del Peru, Ministry of Culture,

Lima, Peru

Basic Information

Founded in 1822, the National Museum as it

was formerly known is Perus oldest

state museum. With more than 23,000 m2,

M 5106 Museo Nacional de Arqueologa, Antropologa e Historia del Peru

30 exhibition galleries, 100 employees, and

about 250,000 objects, it is also the largest and

most prestigious of the country. Originally

created as a History, Archaeology, Ethnology,

and Natural History Museum, it was in the first

half of the twentieth century that it split into an

Archaeology-Anthropological Museum and a

History Museum, although sharing a common

building since 1924. The Natural History section

was also separately refounded in another

museum and building. In 1992, the Museum

was reunited but keeping the official names

while it was divided into National Museum

of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History

of Peru.

Its importance lies in the vast and diverse

holdings, which are more than 250,000 items of

invaluable ceramics, textiles, lithic, metals,

organic, human and animal remains, Colonial

and Republican paintings, and other artwork, dat-

ing from the beginning of Andean culture

c. 5,000 BCE. to the present. The archaeological

collections are world renowned because most of

them have archaeological context and are well

documented. The museum houses a historical

archive as well as a photographic archive and

library that are accessible to researchers and

students.

Its permanent exhibition halls display its

achievements, which is the Peruvian civilization

development in a chronological sequence span-

ning from the first settlers to the Republican

period. Signature objects are the Raimondi stela,

the largest known Nasca drum (almost 1 m high),

and a large-scale model of Machu Picchu with

buttons that allows visitors to identify key sectors

of the complex.

The building itself is also attractive for its

architecture and interior gardens. Built by

renowned Portuguese architect Raul Maria

Pereira, it was the first design for a museum in

Peru. The building was constructed around

a Colonial house that dates probably to the sev-

enteenth century. The Spanish Viceroy Jose de la

Pezuela bought the house in late eighteenth cen-

tury as his summer residence. During the Inde-

pendence, the Libertadores Jose de San Martin

and Simon Bolivar lived here. Hence, the house is

known today as the Quinta of the Libertadores. It

shows the former inhabited spaces of Don Jose de

San Martin and Don Simon Bolivar.

The National Museum is located in Pueblo

Libre, a district about 3 km from downtown

Lima.

Major Impact

TheMuseum is paramount to the history of Peru.

After more than 180 years, the National

Museum has played a main role in defining

Peruvian history and identity. From its begin-

ning, the directors strived to study and recon-

struct the past events of Peruvian history, since

nothing beyond the Inca period was known. The

museums first collections gathered in the nine-

teenth century were lost to Chile during the

Pacific War (18791884). Besides the Colonial

paintings and other historical objects that were

timely put in safety hands, the only archaeolog-

ical item recovered was symbolically the

Raimondi stela, which depicts the ancient

Andean Wiracocha deity dated c. 1000 BCE.

This deity accompanied the cultural develop-

ment of Peru until the Inca period. It is

a famous stone carving of the Chavin culture

found by the Italian explorer Antonio Raimondi

in 1861. From 1906 onward, the new museums

directors started a series of field researches in

Archaeology and Ethnology, collecting material

that was the foundation for the reconstruction of

Peruvian past as it is known today. Especially

the study of the pre-Hispanic History based

on extensively archaeological excavations was

the main focus of the National Museum. This

task is nowadays no more performed, and the

museum activities are those dedicated to

exhibits, education, and other outreach cultural

activities.

The museums collections are formed not

only by whole pieces but also include over

10,000 boxes with archaeological remains

product of several excavations campaigns.

A research material that is invaluable for

Museo Nacional de Arqueologa, Antropologa e Historia del Peru 5107 M

M

scientific study. Along with the material, the

archive holds archaeological field notes, photo-

graphs, drawings, and other documentation.

Cross-References

Andes: Prehistoric ArtAndes: Prehistoric PeriodArchaeology and AnthropologyBonavia, DuccioChronological Systems, Establishment ofColonial Encounters, Archaeology ofColonial Expansion, Invasion, and Nation-State Building: Influences on Archaeology

Flannery, Kent VaughnHispanic South America: HistoricalArchaeology

Inca State and Empire FormationLumbreras, Luis GuillermoMarcus, JoyceVandalism and Looting (Ethics)Uhle, Friedrich MaxVicus

Further Reading

ANONIMO. 1906. Museo de Historia Nacional. Lima:Imprenta La Industria.

ANONIMO. 1992. MNAA. Museo Nacional de Arqueologay Antropologa. Gua Oficial. Lima.

COLOMA PORCARI, C. 1990. El virrey Pezuela y su palacio

de la Magdalena: documentos ineditos (1818-1925).

Historia y Cultura 19: 9-84.ARELLANO HOFFMANN, C. 2008. Museo Nacional de

Arqueologa, Antropologa e Historia del Peru, in

Pueblo Libre. Historia, cultura y tradicion: 78-95.Lima: Municipalidad Distrital de Pueblo Libre,

Universidad Alas Peruanas.

- 2010. Gestion, desarrollo y proyeccion demuseos del INC.

El ejemplo del Museo Nacional de Arqueologa,

Antropologa e Historia del Peru (MNAAHP), in A.

Castelli (ed.) Gestion de Patrimonio, Museos y TraficoIlcito de Bienes Culturales (Ayacucho, 25-27 de mayode 2009): 35-53. Lima: OEI y AECID.

- 2012. Peru: El Museo Nacional de Arqueologa,

Antropologa e Historia como espejo de la historia

y sociedad peruana. Revista Museos 30: 25-33.TELLO, J.C. & T. MEJIA XESSPE. 1967. Historia de los

museos nacionales del Peru, 1822-1946.

Arqueologicas 10: 1-259.

Museo Nacional de los FerrocarrilesMexicanos

R. B. Brown

Museo de la Revolucion en la Frontera, Centro

INAH Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico

Basic Information

Founded in conjunction with the reprivatization

of the Mexican railway system in 1988, the

Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos

(MNFM) is located in two old railway stations:

Ferrocarril Mexicano and the Mexicano del Sur

in Puebla, Puebla. Public access is through Calle

11 Norte, 1005, Centro Historico. President

Benito Juarez inaugurated the Ferrocarril

Mexicano in 1869. The outdoor exhibit covers

the grounds and marshaling yards of both stations

and is composed of an extensive collection of

rolling stock from the late nineteenth to the

mid-twentieth century. The collection includes

a wide range of engines (locomotives); carriages

(coaches); brake vans (cabooses); flat wagons

(flatcars), covered goods wagons (boxcars); and

dedicated and specialized wagons such as cranes

and so forth.

The MNFM includes the Centro deDocumentacion e Investigacion Ferroviarias

(Cedif) which houses an extensive collection of

original documents, plans, and photos as well as

a full research library. As of January 2012, the

MNFM is open to the public. For further infor-

mation, consult http://www.museoferrocarriles.

org.mx.

Major Impact

The indoor exhibit relies on graphics and rail-

way paraphernalia to portray the economic and

political importance of the Mexican railway sys-

tem. From its humble beginnings in 1837, the

railway played a crucial role in the economic

M 5108 Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos