We are a product of our past. The Mexico of today emerges from that of yesterday, which means that learning about the course of its history helps us to better understand the present, and to see the country and its people in the mirror of the past.
With this website, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) makes available the material remains of Mexico’s vast cultural wealth. Here you will find the ruins of grand pre-Hispanic cities like Teotihuacán and Palenque. Architectural jewels like the Colegio de San Francisco Javier de Tepotzotlán and the Castillo de Chapultepec. Sites of enormous heritage value, like the Tomb of Pakal or the rooms in the Ex Curato de Dolores where Miguel Hidalgo called for Mexican independence. Treasures like the Sun Stone and the declaration of Independence of 1821, along with fossils, braziers, altarpieces, paintings, sculptures, swords and armor, and objects of daily use such as vessels, coins, spurs, crucifixes, dolls, guitars, hats and other items that all form a part of the great tapestry of history.
Here too you will find texts about the archeological zones and the museums under the INAH’s responsibility, with brief but meticulous explanations intended to support observation with knowledge. Numerous experts have written new pieces offering their opinions on different aspects of the zones and museums. Up to date practical information is also provided for visiting the sites, including cost, how to get there, contact information, and links to videos, audios, external websites and virtual tours. In the case of the archeological zones, more detailed descriptions of the structures are given together with suggestions for routes to get the most out of a visit. For the museums, maps are provided with an overview of the galleries, collections, exhibitions and pieces. All the information has been approved by authorities in the relevant fields.
You can start with the general search engine or make a specific search for museums or archeological sites, both located at the top of the page; or go directly to the themed sections that appear below, which offer an introduction to the cultural regions of the pre-Hispanic era.
