The objects on display in the museum include a stone worked with the Xihuacan toponym glyph, which is the name of the site. It measures 3 feet 3 inches high by 1 foot 8 inches wide and 10 inches thick and was found during the recent excavations in the area of the ballcourt. The glyph is circular and it reveals the ancient name of this pre-Hispanic site. Xihuacan is a Nahuatl word which means “place of the owners of turquoise,” which by extension meant “those who control the calendar” and metaphorically “the owners of time.” In this sense, the emblem is associated with the role of this settlement as the dominating force of the Costa Grande. It has also been established that its urban footprint is connected to celestial movements.

The collection of pieces displayed in the site museum includes recent as well as older finds from the site, from the time of the first records and archeological surveys by specialists such as Pedro Hendrichs (1943), Pedro Armillas (1948), Ellen Brush (1968) and Rubén Manzanilla at the end of the 1980s.

The museum focuses on the ancient inhabitants of Soledad de Maciel, Xihuacan. It was inhabited in the Preclassic (2500 BC to 200 AD) and the Classic (200 to 650), reaching its apogee in the Epiclassic (650 to 950), and was still inhabited up to the Early Postclassic (950 to 1300). Evidence suggests that it was gradually abandoned as the result of flooding of the site, which forced the populace to head for higher ground.

Historical sources from the sixteenth century show that this region was occupied by Tepuztec and Cuitlatec groups, although the groups who lived here still cannot be precisely identified. The first inhabitants were farmers who managed to consolidate a stratified society with the passing of time and with enough organization to erect pyramids and create works of hydraulic engineering. The people of Xihuacan were also influenced by the Olmecs, which can be seen from their terracotta and ceramic figures.

The influence of Teotihuacan was felt during the Classic period, and this is reflected in the social complexity and the vigor of Xihuacan. It was during this period that construction began on the great ceremonial complex, which can be appreciated at the site.

A vast array of pre-Hispanic objects are displayed, including figurines, obsidian vessels, shell work, copper axes, and necklaces with rattles, ceramics and stone. The collection is used to illustrate the cultural development of the ancient city, which had close ties with Teotihuacan during the Classic Period (200 to 650).