At the museum’s inauguration, this gallery was named "Introduction to Anthropology", but during a recent renovation it became known as the "Origins Hall".

Some halls require more interpretive elements than others, depending on the available collection. For the Origins section, which had relatively few artifacts, additional interpretation was provided through paintings, illustrations, and dioramas.

The room features murals by José Chávez Morado on Mesoamerica, Jorge González Camarena on mestizaje, and Iker Larrauri on the migration of humans into the Americas from Asia.

A notable example of the museum’s original curatorial vision is the recreated archaeological excavation of the Tepexpan Man discovery. Rather than displaying it at floor level, it was presented below the gallery level to replicate the conditions in which the find was made, immersing visitors in the discovery experience—a technique also used in the Ethnography Halls.

To convey the scale of prehistoric fauna, Iker Larrauri painted a mural showing these animals at full size. The corresponding diorama shows Tepexpan Man in a survival encounter with mammoths. The contrast between the life-size mural and the miniature diorama gives it didactic value beyond that of a simple model. The diorama, notable for its realism and created over 40 years ago under the direction of sculptor Carmen Antúnez, was crafted onsite during the museum's construction. Its cyclorama background, made of plastic, was among the first of its kind produced in Mexico. The artists were even sent to the United States and Italy for training.

Curators worked closely with scientific advisors to visually interpret the narrative, following specific guidelines and using selected tools. To maintain coherence, the curators, architects, and advisors held regular meetings to align their decisions. The scientific advisors, deeply familiar with both exhibited and stored collections, determined which objects best illustrated key concepts and how to present them. Their curatorial script guided the spatial and museographic design.

This gallery begins with an overview of the initial human migration into the Americas and how early peoples spread across this vast continent.

It features the first hunter-gatherer groups who settled in present-day Mexico. During this period, people developed stone tool technologies and began observing the reproductive cycles of plants and animals—knowledge that would later lead to intensive agriculture, the foundation of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations.

The gallery showcases the Lithic Period, highlighting technological developments of early inhabitants of Mexican territory. It is divided into three sections: Archaic Lithic, Cenolithic (Lower and Upper), and Protoneolithic.

The era from 2300 BCE to 100 CE is known as the Preclassic or Formative Period. Across Mesoamerica, this era was marked by the emergence of sedentary village communities whose economy was based on agriculture, complemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering. Pottery production also began during this time, becoming the most significant artisanal activity.

Economic stability, made possible by this mixed economy, led to population growth and the transformation of some villages into ceremonial centers. Technological advancements became evident in the creation of artifacts, as well as in the development of both portable and monumental sculpture. Architecture evolved from simple, perishable dwellings to platforms that supported temples.

Socially, the period saw increasing differentiation based on roles and social hierarchy. Communal religious practices gradually evolved into institutionalized religion, with early representations of deities and the rise of the priesthood.

Trade networks—both local and long-distance—fostered the exchange of goods and ideas, which helped unify beliefs across regions. Between 1200 and 600 BCE, the most significant development was the rise of the Olmec culture in southern Veracruz and northern Tabasco. Their influence spread throughout much of Mesoamerica, particularly the Central Highlands.

Thus, the Preclassic period marked the culmination of long-term technological, economic, and social progress that laid the groundwork for the great Mesoamerican civilizations.

The museum’s Preclassic gallery is divided into two major sections: the earlier village phase (2300–600 BCE) and the later ceremonial center phase (600 BCE–100 CE).

The Teotihuacan civilization was one of the earliest state-level societies in the Americas and the world. Its ruling elite built a powerful empire that dominated much of the Central Mexican Highlands and extended its cultural reach through colonies and trade enclaves along the Gulf Coast, Oaxaca, and the Maya region.

Fueled by trade and religious significance, Teotihuacan grew into one of the first planned cities, with roads, ceremonial plazas, housing for both elites and commoners, and neighborhoods for artisans and ethnic groups from across Mesoamerica. They centralized and controlled craft production, creating goods for exchange that brought them wealth and influence.

Teotihuacan also became the main religious center of the Central Highlands and nearly all of Mesoamerica. Whether its religious or economic function came first remains a subject of debate. Its growth resembles that of earlier sacred economic hubs like Cuicuilco, Monte Albán, Izapa, and La Venta.

The Toltec Room highlights the iconic Atlantean figure from Tula, standing out dramatically against a garden backdrop. Murals by artists Zalce and Covarrubias illustrate the construction techniques of the era. According to the exhibit’s curator, these pieces—carefully selected from the old National Museum of Anthropology—were displayed without removing further treasures from Tula, preserving the integrity of the archaeological site.

During the Late Postclassic period (1300–1521 CE), marked by pervasive militarism, the Mexica—also known as the Aztecs or Tenochca—rose to prominence. In 1325 CE (2 House in the Mexica calendar), they founded their capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, quickly clashing with neighboring groups. Through strategic alliances and military victories, they established dominance.

By the mid-15th century, the Mexica world had come into full view, with their political, religious, and military ideals influencing a vast swath of Mesoamerica.

—Felipe Solís Olguín

The Zapotec people referred to themselves as "Benizáa" or "Ben’zaa", meaning “people of the clouds” in their own language—a name inspired by their homeland in the high mountains, cloaked in clouds sent by their rain god, Cocijo, who nourished the earth with life-giving rain. The name “Zapotec,” by which they are now known, comes from the Nahuatl word "Tzapotecatl", meaning “people of the sapote,” a fruit tree abundant in the region. It is unlikely the Zapotec themselves ever used this term.

In ancient Oaxaca, the Zapotecs shared the land with 15 other Indigenous ethnic groups, including the Mixtec, Mixe, Chatino, Chontal, Zoque, Mazatec, Triqui, Chocho, Cuicatec, Chinantec, Huave, Amuzgo, Popoloca, Ixcatec, and, from the 15th century onward, the Nahua. Each group had its own language and inhabited distinct territories.

The Zapotecs lived in the Central Valleys, the northern and southern mountain ranges, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Archaeologists believe that as early as 1000 BCE, rulers of the trading center of San José Mogote controlled local politics, culture, and economy. By 500 BCE, they founded Monte Albán, expanding their influence across Oaxaca and even reaching distant cities like Teotihuacan. Their power endured until about 850 CE, when it gave way to other rising communities.

The Gulf Coast’s rivers, lagoons, mangroves, and frequent rains made it a symbolic cradle of life and regeneration. Home to Huastec, Otomi, Nahua, Totonac, Tepehua, Popoloca, Zoque-Mixe, and Mixtec peoples, this region fostered a shared cultural base despite linguistic diversity. Differences emerged in regional expressions of architecture, sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

This fertile region was the birthplace of Mesoamerica’s first civilization: the Olmec. The Olmecs introduced complex religious beliefs tied to rituals like the ballgame and symbolic acts such as decapitation—traditions that profoundly shaped Mesoamerican culture.

—María Castro-Leal, Researcher

"Let the second son of Seven Macaw also be defeated. That is our will. For his actions on Earth—exalting his own glory and power—are not right."
—Popol Vuh

According to Maya creation myths, the gods first made people from gold. But these golden humans quickly became arrogant and forgot their creators. So the gods destroyed them with water and thunder.

Next, they made people from wood. But these beings also turned away from their origins. As punishment, the gods again sent floods and storms, turning them into monkeys—creatures resembling humans, but without reason.

Finally, the gods used maize—the sacred grain of Mesoamerica—to create true humans: the Maya. Ground from corn and shaped by divine hands, they were made to live, cultivate the earth, and honor the gods. Thus, maize is not just food—it is life, identity, and origin.

Western Mexico includes the modern states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, parts of Guanajuato, and Guerrero. During the Formative Period (1800 BCE – 200 CE), cultures such as Capacha (Colima), El Opeño (Michoacán), Chipícuaro (Guanajuato), and San Jerónimo (Guerrero) flourished, alongside early Olmec influences.

From 200 to 900 CE, the region saw the rise of the shaft tomb tradition in Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit—an iconic cultural hallmark. This tradition declined around 600 CE, giving way to localized cultural developments.

Between 900 and 1521, two notable cultures stood out: Aztlán in Sinaloa and Nayarit, and the Purépecha (Tarascans) in Michoacán, who built a powerful state that resisted even the expansionist Mexica.

—Dolores Flores Villatoro, Researcher

The Northern Cultures Gallery is organized by levels of social and cultural complexity rather than strict chronology. It begins with hunter-gatherer societies that lived from the 10th to 17th centuries and ends with intensive agricultural communities from Northern Mexico and the American Southwest.

This region includes modern-day Guanajuato, Querétaro, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo León, northern Tamaulipas, Baja California, northern Sinaloa, and borderlands of Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

In the 16th century, the Mexica called this vast territory "Chichimecatlalli", “land of the Chichimeca,” from whom they believed they descended. Spanish colonizers later referred to it as "La Gran Chichimeca". Here, diverse cultures thrived—some nomadic, others sedentary—and the region developed distinct cultural traits that set it apart from Mesoamerica.

The Textiles gallery features 512 pieces organized into eight thematic areas that illustrate and explain clothing techniques and the treatment of raw materials used in their manufacture. They represent the everyday, ceremonial, traditional, and contemporary uses of 58 indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities from the north, center, and south of the country.

It displays instruments and mechanisms for making garments from different geographical areas and climatic conditions.