• Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
    INAH
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
    Héctor Montaño Morales / INAH-Dirección de Medios de Comunicación
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
    INAH
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Fuente del Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Ex Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
    INAH
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
    INAH
  • Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    Claustro alto del Ex Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
    INAH

Visit us

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

Opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00 h
Fee
$100.00
Buy tickets
Adress

Former Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Macedonio Alcalá Street, no number
Historic Center, Zip Code 68000
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Services
Shop
Guided tours
Wifi
Library
Cloakroom
Boosktore
Toilets
Important
  • Extra fee for professional cameras
  • Sundays free for mexican citizens
  • Free entrance for Mexicans under 13 years old
  • Free entrance for Mexican students and teachers
  • Free entrance for Mexican senior citizens
  • No smoking
  • No entry with food
  • Pets not allowed

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

Logo Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

With its adjoining monastery, the church is considered one of the finest Baroque gems of the viceregal period. Both were built by the Dominicans with indigenous labor during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The museum has fine examples of the pre-Hispanic, religious, romantic and contemporary art of Oaxaca. There is also an important ethnobotanical garden, an old library and a newspaper and periodicals library.


Known previously as the Oaxaca Regional Museum, the Cultures of Oaxaca Museum is housed in the magnificent former Monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, built by the Dominican order in the sixteenth century. Construction began in 1575 and the final stage was completed in 1731. This is a splendid monument exemplary of the viceregal period of architecture. It has 14 permanent galleries covering archeology, history and ethnography, with nine thematic galleries and three temporary exhibition galleries. The majority of the archeological artifacts on display were found during the excavation works carried out by INAH in Oaxaca.

Before it was established in this building, Oaxaca Museum went through various stages. It was founded on September 21, 1831 initially in a classroom of the Institute of Arts and Sciences of the State of Oaxaca, and it remained there until 1930 when the state government granted it space in the Girl’s Academy, which is today the Museum of Oaxacan Painters. It was officially launched as the Regional History and Archeology Museum of Oaxaca on November 23, 1933.

It moved again in December 1972, this time to its current location, as Oaxaca Regional Museum. The huge restoration and conservation project on the complex of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán began in 1994, winning the Queen Sofia International Prize for the best restoration. This also implied the renovation of the museum, which was relaunched in 1998 under its current name, the Cultures of Oaxaca Museum.

Today the Cultures of Oaxaca Museum shares this space with other cultural and educational institutions: the Francisco de Burgoa Library, the Historical Ethnobotanical Garden and the Néstor Sánchez Public Newspaper and Periodicals Library. It also has multipurpose spaces where important academic and cultural events are held.


 

  • Dirección
    José Luis Noria Sánchez
    joseluis_noria@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (951) 516 29 91, ext. 2
    Administración
    Edith Mercedes Sánchez Sosa
    edith_sanchez@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (951) 516 29 91, ext. 4
    Seguridad
    Raúl Miguel García Hernández
    raulmiguel_garcia@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (951) 516 29 91, ext. 5
    Comunicación Educativa
    asesoreseducativosmuco@inah.gob.mx
    +52 (951) 516 29 91, ext. 3
I Culturas milenarias (10.000 a.C. – 200 d.C.)

Room I – Ancient Cultures (10,000 BCE – 200 CE)

This gallery features artifacts created by the first nomadic hunter-gatherer groups, as well as objects from the earliest sedentary villages that emerged in the Oaxaca Valley and the Mixteca region. Highlights include findings from the archaeological site of San José Mogote in Villa de Etla.

Sala II Tiempos de florecer (200 – 900 d.C.)

Room II – A Time to Flourish (200 – 900 CE)

This gallery displays objects made during the height of Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. It explores their religious beliefs, calendrical systems, and writing practices. Featured items include ceramic urns depicting deities and stone sculptures, most of which come from the Oaxaca Valley.

Sala III El Tesoro de la Tumba 7 de Monte Albán (1250 – 1521 d.C)

Room III – The Treasure of Tomb 7 at Monte Albán (1250 – 1521 CE)

This impressive Mixtec collection showcases ornamental objects made of gold, silver, turquoise, obsidian, greenstone, rock crystal, and other precious materials. These pieces were uncovered in Tomb 7 at Monte Albán by Dr. Alfonso Caso on January 9, 1932.

Sala IV Los señoríos (900 – 1521 d.C)

Room IV – Indigenous Kingdoms (900 – 1521 CE)

This period in Oaxaca marks the decline of Zapotec civilization at Monte Albán, which continued developing until around 1300. It also ushers in the Postclassic period, characterized by a new territorial reorganization. Important sites from this era include Yagul, Mitla, Lambityeco, and Zaachila.

Sala V Contacto y conquista (Siglo XVI)

Room V – Contact and Conquest (16th Century)

The conquest of Oaxaca began in 1519 from the north (Tuxtepec) and extended to the coast (Tututepec). Some communities allied with the Spaniards, while others were subdued by force. The Spanish were especially interested in seizing gold objects to send back to Europe.

Sala VI La nueva fe escribiendo el pasado (Siglo XVI-XVII)

Room VI – A New Faith Writing the Past (16th–17th Century)

This room focuses on the spiritual conquest led by friars. Most of the pieces are religious artworks, including wooden sculptures and mural paintings. The gallery also features colonial codices and land-mapping scrolls used to record indigenous boundaries and dynasties.

Sala VII Respuesta indígena (Siglo XVI – XVIII)

Room VII – Indigenous Response (16th–18th Century)

This section showcases objects created by Indigenous communities during the 18th century. Native peoples of New Spain adapted new trades and technologies to suit their needs, including livestock care, the cultivation of wheat and barley, the use of plows, and blacksmithing.

Sala VIII Materia y espíritu (Siglos XVI – XVIII)

Room VIII – Matter and Spirit (16th–18th Century)

This gallery highlights items used in religious festivities and patron saint celebrations, including image processions with musical accompaniment. It also presents tools and devices introduced in colonial times to ease labor, such as agricultural tools and the treadle loom.

Sala IX Surgimiento de la nueva nación (fines Siglo XVIII – mediados del siglo XIX)

Room IX – The Birth of a New Nation (Late 18th – Mid 19th Century)

This room features objects from the end of the colonial era, the start of the Independence movement in 1810, and the formation of the Mexican nation. Weapons and coins are closely linked to the struggle for Independence.

Sala X Orden y progreso (1876 – 1911)

Room X – Order and Progress (1876 – 1911)

During the Porfirian era, Mexico experienced economic growth and improved transportation links between the country’s center and its main ports. This gallery includes portraits of Porfirio Díaz as governor of Oaxaca, president of Mexico, and during his exile in France.

Sala XI México moderno (Siglo XX)

Room XI – Modern Mexico (20th Century)

This gallery presents objects that reflect 20th-century technological advances, especially in mass communication, such as radio, film, and photography.

Sala XII Pluralidad cultural

Room XII – Cultural Diversity

Oaxaca is the most culturally diverse state in Mexico. Fifteen of the country’s 56 ethnolinguistic groups coexist here. While they share common traits, each group speaks its own native language and maintains distinct cultural traditions.

Auditorio Alfonso Caso

Alfonso Caso Auditorium

This venue hosts lectures, international conferences, book presentations, academic talks, symposia, and a wide range of cultural events.

Biblioteca Francisco de Burgoa

Francisco de Burgoa Library

Located within the former convent, the Francisco de Burgoa Library was founded on January 15, 1994, and is named in honor of Friar Francisco de Burgoa, who documented many of the customs and traditions of Oaxaca’s Indigenous peoples.

Capilla de Dómina

Dómina Chapel

Space dedicated to temporary exhibitions.

Claustro Alto

Upper Cloister

Claustro bajo

Lower Cloister

Comedor decorado

Dining Hall (Decorated)

This space is closed to the general public and is reserved for special cultural events.

Corredor

Corridor

Hemeroteca Pública de Oaxaca Néstor Sánchez

Oaxaca Public Newspaper Library “Néstor Sánchez”

Historic public newspaper archive and reading room.

Interior del Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán

Interior of the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán

The first Dominican friars arrived in Oaxaca in 1529, naming the city Nueva Antequera due to its resemblance to Antequera in Andalusia, Spain. Friars Gonzalo Lucero and Bernardino de Minaya were among the first to arrive.

Jardín Histórico Etnobotánico de Oaxaca

Historic Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca

A space dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Oaxaca’s diverse plant heritage and traditional knowledge.

Parlatorio

Parlor

Terraza cubierta

Covered Terrace

Open area used for workshops, courses, and cultural events.

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The Pre-Hispanic Imagination

José Luis Noria Sánchez

A brief overview of the treasures of the museum’s archeological collection.

Contacto

museovisitas@hotmail.com
+52 (951) 516 62 41
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