The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
National Museum of Anthropology
Mexico City. The present building, designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and inspired by ancient Mexican architecture, was opened in 1964 and houses choice and extensive archaeological remains of pre-Columbian Mexico. The exhibitions include studies of prehistoric animal life in Mexico and superb ethnological displays of the peoples of Mexico. Artifacts from Mayan and Aztec civilizations include a magnificent funerary mask of inlaid turquoise, serpentine, and shell mosaic (3d–8th cent. A.D.) discovered at Teotihuacán, and the vast Aztec round calendar in relief.
