Pre-columbian Art, Architecture, and History

Maya collections, especially Highland Guatemala Maya materials, are outstanding, especially for textiles. Recent donations of well documented mid to late twentieth-century collections complement earlier holdings, including Quiche dance costumes from Totonicapan and other objects, including masks, ceramics, engraved gourds, and weaving tools. Lowland Maya collections, especially Lacandon objects, include hunting equipment, tools, textiles, and ceramics. The Andes collections are large and diverse.

Renowned collections of Andean textiles: Paracas, Nazca.

Strong collection of Olmec and Maya artifacts.

The national anthropology museum of Mexico; exhibitions detailing the cultures of Mesoamerica from the Olmec to the Aztec.

Permanent exhibitions on the major Pre-Columbian cultures of the region.

The Pre-Columbian Collection includes objects created during three thousand years of history in Mesoamerica, the Andes, and the Intermediate Area of Latin America. Its holdings of over seven hundred objects include stone sculpture, ceramics, architectural panels, small metal objects, and textiles. Selected objects are on display in the Pre-Columbian Pavilion designed by Philip Johnson.