The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City: Treasures from Olmec to Aztec
Diana K. McDonald, PhD
Thursday, September 14th, 2023 – 4:00 p.m.
Botts Hall, Albuquerque Special Collections Library
423 Central NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (Central & Edith)
The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City is the largest and most famous museum in Mexico, with the most comprehensive collection of PreColumbian art and archaeology in the world. The star attractions are the famous Aztec Sun Stone, or Calendar Stone, the sculptures of the Aztec civilization, including the sacrificial Stone of Tizoc, as well as the iconic and colossal Olmec heads from that early culture in the Gulf of Mexico. In her lecture, Dr. McDonald will look at these, as well as the fabulous finds from the Maya tomb of King Pakal the Great, the remarkable rescued facades and stelae from Maya temples, and the colossal sculptures and murals from Teotihuacan. She will take a special look at Aztec sculpture, including the terrifying colossal goddess Coatlicue (Serpent Skirt) whose rediscovery so perturbed the populace in 1790 that it was reburied and only surfaced again in the 20th century.
Diana K. McDonald, PhD, is an art historian, curator, and lecturer who previously taught at Boston College and Columbia University. She received her AB in History of Art and Architecture from Harvard and her PhD in Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University. She has written and lectured extensively and is a specialist in the art of the Ancient Mediterranean world as well as the art of Ancient America. Dr. McDonald is President of the Harvard Club of New Mexico.
Preregistration is required.
$15 for AIA Members; $20 for Non-Members; Students under 30 with ID – Free.
Pay online or mail check made out to AIA by September 12th to: AIA, PO Box 92921, Albuquerque, NM 87199.
