Mérida - Museum of Anthropology and History

(Local Name: Museo de Arqueología e Historía) At the corner of Paseo Montejo and Calle 43 the former government building known as the Palacio del General Cantón now houses the Museum of Anthropology and History (Museo de Arqueología e Historía). This imposing 19th c. building contains a fine collection of material mostly from the halcyon days of the Maya civilisation, although the other advanced cultures of pre-Columbian Mexico are also well represented. The highlights of the collections are the sacrificial gifts retrieved from the cenotes at Chichén Itzá. There are also reproductions of the sketches of the Maya sites drawn by Frederick Catherwood and the photographs taken by Teobert Maler at the turn of the century. There is another archaeological museum on the corner of Av. Iztáes and Calle 59.