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Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia facts for kids

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The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), which means the National Institute of Anthropology and History, is a special government group in Mexico. It was started in 1939. Its main job is to find, protect, and share Mexico's amazing past. This includes very old things from before people wrote history, ancient ruins, information about different cultures, and historical buildings. INAH has been super important in keeping Mexico's rich culture safe. Its main office is in a beautiful building called the Palace of the Marqués del Apartado in Mexico City.

Palacio Marqués del Apartado
The Palace of the Marqués del Apartado, in Mexico City, is where INAH has its main office.

INAH works with another group called the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). Together, they list and protect important buildings and places that are part of Mexico's cultural heritage. INAH takes care of very old sites (like ancient cities) and historical buildings from the 1500s to the 1800s. INBAL looks after buildings and art that are important for their beauty. All these special places are listed in a public record called the Public Register of Archeological and Historic Monuments and Zones.

INAH does its work through different offices across Mexico. It has seven main offices and 31 local centers in different states. This helps them manage all the important sites and objects spread throughout the country.

Mexico's Amazing Treasures

INAH is responsible for a huge number of historical treasures. It looks after more than 110,000 historical buildings that were built between the 16th and 19th centuries. It also protects about 29,000 ancient sites from before Christopher Columbus arrived. Mexico is thought to have around 200,000 of these ancient sites!

About 150 of these ancient sites are open for people to visit. This lets everyone learn about Mexico's incredible past. INAH also manages over a hundred museums all over the country. These museums display many different collections, from ancient tools to beautiful artworks. They even store more than 500 ancient murals from the city of Teotihuacan.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia para niños

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