National Museum of Anthropology, Spain

The National Museum of Anthropology was opened on 29 April 1875 by King Alfonso XII. It was founded on the personal initiative of Dr. Pedro González Velasco. After his death the State purchased the building and all its collections. In 1910 the National Museum of Anthropology, Ethnography and Prehistory was created, along with part of the Natural Science Museum. In 1940 the National Museum of Ethnology was created although this did not imply a new building or new collections, but rather a different concept of the arrangement of the collections. In 1993 it was renamed the National Museum of Anthropology. The Museum wishes to give a global vision of different peoples and their cultures; show the similarities which unite them or the differences which separate them; emphasize the wealth and diversity of cultures throughout the world; and promote inter-cultural understanding and tolerance towards other cultures and peoples. The objects which make up the collection have been acquired over the years and are examples of the material culture of the different peoples of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, especially those related historically to Spain, and also to physical Anthropology.