Resumen

CARDENAS CARRION, Blanca María. The beginnings of ethnology in Mexico and the National Museum. Cuicuilco. Rev. cienc. antropol. [online]. 2017, vol.24, n.68, pp.77-100. ISSN 2448-8488.

This article covers the final decades of the 19th Century and those of the early 20th Century in Mexico, regarding the beginnings of Ethnology as a recognized social science. In a retrospective, the role of the National Museum, founded in 1825, is emphasized as a fundamental public institution in the construction of the national identity, as well as being the meeting point where the two conditions enabling the growth of Ethnology in Mexico converged: the political context of the time, which was focused on the so-called “problem of the living Indian,” along with the incorporation programs, plus the importance of safeguarding the material evidence and traditions of the ethnic groups of Mexico.

Palabras llave : Ethnology; ethnography; National Museum; incorporation; collection.