Museum of the Cultures of Oaxaca - Free Audio Guide

The Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, housed in a 17th-century convent adjoining the Templo de Santo Domingo in Oaxaca de Juárez, is a premier regional museum presenting the history and living cultures of the state. Its galleries trace Oaxaca’s development from pre‑Hispanic civilizations to the present, emphasizing cultural continuity in crafts, traditional medicine and foodways. A fine stone cloister leads into exhibition spaces where Halls I–IV cover the pre‑Hispanic era, V–VIII the colonial period, IX–XIII the independence era and afterwards, and Room XIV explores the monastery itself. A highlight is the Mixtec hoard from Tomb 7 at Monte Albán — a 14th‑century assemblage of silver, turquoise, coral, jade, amber, pearls, carved bone, crystal and gold, and a turquoise‑covered skull — excavated by Alfonso Caso in 1932 and displayed in Room III upstairs. The site also contains a 30,000‑title library with some books dating to the 15th century and a specialist bookshop; interpretive labels are mostly in Spanish with some English.