The turquoise-studded skull of a long-dead Aztec man sits within Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology.

These unusual paintings give thanks to the saints and deities who granted people favors and miracles.

In Coyoacán, a pair of coyotes crown a public fountain in reference to the ancient Aztec name of the borough.

Diego Rivera hid various people and symbols in his first large-scale mural project.

The most complete statue of this Aztec god sits a top a throne carved with images of hallucinogenic plants.

The unique collection often goes unnoticed by visitors focused only on the archaeological objects.

These spectacular, symbolic serpents lie within the shadow of the Great Temple.

Psychedelic murals coat the inside of a nondescript research library.

This ancient jade mask depicting the Zapotec bat god was found in the ruins of the pyramids of Monte Alban.

This colossal ancient sculpture of the monstrous Aztec rain god has a literally stormy history.

The striking jade death mask of an ancient Maya king is displayed in a replica tomb in Mexico City.

This foreboding building was the headquarters of the terrifying Spanish Inquisition in Mexico.

On a cornerstone of the City Museum is the head of a monstrous serpent stolen from an Aztec pyramid 400 years ago.

Many people don't realize there’s a lot going on in—and below—the world’s tallest triumphal arch.

A small pack of an ancient, hairless breed of dog once believed to guide souls through the underworld lives on its grounds.

The Mexican painter Diego Rivera created this unusual museum to display his collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts.

This extraordinary art museum is like a secret world on the edge of Mexico City.

This strange sculpture of a menacing skull surrounded by sun rays was discovered at the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun.

The ruins of an ancient temple to the Aztec wind god discovered in the middle of a metro station.

This incredible college library is a visual masterpiece of mosaic art. It also looks kind of like a giant boombox.

These haunting ruins of a 700-year-old Prehispanic city have witnessed centuries of wars and massacres.

A scientific repository of goiters, boils and other ailments throughout Mexican history.

A museum in the former home of Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

A disquieting Aztec sculpture displays hundreds of stone skulls representing the victims of human sacrifice.