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The famous German scientist Alexander von Humboldt visited Mexico in 1803. He made several efforts to preserve the remainders of the so called ”Museo histórico indiano” which had been collected about fifty years before by the Italian Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci and which was at that time confiscated by the viceroyal administration. The fate of the unfortunate collector, his ideas and the failure of his intentions have caused new research into his motives and the results of his efforts. A discussion of the value of sources available to scholars which are related to the original inhabitants of the precolonial Mexico seems to be justified. The paper will discuss the opportunities and difficulties in collecting documents at the time of the Spanish dominion, and within that time the extraordinary character and eminent importance of Boturini’s collection. Moreover, it is evaluating his academic work for American anthropology.
