A tour of pre-Hispanic Mexico through the lens of the first archaeological photographers.

Photography was a fundamental tool for field work and intervened in the evolution of Mexican archeology in the 19th century. The development of both art and science promoted the conservation, dissemination and recognition of the country's cultural heritage.

The images, taken by foreign and national photographers-artists, were exhibited in the homonymous exhibition organized at the Museum of Art and History of Guanajuato (Mexico). They show the discovery of buildings and pieces that had remained hidden by nature, vestiges of the great pre-Columbian cultures, while bringing us closer to the Mexican reality of the time.

Antonio Saborit, Alfonso Morales, Daniel Juárez Cossío, Miguel Ángel Echegaray and Miruna Achim describe in their texts the main findings, recount the careers of some of the archaeologists, travelers and photographers who participated in the expeditions and reflect on the relationship they had with who inhabited the explored regions.