The Field Museum's Mesoamerican and Central American collections include a wide-range of archaeological and ethnographic pieces, many of the highest exhibition quality. This collection also includes a number of collections of significant research value, including those from scientific excavations made by J. Eric Thompson, and the research collections gathered by several significant cultural anthropologists. Portions of the collection were previously loaned to the Guggenheim, the Royal Academy of Arts, the National Museum of Mexican Arts (Chicago), and the Art Institute of Chicago.
