this collection contains works from 59 distinct artistic traditions from aztec and maya of mesoamerica, chimú and muisca of andean south america, and nicoya and atlantic watershed of costa rica. the collection includes works from 2500 bc to ad 1521. the core collection of 120 objects was given to the museum by alan wurtzburger in 1958, which significantly expanded the scope of the existing collection and provided momentum for a traveling exhibition of peruvian ceramics titled "myths of ancient peru" (1969).