HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM The chroniclers and early travelers to Peru The times of setting norms for the Supreme Decree From the Inquisition to the Palace Tello, Valcárcel and Larco - The University and Independent Museums Transformation and new concepts of museology Julio C. Tello created the archaeological and ethnographic studies section of the Museum of Natural History. The development of Peruvian archaeology and anthropology in 1919 favored establishing museums in the National Universities of San Marcos in Lima and of San Antonio Abad in Cusco.   The chief administrators of these museums were Julio C. Tello and Luis E. Valcárcel, intellectuals backed by solid academic development. Also, in these years the Víctor Larco Herrera Museum was formed, directed by its founder. In 1924, this museum and its collection were acquired by the government. From 1925 to 1945, research in the National Museum was intense. Sites like Paracas and Wari were investigated, almost everything on the south coast, the whole Rimac valley, the Cusco region and a large part of the Huallaga and Marañón valleys were studied. In 1945 the Higher Council of Museums was constituted by the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, directed by Tello, and the National Museum, in charge of Valcarcel. From 1955 to 1973 Dr. Jorge C. Muelle directed the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology.