A catastrophic fire destroyed the National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional) in Rio de Janeiro, housed in the historic Paço de São Cristóvão. The blaze broke out in the evening after visiting hours and rapidly spread through the building. The museum’s collection of around 20 million items, including archaeological, anthropological, historical, and scientific artifacts, was largely lost. Among the destroyed items were priceless Indigenous collections and the remains of “Luzia,” one of the oldest human fossils found in the Americas.
