Biological Anthropology Collection

In a Museum collection room woman stands beside a rolling cart containing model busts of hominids with dark head hair and heavy brow ridges.

First and foremost is an extensive collection of human osteology, that is made up of both archaeological and recent material representing some 12,000 individuals from over 50 countries, including the United States.

Second is a smaller collection of non-human Old World primate osteological materials (principally crania, with a significant postcranial component), consisting mainly of macaques, mandrills, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas.

The third collection consists of an extensive representation of fossil hominid casts. Included in this collection are first generation casts of the Lower and Upper Cave hominids of Zhoukoudian, People's Republic of China, which were donated by Dr. Franz Weidenreich in the 1940's.