Collections History

Article North American Ethnography For about 50 years beginning in 1890, Museum anthropologists were devoted mainly to North American ethnology and archaeology. Article African Ethnography The Anthropology Division maintains an extensive African collection. Article Asian Ethnography The Museum's holdings in Asian ethnology make up the finest collection in the Western hemisphere. Article North American Archaeology The Museum's North American Archaeological Collection is one of the most significant such assemblages in the world. Article Meso-American Archaeology The Museum contains one of the world's great collections of archaeological materials from Mexico and Central America. Article South American Archaeology The Museum began active study of South American archaeology in 1892 with Adolph Bandelier's expedition to Peru and Bolivia. Article Biological Anthropology The Museum maintains an extensive collection of human and Old World primate osteological materials, and fossil hominid casts.