Research and Collections

The Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology curates nearly 300,000 archaeological and ethnographic artifacts spanning the globe and ranging from the ancient to modern, with a particular focus on the Americas, Rwanda, and Europe. Our largest, the Americas Section, specialize in Native North and South America, archaeology, the U.S.- Mexico borderlands, and contemporary Latin America.

These unique collections are curated and managed by faculty and students through the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, and used for scholarly research, public outreach programming, and classroom teaching, including advanced coursework in archaeology, collections management and guided student projects. 

  • Indigenous North America Collection
  • 19th Century John Vickers Redware Collection
  • Ronald and Karen Smith Papua New Guinea Collection
  • Schlendorf Vintage Toy and Clothing Collection
  • Edmundo Morales Andean Hat and Headress Collection
  • Cold War Collection, including items associated with the Berlin Wall
  • U.S. Borderlands Collection
  • Rwanda Post-Genocide Collection