About the Anthropology and Archaeology Department | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Important Note about Access to Anthropology Collections:
Due to ongoing construction, our Ethnology storeroom is currently closed to all research and visitor requests. We will again allow access (by appointment only) once we are confident that the construction will no longer impact the space or our ability to work with the collections safely.
Access to our Archaeology storeroom is by appointment only; please contact our Collection Managers to arrange an appointment.
Our Registrar’s Office is also impacted by several major collection moves and exhibit installations. For this reason, we are not able to consider new exhibit loan requests until September 30, 2013.
Please contact our Collection Managers with any questions regarding access to the collections.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
Featured Object from Our Collections
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About the Anthropology and Archaeology Departments
Anthropology is the study of humankind — past and present. The Anthropology Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County curates archaeological and ethnographic collections collected by and donated to the Museum. Objects from the Anthropology Collections are on display in several exhibit halls and display cases throughout the Museum. Collections are also available for scholarly research. The Archaeology Collection includes approximately 100,000 ancient artifacts.
The majority of the collection is from the Americas, with an emphasis on the western United States and Latin America. Tools, decorative and utilitarian objects are included in the vast assemblage of materials in addition to samples of shell, animal bone, soil, and plant remains that can be used to study past human adaptations. There are 33,000 cultural objects from North, Middle, and South America, Pacific, Australia, Asia, and Africa that comprise the Ethnology Collection. The tools, costumes, and art objects in the ethnology collections document the changes in material culture of indigenous societies caused by the dynamic global interactions of recent centuries and the inherent vitality and continuing diversity of traditional cultures around the world.
The Anthropology Section Archives consists of 10,000 photographs and 350 linear feet of collection documentation, related documents, and items pertinent to our exhibit, research, and collection history.
What are we working on now?
We have been photographing and updating our inventory of the Hawaiian material in our collections so that the images and data can eventually be added to our online collection search. The image to the left shows part of a brightly colored feather necklace that was collected by a missionary living in the Kohala region of the Big Island in the 1840s.
To see the images on this page in more detail click HERE.
Featured Object from Southern California
This axe head was found in a backyard in Eagle Rock and attests to the existence of ancient trade networks that extended from the Southern California region into Arizona. The carving style and material tells us that it was made in the Phoenix area around 1,000 years ago. It is slated for inclusion in Becoming Los Angeles, an exhibit that looks at LA’s history through the lens of its interaction with the environment.