About the Anthropology and Archaeology Department | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Curatorial Assistant, Jennifer Saracino, carefully ties the archival cloth tape around a Moche effigy vessel from Peru (100 B.C-A.D. 600) that is currently on display in the Visible Vault: Archaeological Treasures from Ancient Latin America.
Currently on exhibit from our collections...
Find highlights from our Latin American collection in the Visible Vault and come marvel at the wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes in our Zuni Fetishes exhibit case!
Want to see more? Look for special events like the Curator's Cupboard, where we bring interesting items out of our storerooms to share wiith visitors.
Object of the Month
This gorgeous multi-stranded necklace of silver beads and turquoise and red Spondylus shell tabs was made by Petra and Ronald Chavez of the Santo Domingo Pueblo and added to our permanent collections in October 2009. By adding objects like this to our collections we are building a record of artistic accomplishment for future generations.
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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 are currently researching our pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles using distinctive iconography and weaving techniques to attribute the weavings to their cultures of origin. This textile is an example of a typical design from the Paracas culture, one of the earliest known Peruvian textile traditions, dating from about 500-200 B.C.
Anthropology and Archaeology Staff
Margaret A. Hardin, Ph.D., Acting Deputy Director of Research and Collections, Division Chief for History and Anthropology, Anthropology Curator
Dr. Hardin curated the Zuni Fetishes permanent exhibit case.
Featured Object from Southern California
Fishhook from Big Dog Cave, San Clemente Island. This type of fishhook was probably intended to be swallowed since it would not have been sharp enough to ensnare a fish. The Native Americans may have intentially used the iridescent abalone shell so that its sparkling surface would attract the fish's attention.