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The Anthropology Department collaborates with other museum staff on anthropology-related exhibits and programming while also maintaining traditional collections-based curatorial and research activities. Staff members work with tribal communities, state and federal agencies, community groups, and other scholars and scientists on projects ranging from ethnographic research and collecting, to archaeological research and fieldwork, to education and interpretation.

Current projects and research include:

Image of a vase. Red Wing Archaeology
The Red Wing Archaeology project is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional project with the goal to collect, study, and care for archaeological collections from this fascinating region.

Three Sisters Garden Ethnobotany Project
The Science Museum of Minnesota has entered into a partnership to develop a native garden from seeds culled from the Hiller collection.

Oh No! Ethnobotany!
Image of a string of beads. Museum Associate Rose Kubiatowitz has produced a manual on toxic organic material within ethnographic collections that may become a model for museums throughout the world who have yet to undertake such a safety analysis.

Image of cloth with flowers Cordry Internship in Latin American Folk Art
The Science Museum of Minnesota has extensive archaeological and ethnological collections from Latin America. Recent research and exhibitions have emphasized textiles from Chiapas, Mexico, and ceramics from Central America.

Image of cuneiforms Cuneiform Project with the University of Minnesota
The Anthropology Department is working on a joint project with the University of Minnesota's Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies studying cuneiform tablets in the collections of both institutions.

Since its inception in 1907, archaeological and ethnographic collections have been a part of the Science Museum of Minnesota, and have since grown significantly through additions from across the United States and around the world. Emphasized in the collections are artifacts of American Indian cultures of the Plains and Upper Midwest, Hmong material culture, textiles and masks of the Highland Maya of Chiapas, Mexico, and ceramics of Mexico and Central America. Anthropology staff, in conjunction with Collections Services staff, are working on computerizing anthropology collections records and images to allow for better management of collections as well as access by visiting scholars and scientists and the general public.

For more information, e-mail or call (651) 221-9424.

Anthropology

Staff