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| Museum of Anthropology, UC Davis | |
|---|---|
| Name | Museum of Anthropology, UC Davis |
| Established | 1965 |
| Location | Davis, California |
| Type | University museum, ethnographic museum |
| Director | (see Governance and Funding) |
| Website | (University page) |
Museum of Anthropology, UC Davis The Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis is an academic museum focused on cultural anthropology, archaeological collections, and ethnographic exhibitions. The museum has developed collections and programs in collaboration with institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology while engaging scholars from Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, and Columbia University.
The museum traces its origins to faculty and collections associated with the University of California, Davis anthropology program and was influenced by exchanges with Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Bureau of American Ethnology, American Anthropological Association, and the legacy of collectors connected to Franciscan missions and Spanish colonial archives. Early curatorial leadership drew on specialists who had worked with field sites like Moundville Archaeological Site, Cahokia, Chaco Canyon, and Mesa Verde National Park, and with scholars associated with Frances Densmore, Alfred Kroeber, Margaret Mead, and Edward Sapir. The museum’s collection growth was accelerated by grants from foundations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and National Science Foundation, and by collaborations with regional repositories including California State Parks, Sacramento History Museum, Huntington Library, and California Academy of Sciences.
The museum’s holdings encompass artifacts and archives spanning contact-era collections linked to Spanish missions in California, material culture from indigenous cultures such as the Miwok, Patwin, Pomo, Yurok, Hupa, and Yokuts, as well as assemblages from Pacific collections associated with Hawaii (island), Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Aotearoa New Zealand. Collections include archaeological assemblages from sites like California Gold Rush era deposits, Black Bart (outlaw) related material, and prehistoric assemblages comparable to those held at San Diego Museum of Man, Autry Museum of the American West, and Field Museum of Natural History. Ethnographic exhibits have referenced performances and objects connected to figures such as Ishi, Geronimo, Sitka Blacktail Deer, and cultural items paralleling holdings at Royal Ontario Museum, Musée du quai Branly, and Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Rotating galleries have hosted thematic displays on topics resonant with materials in the collections and in collaboration with curators from National Museum of the American Indian, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Oakland Museum of California.
Faculty and curators affiliated with the museum collaborate on archaeological projects and ethnographic fieldwork that intersect with projects at Mono Lake, Yolo Bypass, Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, Lake Tahoe, and international sites including Easter Island, Palau, Southeast Asia, and Mesoamerica. Research partners include the Society for American Archaeology, American Schools of Oriental Research, Institute of Archaeology (UCLA), California Archaeological Site Survey, and museums such as Peabody Institute of Archaeology (Phillips Academy). Grants and fellowships from National Geographic Society, Fulbright Program, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and European Research Council have supported collaborative work with specialists involved with projects like the Clovis culture investigations, Paleoindian research, and comparative studies referencing collections at Natural History Museum, London and Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies.
The museum supports undergraduate and graduate curricula in partnership with departments such as Department of Anthropology, UC Davis, Department of Native American Studies, UC Davis, and interdisciplinary programs linked to Center for Regional Change, Davis Humanities Institute, and Bohart Museum of Entomology. Programs include internships modeled on practices at Smithsonian Institution Internship Program, field schools in collaboration with Society for Historical Archaeology and Register of Professional Archaeologists, and lecture series featuring scholars from University of California, Santa Cruz, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Washington, University of British Columbia, and Rutgers University. Public programs have been coordinated with community partners such as Yolo County Historical Society, City of Davis, and regional tribes including the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.
Conservation and collections care are informed by standards set by the American Institute for Conservation, and facilities are comparable to those at conservation labs in institutions like Getty Conservation Institute, Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, and Conservation Department, British Museum. The museum maintains climate-controlled storage, digitization labs for archival projects similar to initiatives at Digital Public Library of America, and object study rooms used by researchers from National Museum Directors' Council and visiting scholars from University of California, Irvine. Collaborative conservation projects have been undertaken with specialists associated with California Native American Heritage Commission and regional conservationists who have worked on repatriation and care in line with Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act processes.
Outreach initiatives connect with tribal governments and organizations such as the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, Federation of California Tribes, InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, and national networks including the Native American Rights Fund and First Peoples’ Worldwide. The museum has participated in collaborative exhibitions and loan programs with institutions like Autry Museum of the American West, Heard Museum, and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and hosted community workshops involving cultural practitioners linked to Powwow, Tlingit, Navajo Nation, and local storytelling traditions. Educational outreach has aligned with regional school districts including Davis Joint Unified School District and statewide cultural heritage initiatives led by California State University campuses.
Governance involves university administration structures within the University of California system, oversight from campus units such as the Office of Research, UC Davis and advisory boards often including representatives from institutions like National Endowment for the Arts, California Humanities, and private foundations such as the Searle Scholars Program and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Funding sources include university allocations, competitive grants from agencies like National Science Foundation, philanthropic gifts from donors akin to those who endow positions at Harvard University and Princeton University, and revenue from partnerships with regional museums including California State Railroad Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Category:University museums in California Category:Museums in Yolo County, California