Anthropology

For more than 13,000 years the Colorado Plateau has been a crossroads of cultures and people. Many current inhabitants trace their cultural origins back to ancestors who left a trail in the form of pottery, baskets, stone structures, and other objects.

This makes the region wonderful for anthropology, which is the study of past and present people through our cultures, languages, technology, arts, architecture, and human biology. The dry climate and exposed landscape also make it easy to find the remnants of previous cultures. The museum was founded in part to protect those sites and keep artifacts near their origins. MNA cares for cultural objects and records in the anthropology collection and makes the collections available to descendant communities. These collections are particularly strong in the Kayenta and Sinagua regions.

From its beginning, MNA cultivated valuable working relationships with Colorado Plateau Tribes, particularly the Dilzhe’e Apache, Diné (Navajo), Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Southern Paiute, Southern Ute, Yavapai, and Zuni.  Today tribal artists, scholars, and culture leaders regularly access the collections. These partnerships enhance the general understanding of the museum collections and lead to increased accuracy, sensitivity and a sense of respect for cultural origin.

MNA anthropologists also continue to partner with descendant communities and federal agencies on research projects and often assist in consultations and repatriations of objects. We recognize that archaeological sites are the heritage of regional tribes, who view them as places still alive with ancestral spirits. While archaeologists in the early 1900s would excavate and collect materials, today we seek to preserve artifacts in place and only excavate when a site is in danger from erosion, exposure, or construction.

Projects

Hopi Silver Jewelry

MNA Research Associate Prof. Atsunori Ito leads a comprehensive and collaborative review of MNA’s Hopi silver jewelry collection with participation of several expert contemporary Hopi silversmiths.

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Documenting Rt. 66

MNA archaeologists have already discovered more than 10,000 artifacts as they document the historic Route 66 (1926-1985), the National Old Trails Highway (1913-1926), and the Beale Wagon Road (1857-1858) through Petrified Forest National Park.

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Pottery Collection

Curator of Anthropology Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin is embarking on a comprehensive review of MNA’s world class pottery collection, which spans centuries, and contains not only beautiful works of art, but utility vessels used for storage and cooking.

Walnut Canyon National Monument South Slopes Survey

Museum archaeologists made some interesting discoveries during an archaeological assessment of Walnut Canyon in 2021. Project staff completed archaeological condition assessment, fire hazard assessment, and site reevaluation at 137 previously recorded sites, including nearly all of the prehistoric Sinagua cliff dwellings visible from the North Rim and Island Trail.

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Protecting sites in Glen Canyon NRA

MNA archaeologists are helping identify the causes of damage to archaeological sites at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area by assessing more than 500 sites, nearly one-fourth of the sites known in the park.

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Blowholes at Wupatki

Museum of Northern Arizona and the National Park Service collaborated on an intensive inventory of 5-acre blocks around the known locations of six blowholes or earth-cracks. The survey identified 47 cultural features or artifacts, and 160 features associated with 23 archaeological sites, 22 of which were previously recorded.

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Publications