Prints of Watercolors by Pueblo Artists
Featured Exhibit
In the early 20th century, tourists visiting the Southwest sparked a new interest in Pueblo art. Native American arts and crafts such as pottery, basket making, and painting made specifically for non-native patrons provided Pueblo artists with a new source of income. At the same time tourists were buying Native American art, Indian Schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) worked to suppress expression of Native American heritage to assimilate students into an Anglo-American lifestyle. Even with efforts by the US government to erase them, Pueblo artists continued to preserve traditional customs and create work that celebrated their culture.
The prints featured in this exhibit are from a portfolio first produced in 1936 and show the watercolors of several of the artists who are associated with the San Ildefonso and Santa Fe Indian Schools. They referred to themselves as the San Ildefonso Self Taught.
Revolving Exhibits
Revolving exhibits are on display at the Museum of Anthropology for a limited time.
Reflections from Above
Coming July 2025
An examination of how technology has changed from early 1900s aerial photos used in WWI to today’s Lidar images of ground surfaces.
Southwest Prints
July 2025 - August 2026
These prints of original watercolors by artists of the San Ildefonso Pueblo and Zia Pueblo, are a new acquisition of the Museum of Anthropology collections. They are a snapshot into the era of schools run by Bureau of Indian Affairs and show resilience in the face of attempted cultural erasure.
Quills and Beads
October 2025 - March 2026
For hundreds of years Native American people used porcupine quills to create unique forms of embroidery. After dyeing them a variety of colors, the quills were folded and stitched into patterns to decorate clothing, baskets, and other traditional objects. After Europeans arrived in North America, they used beads as a trade good with Native Americans as early as the 17th century. By the mid 19th century, beadwork had largely replaced quillwork. This exhibit shows examples of both quillwork and beadwork objects.
Continuous Exhibits
Our exhibits include anthropological and archaeological materials, and focus on early humans, archaeology in present day Missouri, and indigenous North American peoples. The MoA also has collections of material from South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania which appear in our archery from around the world exhibit.
The goal of our exhibits is to broaden the understanding of human behavior, both in the past and the present.
Please note: The Museum of Anthropology works directly with Tribal Nations to preserve the history of indigenous peoples whose relationship to this land continues to this day. Although we undertake the care of the material, we do not own the vast knowledge, history, or story they contain.
Early Humans
Biological anthropology studies everything from our human origins to how skeletal structures changed based on influencing factors such as environment, disease, occupation. This exhibit only goes back in hominin history 5 million years and shows both cranial and post-cranial differences between early hominins and Homo sapiens/humans. We also highlight the earliest known tools and the development of the early human toolkit through the Upper Paleolithic advent of cultural materials in the archaeological record.
Archaeology
View archaeological material from what is now Missouri dating to the first arrival of humans in central North America ~13,000 years ago through their contact with individuals from other parts of the world ~550 years ago. This exhibit looks at the four different time periods attributed to objects from this region (Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian), and highlights advancements in the technology and materials used as well as the lifestyle of the peoples and their culture. This exhibit has been made in consultation with regional tribes to ensure accuracy of text and understanding of the objects displayed.
Archery
The MoA's archery collection is one of the largest in the world consisting of several thousand pieces of archery and archery-related objects, as well as cultural items depicting archery in one form or another, from six continents. The portion on exhibit highlights pieces from China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and the North American Arctic. The exhibit focuses on archery as a common tool used globally for thousands of years, and communicates how different peoples' resources, traditions, and beliefs are combined to create unique material objects.
North American Peoples
The largest exhibit area is dedicated to Native American communities in North America. Objects are arranged by geographic region and include both historic objects as well as contemporary/modern ones. This is space to examine and reflect on the rich traditions of Native Americans through their art and craft, as well as celebratory and everyday objects. Regions included are the Southwest, Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Northwest Coast and Arctic. There is also a special exhibit space devoted specifically to the Osage Nation whose traditional homelands (amoung others) the museum sits upon.
Online Exhibits
Past Exhibits
Covid Heart, print by Norman Akers.
Contemporary Osage Artists
On exhibit: Spring 2024 to Summer 2025
Works by two Osage artists, Norman Akers (Professor of Art, University of Kansas) and Joe Don Brave, blend Osage tradition with imagery personal to their own experiences as members of the Osage Nation reminding viewers that the Native American experience is contemporary and remains rich in history. Both artists work in a variety of mediums, ranging from paint to print and everything in between.
An additional contemporary Osage mural by Yatika Starr Fields can be viewed currently in the MU Student Union.
Mask from Guatamala, 20th century.
Construction of a Persona
On exhibit: Summer 2024 - Winter 2025
In many cultures around the world masks are used to portray who we want to be in a moment. Masks have found a place in performance, ritual, and celebration. This exhibit explored the idea that masks serve as a form of self-portaiture. Masks included ranged from around the globe.