Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology facts for kids
| Former name | Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology |
|---|---|
| Established | 1901 |
| Location | University of California, Berkeley, California, United States |
| Type | anthropology museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is a special museum in Berkeley, California. It's located on the University of California, Berkeley campus. This museum helps us learn about different cultures and people from all over the world. It used to be called the Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology.
Contents
Discovering the Past
How the Museum Started
The museum began in 1901. It was started with help from Phoebe Apperson Hearst. Her goal was to support people who studied archaeology and ethnology. These studies helped create a department for anthropology at the University of California.
The museum first opened to the public in San Francisco in 1911. In 1931, it moved to the University of California, Berkeley campus. It moved again in 1959 to a new building called Kroeber Hall. For many years, it had the biggest collection of its kind on the West Coast.
In 1991, the museum's name changed. It was renamed to honor Phoebe Apperson Hearst for her important role. Today, the museum is a research center for the University of California. Many famous anthropologists have worked here. One notable person was Ishi, who lived at the museum in San Francisco from 1911 until 1916.
Amazing Things You Can See
The museum has about 3 million objects! It also has many fieldnotes, photos, and recordings. These items help us understand different cultures.
Here are some of the main collections:
- California Indian Baskets: There are about 9,000 baskets from almost every tribe in California. You can see many different weaving styles.
- Ancient Egypt: This collection has about 20,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt. It includes many items from cultures that existed before the pharaohs. These objects came from excavations done by George Reisner between 1899 and 1905.
- Ancient Peru: This large collection focuses on Peruvian pottery and textiles. It includes 9,200 objects collected by Max Uhle around 1900.
- African Artifacts: About 32,000 objects from Africa are here. They were collected by anthropologist William Bascom and his students. Some also came from the excavations of archaeologist J. Desmond Clark.
- Oceanic Objects: This collection includes items from the Trobriand Islands. These were gathered by Bronislaw Malinowski in the early 1900s. There are also archaeological finds from Fiji and New Caledonia. These were found by E.W. Gifford in the 1940s and 1950s.
Learning and Exploring
The museum supports important research and publications. It also has exhibitions in a gallery on the UC Berkeley campus. These exhibitions help people learn about different cultures. The museum also offers public educational programs.
The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is recognized by the American Alliance of Museums. This means it meets high standards for museums.
