The teaching collections represent cultures from around the globe and through a vast timeline. Many of the materials in the archaeological teaching collections were either surface-collected or lack precise provenience (or geographical location information), and do not include associated documentation. This reduces their research value, but they still retain a significant educational value. Other objects in this collection do not reflect the UWAC’s Mission and Scope for research collections, but nevertheless are very valuable instructional tools.
The archaeological artifacts include stone, animal bone, ceramic, and metal objects from archaeological sites from all over the world, and amounts to roughly 800 cubic feet. Included are a significant southwestern United States ceramic type collection of fragmentary sherds, ceramics from Central America, and the Harris A. Palmer Collection of stone tools from the Midwestern United States of America.
The biological objects include modern and cast examples of primates, hominins, and modern humans and are considered both teaching and research objects. You can learn more about the details of this part of the collection here.
Ethnographic objects used solely for teaching represent a very small portion of the collection, almost exclusively present only in the Department’s established teaching kits. You can learn more about the teaching kits here.
Database
The teaching collection database for the UWAC is currently being populated. As portions of the database are imported, our intent is to make its fields available online for public viewing/searching. Stay tuned for a link to this opportunity!