Research & Collections
Collections Policies & Procedures
The policy descriptions and forms available on this web site are provided for your
information and convenience in Adobe Acrobat format. Please feel free to download
these forms, fee schedules, and manuals, and to print them for your use. Completed
forms (either typed or handwritten) with an original signature may be mailed or faxed
to the Museum, to the attention of the appropriate staff member, at the address or
fax number below. We encourage you to call or email collections staff to discuss
individual photo, loan, or research interests prior to submitting a request.
The museum’s archives contain institutional and ethnographic records including
8,000 historic and contemporary images; manuscript archives documenting early
Laboratory of Anthropology staff projects; and papers and correspondence relating
to the history of anthropology in the Southwest.
The Archive contains the institutional files of the Laboratory of Anthropology from its
founding in 1927, administrative records of the Field Schools of 1929–1936, and
maps and oversize drawings of Museum Hill buildings. The archives also include
special collections including Mabel Morrow’s notes and sketches, the Dorothy Dunn
Kramer collection, and A.V. Kidder’s records of Pecos. Photographs relating to the
Lab’s work, as well as manuscripts of researchers comprise part of the archives.
The main collection is organized and catalogued. The acquisition and processing of
new collections, which include private papers, is a continuous endeavor.
One part-time archivist staffs the Archive. The archive is open to researchers by
appointment on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from 1 to 4
pm. Please call Diane Bird, Archivist,
As the major repository for anthropological and archaeological research materials for New Mexico and the greater Southwest, the Laboratory is charged with
preservation, conservation, and curation of invaluable collections which are a
central part of the cultural heritage of the region and its indigenous communities. The
museum has extensive holding of various types, these include:
Object Collections
Individually Catalogued Collections at the Museum of Indian Arts and
Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology include typological collections of
* Southwestern textiles
* pottery
* baskets
* jewelry
* a contemporary art collection including sculpture and works on paper and
canvas
* Dorothy Dunn’s personal collection of paintings made by her students at the
formative fine arts Studio of the Santa Fe Indian School
* extraordinary archaeological artifacts including a 151-foot-long hunting net made
of human hair created circa AD 1200 in southern New Mexico and a ceremonial bead
cache from Chaco Canyon.
ICC also contains extensive collections of exhibit quality archaeological artifacts
including Anasazi and Mogollon ceramics; chipped stone tools such as projectile
points; and artifacts, such as yucca sandals and prehistoric baskets, which are
highly perishable.
The more than 75,000 exhibition quality objects include some of the first artifacts
collected from Southwest Native American communities by the Museum of New
Mexico at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as materials acquired by the
Laboratory of Anthropology from it’s inception in 1931. Foremost among these are
the historic and contemporary pottery collection, the oldest collection in the Museum,
which spans the mid-17th century through the present and includes examples from
all the Pueblos and tribal communities of the Southwest. The textile and clothing
collections span the contact period through the present, and its Navajo and Pueblo
weavings are considered one of the fines Southwestern textile collections in the
world. The collection includes some of the earliest Navajo textiles in existence, dating
from 1750 to 1803, and includes a large collection of exemplary Navajo blankets from
the 19th century.
Archaeological Research Collections
The Research Collections constitute the museum’s largest collection, and are an
important part of New Mexico’s cultural heritage. Representing the largest
assemblage of archaeological materials in New Mexico, the Repository contains
about 5 - 10 million artifacts and samples stored in 39,000 containers occupying
15,000 cubic ft., along with more than 250 linear ft. of accompanying notes, maps,
and photos. Although some materials were collected from archaeological sites by
Edgar Hewett during the early 1900s, or from WPA projects during the Depression
Era, most of the collection was assembled through Cultural Resource Management
(CRM) investigations conducted since 1956, and includes both prehistoric Native
American materials and historic artifacts recovered from Spanish Colonial
settlements through early 20th century Anglo ranches. The majority of the artifacts
and samples are stored in boxes in a warehouse manner and are often referred to
as “bulk collections."
The Museum acts as the Repository for the State of New Mexico, curating
archaeological materials from State lands, and accepts donations of artifacts from
private land in New Mexico, as well. In addition, ARC cares for archaeological
materials from some Federal as well as tribal lands within New Mexico, which are
held by the Museum as long-term loans. Curation agreements may be obtained from
the Curator of Archaeological Research Collections, Julia Clifton, 476-1268, email at
julia.clifton@state.nm.us. The Procedures Manual for Submission of Archaeological
Artifact and Record Collections details the standards that must be met when
submitting archaeological collections to the Museum for curation. The Manual
includes the current curation fee schedule.
Collection access is available to researchers by appointment, 9 am to 5 pm, Monday
through Friday. To arrange a visit, please contact the Archaeological Research
Collections Manager, Tony Thibodeau, 476-1265, email at
anthony.thibodeau@state.nm.us.
Comparative collections of ceramics, lithics, mineral specimens, and petrographic
slides are maintained in the H.P. Mera Room. To make an appointment to examine the
Mera Room study collections, contact Dody Fugate, Assistant Curator, 476-1267,
email at dody.fugate@state.nm.us.
Loans of materials for research can be made to qualified institutions and Requests
for Scientific Testing of archaeological specimens are considered by the Museum’s
Collections Committee at twice-monthly meetings. Requests to photograph objects in
collections for research use only are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Center for New Mexico Archaeology
Purpose
The Center for New Mexico Archaeology (CNMA) will be a central facility for
archaeological research, curation, and education in the state of New Mexico.
CNMA will create a safe and secure curation environment for New Mexico's unique
and irreplaceable archaeological heritage, including nearly 10 million artifacts from all
time periods and cultures. The Archaeological Research Collection (ARC) is actively
used for research and education. Growth (300-600 cubic feet per year) matches the
pace of economic development in the state. Almost 50 percent of the collections are
from federal or tribal lands, and the collections are managed by ARC on behalf of the
client agencies.
The CNMA will also house the offices and labs of the OAS, which has provided
not-for-profit cultural preservation services to state, federal, municipal, and private
clients since 1952. Our highly qualified staff provides a full range of archaeological
services.
Location
The CNMA will be the initial development on a new 25-acre campus for museum
collections and services. The campus is in Santa Fe County off of Caja del Rio Road,
near the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. A lease-transfer agreement has been approved by
the Bureau of Land Management, and the land will be patented to the state when
construction has been completed. The campus will be the site of museum-collections
care, conservation, exhibit fabrication, and education programs for the next 100
years. It will allow existing museums to focus their facility missions on exhibitions
and public programs.
Constituencies
Ancestral Native American artifacts constitute the majority of the ARC collections,
including sacred and ceremonial materials and human remains. In the past these
materials have been stored under substandard conditions with inadequate
consultation and visitation facilities. It will be possible to move spiritually significant
archaeological materials from the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture to CNMA,
decreasing tribal concerns over visiting and participating in MIAC programs.
ARC collections will remain accessible to Indian religious leaders and artists who use
the collections for the maintenance of cultural beliefs and practices. Native American
representatives have been closely involved in the planning and design of the facility.
ARC works with dozens of agencies and tribes in cooperative collection
management. ARC and OAS have collaborated to support federal agency
responsibilities under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. A
special sensitive-materials area of CNMA has been designed with tribal consultants
to respectfully hold collections awaiting tribal repatriation decisions.
Students and archaeologists from New Mexico and across the nation access ARC
collections for research and training. Few archaeological sites are excavated for
purely research purposes today, and previously excavated collections in ARC are
regularly reexamined for new insights into the past.
The campus is being developed in collaboration with Santa Fe County. CNMA is
compatible with existing land use along the Caja del Rio Road corridor. County roads
through the campus will be the utility corridor for the Buckman Diversion water
systems, and the campus will be a buffer and entrance for expected residential
communities.
Archaeologists from throughout the state will have access to the expertise and
specialty labs of the OAS, one of the oldest archaeological research organizations in
the country. Animal bone identification, archaeomagnetic dating, plant-material
identification, pottery analysis, and technology labs provide specialized services to
clients and archaeologists throughout the Southwest. An architectural preservation
laboratory will be reestablished in collaboration with the National Park Service,
extending a program that was initiated in the 1980s.
The OAS education outreach program, Roads to the Past, has existed since 1991
and was recognized in 2005 with the Excellence in Public Education Award by the
Society for American Archaeology. More than 65,000 adults and students have been
served by the program, including Native American communities. A privately funded
education center is planned for the campus, which will allow OAS staff to conduct
teacher training in the social sciences as well math and science enrichment courses.
Planning History
The CNMA has been planned for nearly twenty years. Programming and schematic
design for construction on the Museum Hill campus was undertaken in 1997.
However, future expansion prospects were poor, and the development would have
constrained the expansion potential of the existing museums.
Planning resumed in 2003 with a search for a suitable new campus. BLM land was
available through the Federal Recreation and Public Purposes Act, and BLM has
been supportive of the CNMA concept from the beginning. In 2004, land evaluation
was begun, and both CNMA and the campus were programmed.
An architect's contract was awarded in 2005, and a schematic design was
developed for the campus and the building. Construction will achieve LEED Silver
certification and accommodate phased growth over the next century. Due to the
reality of incremental funding, the construction plans accommodate phased
construction, if necessary. The ARC will be given priority, since existing storage
space cannot accommodate more than a few years' growth.
Construction of the campus infrastructure will start with state funding in 2008. As
money becomes available, subsequent construction phases will follow.
Funding History
Funding for CNMA began in 2005 with a $25,000 appropriation sponsored by
Senator Shannon Robinson. Subsequent capital outlay appropriations in 2005, 2006,
and 2008 have raised the total to $5.95 million, toward a total estimated cost of $9.7
million. The additional funding is being sought from federal and private sources.
Library
The Laboratory of Anthropology houses a unique special collections and research
library dedicated to the study of Native cultures, as well as anthropological and
archaeological research of the Southwest. The collection features the personal
library of archaeologist, Sylvanus G. Morley, highlighting the archaeology, history,
and cultures of Mesoamerica. The library's holdings of over 30,000 volumes include
archaeological reports, ethnographic studies, professional journals, dissertations,
unpublished reports, and ephemera. Members of the public are welcome. Due to the
specialized nature of the collection, library materials are non-circulating. The
Laboratory of Anthropology Library will consider interlibrary loan requests on a
case-by-case basis.
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