Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology
Encyclopedia
The Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology began in 1966 as the Museum of Man, at the bequest and initiation of Dr. Lowell Holmes, Professor of Anthropology at Wichita State University
in Wichita, Kansas
, USA. Over the next 33 years it grew slowly and became known throughout the campus as a small but interesting museum. The collections and exhibitions include cultural items from around the world and archaeological objects predominantly from the American Midwest and Southwest. In 1999, the anthropology
department and the museum moved to a new location in Neff Hall. The museum was expanded and Mr. Jerry Martin was hired as Director. This was the first time that the museum had a professional director whose only job was to work with, and develop the museum.
Martin’s concept was to have the museum essentially run and operated by students as part of their museum studies training. He raised funds to hire student staff to run the day-to-day operations of the museum under his supervision. As of the fall semester of 2006, the museum has the funds to hire five student positions. The museum has a wide range of functions. It has exhibitions open to the public, houses a rapidly expanding collection, a support unit for the anthropology department and faculty of Wichita State University
, a research facility for students, a repository for United States Government archaeological collections, and the basis for a growing museum studies program. These different functions provide a very wide range of experience for the student staff.
In 2001 the museum led an expedition into Western New Guinea
, where they compiled a major collection of over 950 pieces of Asmat
tribal art. In the fall of 2001, the museum received the Bakwin collection of nearly 120 pieces of Asmat art. Asmat art is famous for its large size, beauty, artistic quality and rarity. This collection is rapidly becoming well known. The only other comparable collections in the United States are the Michael Rockefeller
Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City and the collection of the Asmat Museum of Art in St. Paul, MN.
The David Jackman collection consists of a large number of prehistoric Casas Grande and Colima
ceramics. In addition, there is the Aitchison collection which contains a wide range of ceramics from prehistoric Pueblo cultures as well as Mayan
, Veracruz
and other Mesoamerican cultures.
to collect clothing and ethnographical objects from the minority Chinese groups. These trips produced an extensive collection from ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia
, Northwestern and Southern China
, and Tibet
.
and contiguous state and the Four Corners area of the American Southwest.
The museum is a repository for Federal Government Archaeological collections and an official Long Term Curation Facility for the Bureau of Reclamations. These collections are used by students for educational and research purposes.
Recently a new exhibition opened which shows the current theories on human evolution
and physical diversity. One segment of the exhibit depicts Charles Darwin
’s round the World voyage on the HMS Beagle
where he developed his theory of Natural Selection
. Another segment shows the separate development of Apes and Man
throughout the last 34 million years.
The second recently completed exhibition is called “Southwestern Art: A Story of Transition and Change.” Located in the museum’s Jackman Gallery this exhibit features the Morgan Collection of Southwest Pueblo pottery and the Mullen collection of Southwest Jewelry. It tells the story of the importance of the railroad and tourism in the revival of Southwestern Art and how the art has become a major source of income for many Pueblo families. The exhibit includes over 80 examples of beautiful pottery from 14 different pueblos, and jewelry and textiles from both the Hopi
and Navajo
.
Currently the museum has a website titled “Through the Eyes of the Pot: The Morgan collection of Southwest Pottery”. This site shows the pots in the Morgan collection, gives a biography of the potters and has chapters on individual pueblos.
There is also a virtual exhibit which includes home movie footage, artifacts and recollections from missionaries to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
. This interactive exhibit is called "The Wagner Collection Field Journal: 1955-1969". It blends oral history and multimedia to describe the observations of missionaries among the Duna, Hewa
and Enga
of Papua New Guinea.
The museum has also developed a large and important website on the Asmat
people of Papua, Indonesia titled "Art and Culture of the Asmat". Using the objects in the collection, photographs, as well as audio and video clips, the site explores the art, ceremonial life and culture of the Asmat people. Original documentary short films available on the website are also available on Youtube.
During the summer of 2003, students, led by the museum director Jerry Martin, traveled to the Guatemala
n highlands to collect Mayan
weavings and fiesta dance masks and study their symbolism and impact on the local indigenous populations. The objects they collect will become part of the museum’s expanding contemporary Mayan ethnographic collection.
During the summer of 2007, the museum director and an anthropology graduate student returned to the Asmat region of New Guinea
to produce videos to be used in an Asmat website. This website integrates text, video and audio in order to create a multimedia educational resource for the public. They also gathered footage in the Korowai
cultural area.
The Holmes Museum is located in Neff Hall on the campus of Wichita State University. A map of the location of Neff Hall's location can be found here: .
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
in Wichita, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, USA. Over the next 33 years it grew slowly and became known throughout the campus as a small but interesting museum. The collections and exhibitions include cultural items from around the world and archaeological objects predominantly from the American Midwest and Southwest. In 1999, the anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
department and the museum moved to a new location in Neff Hall. The museum was expanded and Mr. Jerry Martin was hired as Director. This was the first time that the museum had a professional director whose only job was to work with, and develop the museum.
Martin’s concept was to have the museum essentially run and operated by students as part of their museum studies training. He raised funds to hire student staff to run the day-to-day operations of the museum under his supervision. As of the fall semester of 2006, the museum has the funds to hire five student positions. The museum has a wide range of functions. It has exhibitions open to the public, houses a rapidly expanding collection, a support unit for the anthropology department and faculty of Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
, a research facility for students, a repository for United States Government archaeological collections, and the basis for a growing museum studies program. These different functions provide a very wide range of experience for the student staff.
Asmat art collection
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, where they compiled a major collection of over 950 pieces of Asmat
Asmat people
The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. Possessing one of the most well-known and vibrant woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, their art is sought by collectors worldwide...
tribal art. In the fall of 2001, the museum received the Bakwin collection of nearly 120 pieces of Asmat art. Asmat art is famous for its large size, beauty, artistic quality and rarity. This collection is rapidly becoming well known. The only other comparable collections in the United States are the Michael Rockefeller
Michael Rockefeller
Michael Clark Rockefeller , was the youngest son of New York Governor Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and Mary Todhunter Rockefeller and a fourth generation member of the Rockefeller family...
Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City and the collection of the Asmat Museum of Art in St. Paul, MN.
Southwest pottery and ethnographic art collections
The museum houses the John Morgan collection of Southwest pottery, and the Emma and John Huff collection of Southwest Jewelry. The Holmes museum also has an extensive collection of pre-historic pottery of the American southwest.Pre-Columbian pottery collection
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
ceramics. In addition, there is the Aitchison collection which contains a wide range of ceramics from prehistoric Pueblo cultures as well as Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
and other Mesoamerican cultures.
Chinese minority clothing and ethnographic art collection
In 1988 and 1989 some museum staff and volunteers traveled to ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to collect clothing and ethnographical objects from the minority Chinese groups. These trips produced an extensive collection from ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Northwestern and Southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
.
Archaeology collections
The Anthropology Department has four different archaeology laboratories to process and research the extensive archaeology collections housed in the department and the Holmes Museum. The collections are predominantly from KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and contiguous state and the Four Corners area of the American Southwest.
The museum is a repository for Federal Government Archaeological collections and an official Long Term Curation Facility for the Bureau of Reclamations. These collections are used by students for educational and research purposes.
Media resources collection
The museum recently began a program of digitizing anthropological audio-visual material for archival purposes. Most of the old audio tapes, 8mm and 16mm films and video tapes were created by anthropologists in the field or by missionaries. The museum’s objective is to create a digitized collection of this material and make them available for research and other educational purposes.Current exhibitions
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
and physical diversity. One segment of the exhibit depicts Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
’s round the World voyage on the HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
where he developed his theory of Natural Selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. Another segment shows the separate development of Apes and Man
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
throughout the last 34 million years.
The second recently completed exhibition is called “Southwestern Art: A Story of Transition and Change.” Located in the museum’s Jackman Gallery this exhibit features the Morgan Collection of Southwest Pueblo pottery and the Mullen collection of Southwest Jewelry. It tells the story of the importance of the railroad and tourism in the revival of Southwestern Art and how the art has become a major source of income for many Pueblo families. The exhibit includes over 80 examples of beautiful pottery from 14 different pueblos, and jewelry and textiles from both the Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
and Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
.
Virtual exhibitions and websites
There is also a virtual exhibit which includes home movie footage, artifacts and recollections from missionaries to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. This interactive exhibit is called "The Wagner Collection Field Journal: 1955-1969". It blends oral history and multimedia to describe the observations of missionaries among the Duna, Hewa
Hewa
The Hewa are an indigenous people that live in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea near the junction of the Strickland and Lagaip rivers. They number about 2,000 persons, and their rugged rainforest terrain comprises about , some of which was unexplored until 2008...
and Enga
Enga
Enga may refer to:*Enga Province, Papua New Guinea*Enga language, language spoken by Enga people*Enga people, ethnic group located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea*Vålerenga I.F. Fotball*EngA bacterial GTPase...
of Papua New Guinea.
The museum has also developed a large and important website on the Asmat
Asmat people
The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. Possessing one of the most well-known and vibrant woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, their art is sought by collectors worldwide...
people of Papua, Indonesia titled "Art and Culture of the Asmat". Using the objects in the collection, photographs, as well as audio and video clips, the site explores the art, ceremonial life and culture of the Asmat people. Original documentary short films available on the website are also available on Youtube.
Research
The Holmes Museum sponsors a wide range of research and academic programs. There are a number of students in the museum studies program and several on-going and potential student research projects. For example: a number of students have requested to base their Master’s Degree Projects on the Asmat collection.During the summer of 2003, students, led by the museum director Jerry Martin, traveled to the Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n highlands to collect Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
weavings and fiesta dance masks and study their symbolism and impact on the local indigenous populations. The objects they collect will become part of the museum’s expanding contemporary Mayan ethnographic collection.
During the summer of 2007, the museum director and an anthropology graduate student returned to the Asmat region of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
to produce videos to be used in an Asmat website. This website integrates text, video and audio in order to create a multimedia educational resource for the public. They also gathered footage in the Korowai
Korowai
The korowai, also called the Kolufo, are a people of southeastern Papua . They number about 3,000. Until 1970, they were unaware of the existence of any people besides themselves....
cultural area.
Location and directions
External links
- Lowell. D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology
- Art and Culture of the Asmat at the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology
- Films about the Asmat produced by the Holmes Museum of Anthropology
- Through the Eyes of the Pot: Southwestern Pueblo Indian Pottery
- The Wagner Collection Field Journal: 1955-1969
- Holmes Museum Pottery Collection on SOAR Open Access at Wichita State University
- Museum Studies at Wichita State University
- Wichita State University Department of Anthropology
- Kansas Archaeology