Arizona State Museum, Archaeological museum at University of Arizona campus in Tucson, United States.
The Arizona State Museum is an archaeological museum on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. It holds a large collection of photographs, negatives, and artifacts documenting the prehistory and ethnology of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
The museum was founded in 1893 by the Arizona Territorial Legislature to collect and protect archaeological finds from the Southwest. Over the decades it grew into one of the main research centers for the history and peoples of this region.
The museum displays pottery, jewelry, baskets, and textiles made by Native peoples of the Southwest across different periods. These objects come from traditions that are still practiced in indigenous communities today.
The building has been under renovation since August 2024, so it is worth checking ahead of your visit to find out which areas are open. Online exhibitions and educational programs remain available in the meantime.
The museum holds the largest collection of Southwest Indian pottery in North America, kept in a dedicated temperature-controlled vault that most visitors never see. The scale of this ceramic collection is so large that it requires its own purpose-built storage environment.
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