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The Museum of Northern Arizona is a
pioneer of research on the Colorado Plateau. Today MNA’s comprehensive
collection of natural and cultural history constitutes a unique
historical record representing scientific exploration, research, and
aesthetic appreciation over the past century. Together, the MNA
collections tell a compelling story about the natural environment and
the people of this region throughout time. The collections are of
extraordinary value for the study of cultures and ecology of the
Southwest and they commemorate Indigenous lifeways and a natural world
that are forever changing and evolving.
The institutional goal of stewardship
to the highest standards possible aims to fulfill MNA’s responsibility
to the public to hold these collections in perpetuity, ensuring their
availability for research and interpretive purposes.
In addition to the collections MNA
owns, the Museum also holds state, federal, and tribal collections.
These treasures are used in MNA exhibits and public programs, studied
by researchers at MNA, and also loaned to other institutions for
exhibits and research.
MNA holds outstanding collections in:
Anthropology
Archaeology —250,000 cataloged artifacts and 9,000 cubic feet of
archaeological material representing 16,000 of the 26,000 documented
sites in this region; prehistoric vessels, and Sinagua specimens
Ethnology―14,000 items; Navajo textiles, Hopi textiles, Hopi
ceramics, Hopi katsina dolls, Native jewelry
Geology and
Paleontology
7,500 rocks, minerals, and meteorites
19,000 fossils of invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants
the Paleontology Collection holds scientifically significant specimens
from many geological formations on the Colorado Plateau and is the
basis for scores of scientific technical papers from the region
Biology
32,000 plant specimens, 35,000 vertebrates, and over 200,000
invertebrates
comparing and documenting northern Arizona and Grand Canyon plants
MNA’s invertebrate collection is the only truly comprehensive regional
collection
Zoology
45,000 bird and mammal study skins, skeletons, insects, and preserved
fish, amphibians,
and reptiles that document the diversity of animal life in the region
Fine Art
3,200 pieces documenting twentieth and twenty-first century fine art
among Native artists, as well as work from non-Native regional artists
dating from the 1860s
Archives and
Photo Archives
500 items of memorabilia; a library containing 250,000 images of
Navajo, Hopi, early ranching, Flagstaff, and northern Arizona; and
3,500 linear feet of archival material. |
