Anthropology Collections at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

The hectic front of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science hides an unseen back of the museum that is also bustling. Less than 1% of the Museum’s collections are on display at any given time, and the Department of Anthropology alone cares for more than 50,000 objects from every corner of the globe, objects that are not normally available to the public. This lavishly illustrated book presents and celebrates the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s exceptional anthropology collections for the first time.

The book presents 123 full-color images to highlight the museum’s cultural treasures. Selected for their individual beauty, historic value, and cultural meaning, these objects connect different places, times, and people. From the mammoth hunters of the Plains to the first American pioneer settlers to the flourishing Hispanic and Asian diasporas in downtown Denver, the Rocky Mountain region has been home to a breathtaking array of cultures. Many objects tell this story of the Rocky Mountains’ fascinating and complex past whereas others serve to bring enigmatic corners of the globe to modern-day Denver.

Crossroads of Culture serves as a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum’s anthropology collections. All of the royalties from this publication will benefit the collections of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Department of Anthropology.

The Crane Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Navajo Textiles provides a nuanced account of the Navajo weavings in the Crane Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science—one of the largest collections of Navajo textiles in the world. Bringing together the work of anthropologists and Indigenous artists, the book explores the Navajo rug trade in the mid-19th century and changes in the Navajo textile market while highlighting the Museum’s important, though still relatively unknown, collection of Navajo textiles.

In this unique collaboration among anthropologists, museums, and Navajo weavers, the authors provide a narrative of the acquisition of the Crane Collection and a history of Navajo weaving. Personal reflections and insights from foremost Navajo weavers D. Y. Begay and Lynda Teller Pete are also featured, and more than 100 stunning full-color photographs of the textiles in the collection are accompanied by technical information about the materials and techniques used in their creation. An introduction by Ann Lane Hedlund documents the growing collaboration between Navajo weavers and museums in Navajo textile research.

The legacy of Navajo weaving is complex and intertwined with the history of the Diné themselves. Navajo Textiles makes the history and practice of Navajo weaving accessible to an audience of scholars and laypeople both within and outside the Diné community.