Professionally excavated collections have been curated since 1926 when Museum staff made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: projectile points embedded in the ribs of Bison antiquus, an extinct species of Ice Age bison, at the Folsom Site in northern New Mexico. This discovery revolutionized North American archaeology by pushing the known human occupation of North America back thousands of years, into the last Ice Age. Since then, other scientifically excavated Paleoindian collections (ca. 13,000–12,000 BP) have been curated at the Museum: the Dent Site southwest of Greeley, Colorado; the Lindenmeier Site north of Fort Collins, Colorado; the Frazier Site east of Greeley, Colorado; and Hannah Marie Wormington’s Archaic site excavations in western Colorado.

How the Folsom Point Became an Archaeological Icon

Why the Famous Folsom Point Isn't a Smoking Gun

Of particular importance are collections from the Jones-Miller and Magic Mountain sites. The Jones-Miller site (ca. 12,000 BP), in northeastern Colorado, was excavated in the 1970s. The collection includes more than 100 projectile points and the largest assemblage of bison skeletons ever found in one site. It therefore has tremendous potential for reconstructing the behavior of a single social unit engaged in a critically important subsistence task. The Magic Mountain site, located outside of Golden, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Colorado. Excavated in the 1990s, the collection contains over 5,000 artifacts dating from 1,000 to 9,000 BP. The collection and site are the subject of current research by Michele Koons, PhD.

Two thousand artifacts from ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Babylonia, and Sumeria dominate the world archaeology collection. They provide the greater Rocky Mountain region with a unique resource facilitating the examination of diverse cultural paths along and the human evolutionary journey.

The Mesoamerican collection contains 2,000 objects representing all major ancient cultural groups, including the Maya, Aztec, and Olmec. Highlights include an Olmec greenstone figurine, a stone mask from Teotihuacan, and Huastec shell armband/anklets. The South and Central American collections include 900 objects representing the Inca, Nasca, and Moche, among others. Of particular importance are 133 whole ceramic vessels from Cochabamba, Bolivia, one of the largest such collections outside Bolivia. 

The Southwestern collection contains representative pottery types from across the American Southwest, including classic Mimbres black-on-white bowls from southwestern New Mexico, Salado polychrome from east-central Arizona, and Casas Grandes polychrome vessels from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico. The collection includes rare organic materials, including exquisitely preserved yucca sandals from the Four Corners region and a split-twig figurine from southwestern Colorado, the earliest known example of this enigmatic artifact form. These collections continue to provide research and educational opportunities; Dr. Koons and Stephen E. Nash, PhD, rely on these collections as a vital resource for their ongoing work on Mogollon archaeology in the greater Reserve, New Mexico, region.