The Archives collects, catalogs, and preserves the Museum's administrative, cultural, and scientific history
The Archives Department preserves the institution’s historic records, dating back over a century to the Museum’s founding years. Together these collections provide a valuable resource to researchers around the world.
The image archives collection of more than 700,000 images covers a broad range of people, places, and events. Highlights include historic images of the Museum building, and iconic fieldwork—from the Dent Site discovery of the 1930s to the Snowmastodon Project discovery in 2010. The film archive has over 2,000 titles covering the museum’s expeditions throughout the 20th century.
Document collections include over 33,000 files of correspondence, research data, field notes, and administrative records. Highlights include several decades’ worth of journals from the Museum’s second director, Alfred M. Bailey, documenting his fieldwork around the world, and the papers of pioneering anthropologist Ruth Underhill.