Collections

Priceless and Irreplaceable

 On June 20, 1916, the Directors of the Panama-California Exposition sold the exhibits in archaeology, ethnology, and anthropology to the San Diego Museum Association for $1.00. This original collection totaled about 5,000 items. Today the total is 20-fold. 

The Museum’s collections total over 100,000 documented ethnographic items, nearly 50,000 photographic images, and 33,000 scientific publications. The primary ethnographic collections focus on the Western Hemisphere, with strengths in California, the Southwest, Mexico, and western South America. Important ancillary collections include Alaska, the Northwest Coast, the Plains, Central America, and lowland South America. Significant comparative collections feature ancient Egypt, Polynesia, and a worldwide assemblage of early weapons. Physical anthropology is represented with skeletal collections of ancient and modern bone diseases, as well as casts documenting human variations and evolution.

Collections Resource Center

The Ethnographic Collections