Arizona State Museum

Arizona State Museum (ASM) is the oldest and largest anthropological research museum in the U.S. Southwest, with expansive collections that are exceptional resources for the teaching, study, and understanding of the region's 13,000-year human history.

ASM serves the State of Arizona as its official archaeological repository. In addition to 38,000 cubic feet of archaeological research materials, ASM curates millions of archaeological, ethnographic, and modern objects created by the Indigenous peoples of the region.

Among ASM's vast holdings, three specific collections have been federally recognized and designated American Treasures. So far as we know, ASM is the only institution in the country to be so honored, a fact that emphasizes how important its collections are to the nation's shared cultural history. ASM's collection of Southwest Indian pottery, some 24,000 whole vessels dating back 2,000 years, attained American Treasure status in the year 2000. The basketry and fiber arts collection, 35,000 examples dating back 7,000 years, followed suit in 2011. ASM's collection of 525,000 photographic prints, negatives, and transparencies, and 250 movie films joined the prestigious ranks in 2018.

Established in 1893, ASM is one of the University of Arizona's original research units (UA was established in 1885). ASM scholars continue to be leaders in their fields, with research cutting across many disciplines. Each year, ASM hosts students and researchers from around the globe who consult the collections to expand the frontiers of knowledge in archaeology, ethnology, ethnohistory, materials science, climate science, and a variety of other related fields.

In addition to engaging university students through classroom, laboratory, and field instruction, ASM offers a full calendar of public programs celebrating the ancient Indigenous and enduring Native cultures of the region, sharing its expertise and collections with visitors of all ages through exhibits, school programs, lectures, hands-on activities, master classes, and travel tours.

ASM is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

About the Photographic Collections

ASM's photographic collections preserves a visual record of American Indian culture in the U.S. Southwest and northwest Mexico from ancient times (represented through photos of archaeology) to today. The collections' 525,000+ photographic prints, negatives, and transparencies provide documentation of the cultures, traditions, and technologies of the Indigenous peoples from the Paleo-Indian period to today and reflect 127 years of scholarly and avocational inquiry into the lifeways and aesthetic achievements of the Southwest's native inhabitants and the physical evidence left by their ancestors.