The Department of Anthropology aspires to curate the best understood and most ethically held anthropology collection in North America. We seek to document and understand the human communities of the Rocky Mountain region and beyond through study of their material cultures while adhering the guiding principles of respect, reciprocity, justice, and dialogue.
Through ethnology, the study of recent and living peoples, and archaeology, the study of ancient human culture, the department investigates human diversity in our rapidly transforming world and shares with the public the excitement of the discipline's art and science.
Collections
- North and South American Indian ethnographic objects
- North American Indian archaeological objects
- Mexican and South American archaeological objects
- African ethnographic objects, especially from southern areas
- Oceanic, Asian, and miscellaneous ethnographic objects
- Classical and miscellaneous objects
- Ethnological art objects
- Archival photographs, including the J.H. Bratley Collection
The Department of Anthropology welcomes use of the collections by researchers, students, and visitors. All requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and are subject to curatorial approval. Requests must be received at least two weeks prior to desired visit date and are subject to Department staff availability. To request a visit to the anthropology collections, please use the following forms and guidelines.
To request a loan from the Department of Anthropology, please review the following guidelines. Please keep in mind that loan requests require at least four months for review and curatorial approval:
Please direct all questions and completed forms to Isabel Tovar, Department of Anthropology, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205 or email isabel.tovar@dmns.org.
Current Projects
Curators
Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh
Curator of Anthropology & NAGPRA Officer
PhD, 2004, Indiana University
303.370.6378
chip.c-c@dmns.org
Steven Holen
Curator of Archaeology
PhD, 2001, University of Kansas
303.370.8261
steven.holen@dmns.org
Steve Nash
Department Chair & Curator of Archaeology
PhD, 1997, University of Arizona
303.370.6056
stephen.nash@dmns.org
Collections Manager
Isabel Tovar
Collections Manager &
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Coordinator
BA, 1996, Cornell University
303.370.6383
isabel.tovar@dmns.org
Department Staff
Marc Levine
Assistant Curator of Mesoamerican Archaeology
303.370.8239
marc.levine@dmns.org
Jami Powell
NAGPRA Assistant
303.370.8323
jami.powell@dmns.org
Carla Bradmon
Office Manager
303.370.6367
carla.bradmon@dmns.org
