Anthropology and Archaeology
The Anthropology and Archaeology department documents, cares for and researches collections related to social and cultural anthropology and archaeology, exploring and communicating the complex relationships between society, culture, and language.
The Anthropology and Archaeology department specialises in cultural anthropology and archaeology.
The department’s research, collections and public programs focus on understandings of what it is to be human, to understand cultural diversity, and to explore complex relationships between society, culture, language, sociality and economy.
The department cares for over 10,000 cultural objects connected with Western Australian Aboriginal people, stone tools from locations throughout WA and other parts of the world, and 5000 objects from other parts of the world such as Papua New Guinea, Melanesia and Africa.
The department works together with various communities to manage and builds its collections focussing on repatriation, exhibitions, research projects and cultural maintenance.
News and content
Renowned Western Australian sportsman and Olympic gold medallist John Winter was one of only two Australians to win a gold medal at the 1948 London Olympic Games.
Thanks to the generosity of his family, this Olympic medal is now on display at WA Museum Boola Bardip for all visitors to see up close.
Kwini Traditional Owners Ian Waina, Bernadette Waina and Dorothy Djanghara were in Perth recently with Rock Art Australia CEO Samantha Hamilton and researcher Pauline Heaney, preparing for Ian’s upcoming public lecture at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
This week, we were privileged to welcome Yawuru community members to our Collections and Research facility in Boorloo / Perth for their official cultural ceremony for the return of their ancestor "Roebuck"
The collection features nine objects from the Middle, East and West Sepik regions, originally collected by John Simpson.
This online interactive experience of the Gija Creation story ‘Jirraginy joo Goorrarndal: Frog and Brolga’ is an adaptation of the Gija permanent interactive display panel situated in The WA Museum’s Boola Bardip Origins Gallery.
Explore the Anthropology and Archaeology collections
Intertwined: Basket Collection
As one of the most widely spread cultural practices in the world, basketry is more than a simple technology. Malleable, tangible, and mutable, baskets and the technique of basketry can represent the identity of a weaver, their cultural practices, and a discovery of art form.
Aboriginal Cultures Collection
The representation of Western Australian Aboriginal cultures has been a significant focus of the Museum since its inception in 1892. The early collections reflect hunting and gathering lifestyles, and personal adornment of the peoples of the South West, Pilbara, Desert and Kimberley regions.
Archaeology Collection
The Archaeology Collection focuses on Western Australian Aboriginal archaeological materials, predominantly stone tools, but including plant and faunal materials from excavated sites.
Global Collection
The Global Collection is an assemblage of objects collected by West Australians that does not fit within traditional cultural boundaries, or within the framework of existing collections.
Research projects
Anthropology and Archaeology work with Aboriginal peoples and other source communities to care for cultural materials and share stories.
Current research is focussed on understanding the WA Museum’s Egyptian collection of around 400 items.
