Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
New Mexico Residents: $7
Non-residents: $12
I was absolutely surprised, overwhelmed even, at this fantastic gem of a museum just outside of Santa Fe in the Museum Hill area. In the permanent Here, Now, & Always exhibit, there are a ton of amazing artifacts: atlatls, jars, mugs, effigy pots, arrowheads, nets, sandals, copper bells, ladders, pipes, flutes, and so many more. Almost innumerable. A Turquoise Bison Necklace Pendant, one of my favorite artifacts of all time, is found at this museum. There are also tons of Folsom and Clovis Points!
The museum’s collection spans 15,000 years and covers the Four Corners area as well as northern Mexico. It is a fantastic archive of American Southwest artifacts and history from deep time to almost the present. There are apparently over 10 million artifacts from 12,000 sites across New Mexico housed at the museum. Although, not all of them are on display. The items on display though, are incredible.
There is also an area for rotating exhibits. When we were there the exhibit was on Navajo blankets, which were all so very beautiful.
"TURQUOISE BUFFALO PENDANT. AD 1200. Pruitt site, Luna County, New Mexico. This turquoise pendant was probably part of a necklace. Although bison did not live near where this pendant was found, men traveled to hunt these important animals for meat and hides."
MESA VERDE BLACK-ON-WHITE MUG. AD 1150-1280. San Juan County, New Mexico
"MESA VERDE BLACK-ON-WHITE MUG AD 1150-1280. Colorado. In the Southwest, mugs are unique to the Mesa Verde region. Individuals used them mostly for drinking water or stews, but some mugs may have held chocolate drinks. They remain an iconic symbol of the Ancestral Puebloan people."
NECKLACE AND TURQUOISE PENDANTS. CA. AD 1050. San Juan County, New Mexico
NECKLACE. CA. AD 1050. San Juan County, New Mexico
NECKLACE. CA. AD 1050. San Juan County, New Mexico
"COPPER BELLS. AD 1050-1200. Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. Most copper bells in the ancient Southwest were trade items from what is now Mexico, but some may have been made locally from copper found in the southwestern part of New Mexico." AND Copper Bells from New Mexico
Clovis & Folsom Points
Clovis & Folsom Points
Flutes
ROSA GRAY EFFIGY PITCHER. AD 700-900. Southwestern United States
"SAMBRITO BROWN DUCK POT. AD 400-700. Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. This jar is a very early example of a waterbird shape that has been continually made for hundreds of years. The birds symbolize water, which is scarce in the arid Southwest. Such jars are ideal water-bearing vessels."
"RESERVE OR TULAROSA BLACK-ON-WHITE EFFIGY JAR. AD 1100-1150. New Mexico. COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, NM STATE OFFICE. The shape of this jar is an "effigy," meaning that it depicts a living being. Bird-shaped jars are common in the Southwest, but few are this detailed or realistic."
NECKLACE AND TURQUOISE PENDANTS. CA. AD 1050. San Juan County, New Mexico
"SANDAL. 1000 BC-AD 500. New Mexico. The oldest sandals found in the Southwest are almost 10,000 years old. Styles and the process of making of sandals varied over time. People probably limited wearing their sandals to special occasions. Most of the time people went barefoot."
"AGUA FRIA GLAZE-ON-RED JAR. AD 1315-1425. Likely from New Mexico. This type of red, glaze-painted pottery was produced locally in what is now the Santa Fe area. Glaze paint is difficult to apply to ceramic surfaces, but the design is well executed on this vessel."
SANTA FE BLACK-ON-WHITE BOWL. AD 1150-1425. Los Alamos County, New Mexico
BANDELIER BLACK-ON-CREAM BOWL. AD 1400-1550. New Mexico
PUERCO BLACK-ON-WHITE BOWL. AD 1000-1150. New Mexico
"GILA POLYCHROME BOWL. AD 1300-1450. Southwest United States. Using three paint colors on pottery is a relatively recent stylistic choice, appearing about 700 years ago just as people began migrating from the Four Corners region to other southern or eastern locations."
Reserve Black on White Bowl. AD 1010-1200. Blackwater Draw Site, New Mexico.
FIGURINE. CA. 1910. Cochiti Pueblo.
Paintbrushes & Pigments
Ceramic Pipe: AD 1300-1600. Puaray, New Mexico.
NET BAG. AD 1-750. Southwest United States
Fred Begay (Navajo). Buffalo Spirit, 1989. Bronze
