Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Museum of Natural and Cultural History" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Location within University of Oregon Campus
Location	1680 East 15th Eugene, Oregon
Type	History museum
Website	natural-history.uoregon.edu

The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History is a natural history museum on the University of Oregon campus, in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America. The museum headquarters and public spaces are located at 1680 East 15th Avenue in a building inspired by the design of Pacific Northwest Native longhouses.

History

The museum traces its origins to the creation of the University of Oregon in 1876, when state geologist Thomas Condon was hired as one of the first three UO professors, bringing his extensive fossil collection with him. The Oregon State Legislative Assembly created the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology (OSMA) at the UO in 1935. Archaeologist Luther Cressman was the founding director. In 1936, the Condon Museum and State Museum of Anthropology were folded into the newly created UO Museum of Natural History, also directed by Luther Cressman. Since Cressman retired in the 1960s, the museum has had a series of distinguished directors, including J. Arnold Shotwell, Alice Parman, Don Dumond, C. Melvin Aikens, Jon Erlandson, and currently Todd J. Braje.

Collections

Today the museum has four divisions: the Condon Fossil Collection, the Archaeological Research Division (formerly known as OSMA), an Anthropological Collections division, and a Public Programs Division. The museum's collections include: nearly 100,000 fossils from Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and around the world; nearly a million archaeological artifacts, including the famous Fort Rock sandals. that are among the oldest shoes in the world (~10,000 years old); extensive ethnographic collections from cultures worldwide, including over 1500 Native American baskets; and thousands of comparative specimens from modern or historical birds (and their eggs and nests), mammals, reptiles, marine and freshwater shells, and other organisms. The museum displays many of these artifacts, fossils, and objects in its exhibit halls, along with revolving exhibits highlighting the work of Pacific Northwest artists and other cultural and natural history themes. Surrounding the museum is a Native plant garden, a geological time line, and a replica of the Willamette Meteorite. The museum's new website also includes over 20 web galleries featuring objects from its collections.

The museum is the official repository for archaeological and paleontological collections from the state of Oregon and has a responsibility to preserve and interpret these materials in perpetuity. Museum staff members work closely with a variety of communities, from UO students and staff to thousands of K-12 students and teachers from the surrounding area, community members and volunteers, visiting researchers, and other visitors from around the world. Research and collections staff also collaborate with many local, state, and federal agencies and other institutions to conduct research and store collections for future research and interpretation. Tribal members worked closely with museum staff in designing exhibits and creating replicas for displays that highlight the deep history of Native American tribes in four geographic regions of Oregon: the Northwest Coast, Columbia Plateau, Great Basin, and Willamette Valley. The geological, paleontological, and natural history of the Pacific Northwest is also interpreted and illustrated with objects from the museum's collections. Museum research is also shared with the public through the University of Oregon Anthropological Papers series, which recently printed its 69th volume.

References

1. "About the Museum | Museum of Natural and Cultural History". mnch.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
2. McClure, Sarah B. and Jon M. Erlandson (editors). 2008. Oregon: Where Past is Present. Eugene: Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon.
3. "Paleontology Collections". mnch.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
4. "Archaeology | Museum of Natural and Cultural History". mnch.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
5. "Anthropology Collections". mnch.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
6. "Staff Directory | Museum of Natural and Cultural History". mnch.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
7. Cressman, Luther S. 1981. The Sandal and the Cave: The Indians of Oregon. Corvallis: Oregon State University
8. Jenkins, Dennis L., Thomas J. Connolly, and Paul W. Baxter. 2010. Riverine Resource Use on the Oregon-Idaho Border: Archaeological Investigations at 35ML1328 and 35ML1379, North Ontario, Malheur County. Eugene: University of Oregon Anthropological Papers 69.

External links

• University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (official website)
• Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Architecture of the University of Oregon

44°02′35″N 123°04′05″W / 44.04298°N 123.068064°W / 44.04298; -123.068064

v t e Buildings on the campus of the University of Oregon
Central Campus	Allen Collier Erb Memorial Union Esslinger Gerlinger Gerlinger Annex Hendricks Lawrence SRC Straub Susan Campbell Volcanology
West Campus	Chapman Computing Condon Fenton Friendly Johnson Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Knight Library McKenzie PLC University Villard
East Campus	Ford Alumni Center Knight Law Center Longhouse Natural History Museum Oregon Hall
South Campus	Clinical Services Education Education Annex Frohnmayer Music Building HEDCO
Lillis Business Complex	Anstett Chiles Lillis Peterson
Lorry I. Lokey Science Complex	Cascade Cascade Annex Columbia Deschutes Huestis Klamath Lewis Integrative Science Lokey Onyx Bridge Pacific Price Science Commons Streisinger Willamette
Housing	Bean Barnhart Carson Earl GSH Hamilton LLC Riley Walton
Athletics	Autzen Stadium Bowerman Casanova Center Hayward Field Hatfield-Dowlin Complex Matthew Knight Arena McArthur Court Moshofsky Center Jaqua Center PK Park
Other buildings	Agate Hall Baker Downtown Center Millrace Research Center Pine Mountain Observatory

• University of Oregon buildings
• Natural history of Oregon
• Museums in Eugene, Oregon
• Natural history museums in Oregon
• University museums in Oregon
• 1936 establishments in Oregon
• History museums in Oregon
• Paleontology in Oregon