New and Refurbished Exhibits at Penn State’s Matson Museum of Anthropology

January 5, 2000

University Park, Pa. -- Visitors to Penn State's Matson Museum of Anthropology will see three new and one revised exhibit among the ever-changing displays that cover cultural and biological anthropology and archaeology around the world.

The new exhibits, overseen by the recently appointed director of exhibits and curator, Dr. Claire McHale Milner, cover geographic areas ranging from the Arctic Circle to Scandinavia and Afghanistan. The museum, located second floor of Carpenter Building on the University Park campus, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday when classes are in session.

"Sananguatavut: From The Real To The Unreal" is an exhibit of stone carved statuary by the Inuit. The Inuit live in arctic Canada and Greenland and carve a variety of materials including stone and bone. The exhibit explores the significance of carving to the Inuit.

Also focusing on the far north is the exhibit "Life in the Birthplace of Storms: Ancient People of the Aleutian Islands." These islands form a bridge between Alaska and the eastern-most edge of the former Soviet Union stretching 1,200 miles from the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The exhibit describes the lifestyle of the Aleut, the prehistoric inhabitants of these islands. The objects in the exhibit come from the Cowder collection of artifacts from Shemya and Amchitka Islands.

Hand-molded pottery is explored in "Jydepotter." The pottery, which was hand made by Danish Peasants on the Jutland Peninsula played an essential economic and cultural role in these communities for several centuries. The exhibit contrasts old pots from the Matson Museum's collections, with pots made recently in what is a revival of the art.

Not new, but definitely changed is "Afghanistan: Land of Discord." The exhibit, which features clothing, household goods, weapons and other tools from mid-20th century Afghanistan, has been refurbished and is a bright spot in any tour of the museum.

The museum is at 814-865-3853 or at http://anth.la.psu.edu/matsonmuseum/index1.html on the Internet.

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Contacts:

A'ndrea Elyse Messer (814) 865-9481 (o)/ (814) 867-1774 (h)

Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 (o)/ (814) 238-1221(h)