About the Wesleyan Archaeology & Anthropology Collection (WUAAC)

Among the many unique collections managed by Olin Library, the Wesleyan Archaeology & Anthropology Collection (WUAAC) is used by Wesleyan faculty and library staff in the hands-on teaching of various academic subjects, and to develop skill sets central to a liberal arts education.

The WUAAC collection contains more than 30,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects from around the world. Once part of the Wesleyan Museum (1871-1957), this teaching collection now provides learning opportunities for students interested in anthropology, archaeology, history, ethics, museum science, religion, classics, and more.

Highlights of the collection include Paleolithic stone tools from Mount Carmel, Israel, painted Hopi and Tewa pottery from American Southwest, domestic objects from a 19th-century neighborhood of Black abolitionists in Middletown,  materials representing everyday life in Monrovia, Liberia during the late 1800s, and pre-contact and historical objects collected from sites around New England.