Past Exhibitions
From Cave Art to E-mail:
Language and Meaning in Human Cultures
through May 23, 2008
Anthropologists and linguists agree language has been a part of human culture for at least 40,000 years. The archaeological record explodes with art and artifacts at that time, indicating that more complex speech systems had developed. That was just the beginning. In this exhibition the story of human language is told through the eyes of many cultures and their artwork, geographic location, and social systems.
In the mythology of arctic peoples, the migration of polar bears and whales is explained by the transformation of whales into polar bears. The mask to the left, carved from a large piece of whale vertebrae with polar bear teeth holding the emerging polar bear, depicts this story. The mask is on loan to the Museum from the private collection of Dr. Valene Smith Posey, emeritus professor of anthropology at CSU, Chico.
The Museum invites visitors to discover the global expressions of language and communication. The arts and sounds of human life point the way toward understanding the origins and challenges facing the 6,912 languages of the world today. Explore the Upper Paleolithic cave art of Europe. Listen to the chanting voice of Ishi recorded 100 years ago on wax cylinders. Read a page from a 14th Century illuminated manuscript. Hear an excerpt from Beowulf in Anglo Saxon. Create a poem on a refrigerator door. Experience the intricate Tanzanian wood carvings, whose images leap out of fantastic worlds with unfamiliar stories.
Before leaving the museum, visitors will have a chance to wrestle with some age-old questions. Can great apes use sign language like humans do? Did ancient cultures deface buildings with graffiti? And is it really true that men don’t listen and women can’t read maps?
“There’s something for everyone at this year’s exhibition,” says Adrienne Scott, museum curator. “Whether seeking an understanding of linguistics, an overview of the various writing systems or if you just love art and storytelling From Cave Art to Email offers an appealing outing for a wide audience.”
Maidu Sense of Place: Landscapes of Shared History, Culture and Destiny
CSU, Chico exhibit traces Maidu life into the 21st century
The California State University, Chico Museum of Anthropology and the Mechoopda Indian Tribe collaborated with the Maidu tribal members of the Chico, Susanville and Oroville regions to present the current exhibition: Maidu Sense of Place: Landscapes of a Shared History, Culture and Destiny at California State University, Chico. This exhibit ran through May 25, 2007.
“This exhibit offers the public a unique opportunity to view the inspiring results of a collaborative learning project in which guest curator Arlene Ward and Maidu consultants shared their knowledge in presenting Maidu history and culture from the voices of Maidu people,” said Dr. Stacy Schaefer, co-director of the CSU, Chico Museum of Anthropology.
The exhibit showcases the Maidu’s close relationship to their traditional lands surrounding Chico into the Sierra Nevada foothills and to Mount Lassen, and how Maidu life was impacted after Western settlement.
“The Maidu are a strong people,” said Mechoopda Chairman Dennis Ramirez. “This exhibit attempts to share the Maidu memories and stories from our perspective.”
This display takes visitors on a journey from pre-Western contact to contemporary Maidu life, illustrating that Maidu Tribes still exist and continue to preserve their cultural traditions, history and land.
“This sense of place is not only a locality, it is the people,” said Arlene Ward, guest curator of California State University, Chico Museum of Anthropology. “The villages of this great area were many and only a few remain. It’s important that these stories are not forgotten.”
Museum Opening Celebrates Maidu Culture
Left to Right: CSU President Paul Zingg, Tribal Council Treasurer and son, Kim Crowley and Joseph Patrick Crowley Jr., Arlene Ward, Guest Curator, and Donna Rose, Tribal Council member.
Gifts from the Earth: Ethnobotany- an Exploration of People and Plant Relations.
As the museum continues to grow and thrive as a cultural resource in the North State, we turn our focus to plants and their vital role in sustaining humans, bringing this message home to our community and the benefits we reap from the agricultural landscape that surrounds us.
Gifts from the Earth examines the fascinating topic of ethnobotany, the study of human and plant interactions within different cultures. The exhibit underscores the inherent value of all plants as energy factories on which all animal life depends. Displays tell the stories of human co-evolution with some of the world's most important foods, medicines, and other utilitarian plants.