Anthropology
Collections
The Department of Anthropology houses six major collections of materials, which provide opportunities for thesis and dissertation research as well as for classroom teaching and public outreach.
Ethnological Collection
The department houses numerous ethnological materials, mostly from Latin America and Africa. Items used in ceremonial performances, including masks and musical instruments, are emphasized in the collections.
Hominid Cast Collection
The hominid cast collection contains 87 replicas of important hominid remains. These include A. aethiopicus, A. afarensis, A. africanus, A. boisei, A. robustus, H. habilis, H. neanderthalensis, H. ergaster, H. erectus, and H. heidelbergensis. There are also 23 skeletal replicas of various modern primates.
Florida Prehistoric and Historical Collections
The department maintains significant archaeological collections estimated to contain over a million specimens systematically collected from prehistoric and historical sites throughout Florida and the Southeastern U.S. There are type collections for prehistoric and historic ceramics, lithics, and historical artifacts from Florida and the wider Southeast. Of particular importance are collections of projectile points ranging in date from Paleo-Indian through the contact period, and prehistoric collections from peninsular and northwest Florida. In addition to scholarly publications and technical reports, numerous theses and dissertations have been based wholly or in part on these collections.
Mesoamerican Artifact and Ecofact Collection
The Mesoamerican collection includes hundreds of pottery and other ceramics, obsidian and other stone tools, and jade and shell artifacts from various parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The collection also contains a specimen library of soil, sediment, and plaster samples numbering in the thousands from Honduras and Mexico.
American Southwest Pottery
The pottery contained in the collections from the American Southwest includes 30 prehispanic and late historical examples representing Hohokam and Puebloan groups. There are also smaller collections of pottery sherds from northern and southern Arizona.
Teaching Collection of Artifacts and Replicas
The teaching collection contains unprovenanced artifacts and ecofacts from Florida and other parts of North America, as well as the European Paleolithic. The artifacts represent many types of materials including ceramic, lithic, shell, bone, glass, and metal. In addition to their use in USF classrooms, this collection is used regularly for public outreach in the greater Tampa Bay region.