American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History. Hall of South American Peoples.; American Museum of Natural History. Peruvian Hall.; South American Hall; Ethnology and Archaeology of South America; South American Archaeology; Indians of South America; Peruvian Hall; South America; Ancient Peru; Hall of South American Archaeology; South American Indians; South American Indian Hall; Hall of Man in South America; Peoples of South America; Hall of South American Peoples; Hall of Peoples of South America; South American Peoples
birth: approximately 1904
death: present
Permanent exhibition. Opened approximately 1904. Located on Floor 3, Section 4 from approximately 1904 to approximately 1930, and Floor 2, Section 8 from 1931 to present. Floor plans in the General Guides indicate that the hall did not move to Floor 2, Section 8 until 1934, however, an updated South American hall opened in 1931, and it is possible the floor plans may not have been updated in the guides. The Hall of South American Peoples at the American Museum of Natural History features exhibits of the pre-Columbian cultures of the Inca, Moche, Chavin, and Chancay as well as the traditional cultures of modern Amazonia (1) The hall was remodeled twice with new openings in 1931 and 1989. Curators for the hall have included Ronald Olson, W.C. Bennett, Junius Bird, Robert Carneiro, and Craig Morris (2, 1970/71 p. 20; 2, 1984/85, p. 4).
In the early twentieth century, the Hall of South American Peoples exhibited archeological objects of prehistoric peoples from Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia and contained some collections from the West Indies (2, 1904, p. 22; 2, 1911, p. 60). Exhibits included decorative art, food, musical instruments, trephined skulls, weapons, gold and silver, featherwork, pottery, basketry, agricultural tools, Peruvian mummy bundles, and a Chilean mummy. The 1904 General Guide states that the hall was considered incomplete and that future acquisitions would fill the gaps (3, 1904, p. 28; 3, 1911, p. 65-68).
In November of 1931 the hall moved to the second floor and reopened with some updates. The curators for this renovation were Ronald Olson and W.C. Bennett (2, 1931, p. 47). The hall then added miniature groups and a recreation of a copper mine at Chuquicamata, Chile featuring the mummy of a miner (3, 1936, p. 83; 3, 1939, p. 145).
A related, temporary hall, the Men of the Montaña, featured artifacts related to the cultures of the Montaña, lower Amazon, and Andes with a mannequin of a Cashibo bow hunter outside the entrance to the hall. Exhibits included forest agriculture, arrows, blow guns, poison darts, hunting weapons, feather ornaments, jewelry, musical instruments, tobacco pipes, children's toys, and a model of a ceremonial rite of passage for an adolescent Panoan girl. Authentic jungle noises, such as monkeys, parrots, toads, toucans, and insects, played in the hall. The Men of the Montaña was open in the late 1960s and early 1970s while the Hall of South American Peoples was closed pending a renovation (3, 1956, p. 191-193; 4, 1967; 5, 1972 p. 6).
Plans and preparations for the next renovation were conducted under the direction of curators Junius Bird, Robert Carneiro, and Craig Morris, and senior designer Eugene Bergmann. Grants were received from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the IMS (2, 1970/71, p. 20; 2, 1984/8,5 p. 4; 2, 1985/86 p. 5; 2, 1988/89 p. 44-45). The new hall and current iteration as of 2017, reopened in January 1989. Divided into an introductory section, an archeology section on the coastal and highland regions, and a section on the Indians of Amazonia, the hall showcases about 2,300 objects and covers more than 12,000 years of history. Cultures represented include the ancient Inca, Moche, Chavin, and Chancay. Highlights include an open-air model of a Sipán tomb excavation from the Moche civilization on Peru’s north coast, an acoustic accompaniment of Andean music, Amazon featherwork, a silver llama figurine from the Inca, Nasca ceramics and textiles, and a harpoon and canoe model of the Yaghan (Yámana) people of Tierra del Fuego of Southern South America (2, 1988/89 p. 44-45; 1). Visitors to the hall can also view a video presentation, To Survive: Indians of the Amazon produced by Robert Dierbeck and narrated by Richard Kiley (6)
Floor 2, Section 8. From 1930. 1934, 1935, 1936 GG indicates West Wing. 1953, 1956, 1958 GG indicated hall number 2-D.