approximately 1904 - present
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.
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American Museum of Natural History
Gottesman Research Library
200 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024-5192
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