160 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Mrs Phere A. Hearst, and a similar exhaustive collection from 

 Pachacamac, Peru, excavated by Dr Max Uhle and given by 

 the late Dr William Pepper. These are displayed on two sides 

 of the principal American hall. Lack of space prevents the 

 public exhibition of other American collections, although the 

 latter are available for purposes of study. They comprise a 

 large and representative series of antiquities of the eastern 

 United States, mound pottery and relics, and some 3000 Ameri- 

 can craniums; and are supplemented by extensive collections 

 from existing tribes, notably a fine Eskimo collection from 

 Point Barrow, Alaska, the gift of the Hon. John Wana- 

 maker, and an extensive collection made during 1900-2, also at 

 the expense of Mr Wanamaker. The Brinton library of works 

 on American ethnology and linguistics, deposited by special 

 arrangement with the university trustees in the museum 

 library, greatly facilitates research in these departments. 

 Mexico and Central America are represented by casts of monu- 

 ments and valuable collections of pottery and stone implements. 



The general ethnologic collections are contained in three 

 halls, one of w^hich is devoted to the Furness, Harrison and 

 Hiller collections from Borneo. The same donors have recently 

 presented a similar valuable series from the Naga Hills in 

 Assam, and a representative series illustrating the life of the 

 Ainos of Japan has recently been received from Mr Alfred C. 

 Harrison and Dr H. M. Miller. Notable features of this section 

 are comparative collections of musical instruments, fans and 

 games, as well as a comprehensive collection of coins. Korea, 

 China, Japan, Siam, Burma, Morocco and Russia are also 

 represented by large exhibits. 



The Babylonian and general Semitic section contains a large 

 and extremely valuable collection of antiquities, the greater 

 portion of which is the result of extensive excavations of the 

 ruins of Nippur, in central Babylonia. Much time and labor 

 have been expended in a thorough exploration of the principal 

 mound of these ruins, which covers the temple of Bel, presum- 

 ably the oldest sanctuary in Babylonia. Among the most 

 important objects thus secured are about 35,000 cuneiform 

 documents in clay. The Babylonian museum is the most im- 

 portant in America, and ranks immediately after the British 



