794 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXrV. No. i 



THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE 

 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



The Hearst collections in archeology and 

 ethnology of the University of California, 

 were opened for public exhibition on Oc- 

 tober 4, 1911, in its temporary quarters at the 

 Affiliated Colleges in San Francisco, with a 

 reception tendered by Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst 

 and the regents of the university to 400 guests. 



Mrs. Hearst organized expeditions in Cali- 

 fornia and in Peru, Italy and Egypt in 1899 

 and 1900, though more or less systematic col- 

 lecting had been supported by her for some 

 years previous. In 1901 a department of 

 anthropology was organized, of which F. W. 

 Putnam was director from 1903 to 1909. In 

 1903, owing to lack of suitable building on 

 the campus at Berkeley, the bulk of the col- 

 lections was removed to the vacant western 

 building at the affiliated colleges, which meas- 

 ures about 75 by 100 feet and includes three 

 stories and a basement. Here the collections 

 were gradually unpacked, ordered, catalogued 

 and put into a condition of accessible storage, 

 which rendered them available for study and 

 for the inspection of limited parties of visi- 

 tors. 



During 1911 Mrs. Hearst provided for 

 placing the greater portion of the collections 

 under glass, to assure their protection and 

 make possible their public exhibition. The 

 museum is now open to visitors daily through- 

 out the year, excepting Mondays, but includ- 

 ing all Sundays and holidays, from 10 a.m. to 

 4 P.M. The exhibits displayed consist of: 

 Ethnology of the California Indians ; Archeol- 

 ogy of Peru; Archeology of Greece and Italy; 

 Archeology of Egypt, and a revolving exhibit. 

 This last is changed periodically at intervals 

 of about two months, a new unit collection il- 

 lustrating some definite point in the history 

 of man, or showing some new accession, being 

 installed each time. In addition, exhibits of 

 the ethnology of the Indians of the north 

 Pacific coast, and of the southwest, are in 

 course of preparation. 



A part of the Peruvian and Egyptian col- 

 lections, all the abundant series of specimens 

 illustrating the archeology of California, and 



the material from the Plains Indians, the 

 Pacific Islanders, the Philippines and other 

 regions, must remain, for the present at least, 

 in storage, awaiting either the permanent 

 building that will ultimately be the home of 

 the collections, or a more extensive equipment 

 than is now available. 



Mrs. Hearst's gifts to the museum and the 

 researches carried on in connection with its 

 work have approximated a million dollars, 

 making the largest single contribution to the 

 furtherance of anthropology ever made in 

 America and perhaps in the world. The pres- 

 ent value of the collections may be estimated 

 to be several times their original cost. A 

 number of other patrons who have supple- 

 mented Mrs. Hearst's efforts have helped to 

 round out the collections and bring them up 

 to a total of 70,000 well coordinated speci- 

 mens. There are only two other university 

 museums of anthropology in the country that 

 are comparable in scope and importance, and 

 only the great general museums in New York 

 and Chicago, and the National Museum in 

 Washington, surpass the university's museum 

 in size. Both as regards magnitude of the col- 

 lections, therefore, and the extent of investi- 

 gations prosecuted, as represented in the pub- 

 lication in American archeology and ethnol- 

 ogy, the university occupies a distinctive 

 place among the institutions of the country 

 that have given their attention to anthropol- 

 ogy. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



The Symons gold medal of the Royal Me- 

 teorological Society has been awarded to Pro- 

 fessor Cleveland Abbe, of the United States 

 Weather Bureau. 



Dr. J. M. T. Finney, associate professor of 

 surgery in the Johns Hopkins University, has 

 declined to permit the committee of trustees 

 in charge to present his name for the presi- 

 dency of Princeton University. 



Professor E. DeC. Ward has been elected 

 a corresponding member of the Deutsche 

 Meteorologische Gesellschaft. 



