Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |

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A colour photograph of an iron firedog from the Iron Age in Cambridgeshire

Search the collections

Search our online catalogue of the object, photograph and document collections cared for by MAA.

Statement

Lost-wax cast commemorative head of an Oba, used to support a tusk on an ancestral altar

Our approach to the return of museum objects

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Small, ivory pendant in the form of a pregnant woman, from Ryder Island, Arctic

The new Centre for Material Culture

The largest stores move in MAA history is now underway. Hundreds of thousands of objects are being moved to a new state-of-the-art location.

Read the latest blog post

Six people, both sitting and standing, peer over a barkcloth with interest and intrigue, that is being presented to them by Emily and Jane who wear red MAA jumpers. The barkcloth is medium sized, and laid out on conservation paper on a workshop table.

Our latest blog - Behind the Scenes: Working with the Ugandan Barkcloth Collection

Earlier this year, the MAA Stores Move team prepared a collection of 38 lengths of Ugandan barkcloth. With no photos on the database, we had little idea what was in store. From unrolling 4m lengths of barkcloth to unsolved museum mysteries, here's our journey from storage retrieval to collection engagement at the CMC.

Explore the Digital Lab

Close-up of a gilt wooden statue of Guanuin with an infant (Songzi Guanyin). Bright gold statue, against a grey background.

MAA Digital Lab

Launched in 2022, the Digital Laboratory highlights the museum’s collections through a range of key research strands. Here you’ll hear from staff, students, internal and external researchers and more about their work, research, experiences, and discoveries; and most of all, the stories and objects that connect all of us.

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Donate to MAA

Donations to the Museum, large or small, are hugely important to the ongoing care of the collections and continued improvement of the exhibition galleries. All donations go directly towards the core activities of the museum: education, research, and conservation.

Latest news

Call for Papers - Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) conference, 18-19 April 2023

23 December 2022

Un-disciplining the Museum? Changing Practices of Care, Knowledge and Display The Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) Conference and AGM will take place at the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, 18-19 April 2023. The MEG meeting will coincide with MAA's special exhibition COLOUR: Art, Science...

Repositioning the Uganda Museum: MAA hosts visit from colleagues from Uganda Museums and University of Michigan

9 December 2022

Image 1: Rose Mwanja Nkaale and Nelson Abiti from the Uganda Museum and Rachel Hand from the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology looking at objects at the Centre for Material Culture and on the MAA database, November 2022. © Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge In November MAA hosted Rose...

Two million years of human history. One million artefacts. Countless astonishing stories.

Welcome to the museum!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MUSEUM WILL OPEN AT 1.30PM WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUARY.

WE WILL BE CLOSED IN THE MORNING FOR STAFF TRAINING.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We are open Tuesday to Saturday 10am–5pm, and Sunday 12pm-5pm.

Entry to the museum is free.

If you are visiting the museum with a group of 10 or more people please book in advance by emailing visitor.services@maa.cam.ac.uk. Please note that group visit is booked only once you receive a confirmation email from the museum.