Welcome to the Matson Museum!
What is Anthropology?
Anthropology is the study of who we are as humans—from the origins of the species to the rise of ancient civilizations to how people live in an ever-changing world today.
The Matson Museum is now open in the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building. Our home is the Department of Anthropology in the College of the Liberal Arts.
On view in the galleries you will find casts of fossil ancestors that speak to the beginnings of human diversity and stories of how scientific anthropologists study our complex bodies. Exhibits on archaeology—the study of humans in the past—contain objects shaped by peoples’ hands that convey important histories from antiquity told by rare fragments that survived over time. Be sure and and in Explore the Collection online!
Pioneering research by anthropologists at Penn State today also addresses how humans interact with their environment from the Arctic to Africa to Australia. Integrating methods from social and natural sciences, anthropologists seek solutions to contemporary problems faced by us here in Happy Valley and by our neighbors near and far.
What sparks your curiosity? Follow us @matsonmuseum and let us know!
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Student Spotlight
"Behind the scenes, I have cataloged DeForest Collection ceramics to explore the empowerment of women through boundaries of contemporary art and history through folk pottery created by everyday women from around the world. I wish to take this experience into my future as my goal is to work in museums on the west coast.”
