About
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) at the University of Cambridge houses world-class collections spanning two million years of human history and culture from across the globe. Founded in 1884, the museum holds over one million objects representing archaeological finds from prehistoric Britain through ancient civilizations to ethnographic collections documenting cultures from Pacific islands, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The collections serve both academic research and public engagement, making Cambridge's extraordinary archaeological and anthropological resources accessible to all.
The museum's archaeological collections include remarkable material from prehistoric Britain - Paleolithic hand axes, Neolithic pottery, Bronze Age metalwork, and Iron Age artifacts demonstrating human development in the British Isles. Mediterranean archaeology features Egyptian artifacts, Greek pottery, Roman sculpture, and objects from Cyprus and the ancient Near East. The collections particularly excel in Pacific material, including one of the world's finest collections of Polynesian, Melanesian, and Aboriginal Australian objects collected during 18th and 19th-century voyages of exploration. These culturally significant materials, many gathered during Cook's voyages and early colonial encounters, represent both remarkable artistic achievements and complex colonial histories requiring careful, respectful interpretation.
The ethnographic collections demonstrate extraordinary diversity of human cultural expression through objects of daily life, ritual, art, and technology from global cultures. African collections include sculptures, textiles, metalwork, and ceremonial objects from across the continent. Asian collections encompass materials from India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. American collections feature pre-Columbian artifacts and Native American materials. Each collection reveals how different societies solved universal human challenges - shelter, sustenance, social organization, spiritual expression - through diverse cultural practices and material forms. The museum actively works with source communities worldwide, recognizing that these objects carry continuing cultural and spiritual significance for descendant communities.
Recent redevelopment has transformed the museum's Victorian building with contemporary gallery spaces that balance academic rigor with engaging public displays. Interactive elements, multimedia presentations, and changing exhibitions complement permanent displays. The museum addresses colonial collecting histories honestly, acknowledging that many objects were acquired during periods of colonial rule and exploring ethical dimensions of museum collecting and display. Research facilities support Cambridge's teaching and research while public programmes including lectures, workshops, and family activities make anthropological and archaeological knowledge accessible beyond academia. With free admission, central Cambridge location, world-significant collections, and commitment to ethical museum practice, MAA provides exceptional access to global human heritage.
Categories:
Annual Visitors (2019)
80,000
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Busiest: Saturday
💡 Weekday mornings during university term for quietest experience. Summer tourist season busy.
💡 Visitor Tips
- Allow 90-120 minutes to explore galleries thoroughly. The collections are extensive and diverse - you cannot see everything in one visit. Focus on areas that most interest you.
- The Pacific collections are the museum's crown jewels - internationally significant and beautifully displayed. Don't miss the featherwork and carved figures.
- Photography is generally allowed but some culturally sensitive objects have restrictions - respect signage and staff guidance. Flash photography forbidden to protect collections.
- The museum is completely free including all galleries. Donations are welcomed and support collections care, research, and public programmes.
- Combine your visit with other Cambridge University museums - all within walking distance in city centre. The Fitzwilliam Museum is 10 minutes walk.
- Gallery labels and interpretation are academic but accessible. Take time to read - they provide essential context for understanding objects and cultures represented.
- The museum regularly hosts lectures, gallery talks, and special events. Check website events calendar before visiting for opportunities to hear from curators and researchers.
- Cambridge city centre is compact and walkable. Cycling is excellent option - Cambridge is one of UK's most cycle-friendly cities with bike parking at museum.
Highlights
Pacific Collections - Polynesian & Melanesian Treasures
The museum holds one of the world's finest collections of Pacific Island cultures, with extraordinary objects from Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Aboriginal Australia.
Highlights include magnificent feather cloaks from Hawaii, carved wooden figures from Easter Island, elaborate ceremonial masks from New Guinea, intricate tapa cloth from Tonga and Samoa, and decorated shields and spears from Aboriginal Australia.
Many objects were collected during Captain Cook's Pacific voyages in the 1770s and subsequent exploration expeditions, making them among the earliest documented examples of Pacific material culture in Western collections.
The featherwork demonstrates extraordinary craftsmanship, with thousands of tiny feathers from native birds woven into ceremonial garments worn by Polynesian chiefs. Carved figures reveal sophisticated sculptural traditions expressing spiritual beliefs about ancestors and deities. The collections represent both remarkable artistic achievements and difficult colonial histories - many objects have profound spiritual and cultural significance for Pacific Islander communities today.
The museum works collaboratively with Pacific communities on research, interpretation, and care of these culturally important materials, acknowledging complex legacies of colonial collecting.
British Archaeology - Prehistoric to Roman Britain
Comprehensive collections document human occupation of Britain from earliest Paleolithic hand axes through Roman conquest. Paleolithic stone tools dating back 500,000 years demonstrate technological evolution of early humans. Neolithic collections include polished stone axes, pottery vessels, and evidence of early farming communities transforming British landscape.
Bronze Age materials feature remarkable metalwork including axe heads, swords, shields, and jewelry demonstrating advanced metallurgical skills. Iron Age collections include pottery, metalwork, coins, and objects from hillforts and settlements. Roman Britain materials encompass pottery, glass, jewelry, military equipment, and architectural fragments from villas, forts, and towns.
The collections derive from excavations across Britain, particularly from Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. Interpretation explains how archaeological evidence reveals changing lifestyles, technologies, social organizations, and belief systems across millennia. The British archaeology galleries provide essential foundation for understanding how modern Britain emerged from deep prehistory through successive waves of cultural change and population movement.
African Collections - Art & Material Culture
Outstanding African collections represent diverse cultures from across the continent, demonstrating extraordinary artistic traditions and material ingenuity. West African collections include Benin bronze plaques and sculptures, Yoruba carved figures, Asante gold weights, and ceremonial masks from various ethnic groups.
Central African materials feature Kuba textiles, Chokwe masks, and Kongo power figures.
East African collections include Maasai jewelry and beadwork, Ethiopian crosses, and objects from coastal Swahili cultures. North African materials encompass Berber textiles, jewelry, and Islamic decorative arts. The sculptures demonstrate sophisticated artistic traditions addressing spiritual beliefs, social hierarchies, and cultural values.
Textiles reveal complex weaving techniques and symbolic patterns. Metalwork shows advanced casting and forging skills. Each object reflects specific cultural contexts and meanings, requiring interpretation that respects African perspectives and addresses colonial collecting histories.
The museum collaborates with African scholars and communities to develop more nuanced, decolonized approaches to displaying and interpreting African cultural heritage.
Ancient Egypt & Mediterranean Archaeology
Collections from ancient Mediterranean civilizations include Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern materials demonstrating cultural achievements of classical antiquity.
Egyptian collections feature pottery, shabtis (funerary figures), amulets, and everyday objects revealing daily life in ancient Egypt. Greek pottery includes black-figure and red-figure vases demonstrating classical artistic excellence and mythological narratives.
Roman materials encompass sculpture fragments, glass, pottery, coins, and objects from Britain's Roman occupation. Cyprus collections include pottery and sculpture from this cultural crossroads between Mediterranean and Near Eastern civilizations. Near Eastern materials feature cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and artifacts from Mesopotamian cultures.
The collections support Cambridge's world-renowned teaching and research in classical archaeology and ancient history. Objects demonstrate trade connections linking Mediterranean civilizations, technological innovations in pottery and metalwork, artistic styles evolving across centuries, and how archaeology reconstructs ancient societies from material remains.
Collections
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology holds over one million objects spanning two million years of human history and representing cultures from every inhabited continent. Archaeological collections include British prehistoric and Roman materials, Mediterranean antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus and Near East, and archaeological materials from Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Ethnographic collections feature Pacific Island cultures (one of world's finest), African art and material culture, Asian cultural objects, and Native American materials.
The collections particularly excel in Pacific materials collected during 18th-19th century exploration, British prehistoric archaeology, and global ethnographic diversity. Objects range from Paleolithic stone tools to contemporary Indigenous art, from monumental sculptures to everyday domestic items.
Collections serve dual purposes - supporting Cambridge University teaching and research while providing public access to global cultural heritage.
The museum actively addresses colonial collecting legacies, works with source communities worldwide, and develops ethical approaches to caring for and interpreting culturally significant objects.
Pacific Encounters
World-class collections of Polynesian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Aboriginal Australian objects including featherwork, carved figures, masks, tapa cloth, and ceremonial objects. Many collected during Cook's voyages and early exploration. Addresses colonial histories and works with Pacific communities on interpretation.
📍 Ground Floor
Archaeology of Britain
Comprehensive displays of British archaeology from Paleolithic through Roman periods. Stone tools, Neolithic pottery, Bronze Age metalwork, Iron Age settlements, Roman occupation. Demonstrates human occupation of Britain across 500,000 years and how archaeology reveals past societies.
📍 First Floor
World Cultures
Ethnographic collections from Africa, Asia, Americas, and global cultures. Demonstrates diversity of human cultural expression through objects of daily life, ritual, art, and technology. Addresses ethical questions about museum collections and colonial histories.
📍 Ground Floor
Mediterranean Antiquities
Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern archaeological materials. Pottery, sculpture, everyday objects demonstrating classical civilizations and their cultural achievements. Supports Cambridge teaching and research in ancient history and archaeology.
📍 First Floor
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.