Mission
The Stanford University Archaeology Collections is Stanford's home for hands-on artifact study.
Our Mission: Connections through Collections
SUAC advances Stanford’s role as a purposeful university by promoting socially engaged, collections-based scholarship as a core disciplinary competency and mode of interdisciplinary intellectual inquiry. We model best practices in the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage collections on campus and beyond. We create "connections through collections,” celebrating the power of material culture to inspire innovative thinking and—most importantly—bring people together.
SUAC is part of the Stanford Archaeology Center, an interdisciplinary hub focused on innovative research and education in archaeology and heritage. We support the Center's mission to understand the past and its contribution to contemporary and future worlds, to redress the colonial foundations of archaeology through an enduring commitment to ethics and to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to support excellence in archaeological research and foster dynamic links between scholars in disparate fields.
Acknowledging Our Place and Privilege
We honor Stanford University's land acknowledgement, a living testament developed in consultation with the local Muwekma Ohlone Tribe by the Native American Cultural Center, the director of the Office of Heritage Services, and the President's Office. Stanford University is located on the ancestral territory of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we work to acknowledge, honor, and make visible the university’s relationships to Ohlone and other Indigenous peoples connected with local lands and around the world. The Native American Cultural Center describes the story of the land where the main campus (including SUAC) resides, as well as information about different tribal members connected to our campus comunity.
SUAC is a privileged steward of diverse cultural legacies, which brings special responsibilities. We strive to make our work in solidarity with, and service to, BIPOC people and other stakeholders on campus and around the world.
For more information about the archaeological, ethnographic, and archival collections at the Stanford Archaeology Center, please contact us. We regret that we are only able to answer enquiries regarding material in or relating to Stanford's collections and are unable to perform object identifications or valuations.