Contacts

The Department of Anthropology is located in the National Museum of Natural History in downtown Washington, DC, and at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD.

Phone Number: 202-633-1920

Inquiries: AnthroPublicInquiry@si.edu

Mailing via U.S. Postal Service

Department of Anthropology

Attn: name of addressee

National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Institution 

P.O. Box 37012, MRC 112

Washington, DC 20013-7012

Mailing via Courier (UPS, FedEx)

Note: All photographs, cds and other media should be sent via courier (UPS or FedEx)

Department of Anthropology

National Museum of Natural History, MRC 112

10th and Constitution Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20560

Appraisals / Authentifications

Staff of the Smithsonian Institution, as a matter of legal and ethical policy, do not authenticate or perform appraisals of any artifacts for the public. The Smithsonian's policy on appraisals and the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute website both have more information and resources relating to appraisals.

Identifications

Anthropology staff may be able to provide some assistance with basic identification of anthropological artifacts, and may also advise on resources for further research. Email photographs of your artifacts to anthropublicinquiry@si.edu, but please do not send or bring the artifacts themselves to the museum. If your object is archaeological (prehistoric or excavated), the state archaeologist of the state where it was found may also be of assistance to you.

Collections Sampling / Analysis

Contact Esther Rimer, after reviewing our sampling policies and procedures.

Loans

Contact Allison Butler, Registration Specialist, after reviewing our loan policies and procedures. In particular, note that we do not approve new loan requests that are submitted less than 18 months in advance, or when our loan schedule is already at capacity.

Donating Collections

Please contact the relevant curator or email anthropublicinquiry@si.edu and describe the object or collection that you wish to donate. A curator will evaluate whether the collection is suitable for addition to the Smithsonian collections, and guide you through the accession process. 

Please do not mail or deliver your object(s) until the curator has contacted you to make arrangements. The NMNH Department of Anthropology does not accept unsolicited donations either by mail or delivered in person. Unsolicited donations may be disposed of or retained at the sole discretion of the Department.