This museum relates to biological anthropology because it chronicles various artifacts that indicate how ancient humans used to live and how more primitive tribes live today. It also indicates the general trend of human migration. One particular exhibit on this was the one titled “The Pacific Migration”. It detailed the pacific migration that occurred 50,000 years ago. This exhibit detailed how many wayfinding humans were able to travel across the seas in order to populate previously uninhabited islands. This directly correlates to the topic of early human migrations presented in the textbook. The map at the exhibit showed that humans migrated eastward starting from lower Southeast Asia towards more eastern countries like New Zealand.
One permanent exhibit showcased the life of Indonesian natives. This exhibit showcases various artifacts detailing the funeral traditions of the Sulawesi people of Indonesia. The Sulawesi performed unorthodox rituals such as creating life-sized effigies of the deceased and carving boat-shaped coffins. These effigies were then displayed on a rock cliff balcony to watch over the other villages. While life-size effigies may seem like they don’t exist in modern times, the existence of wax museums, monuments, and shrines to honor the dead are found all around the world. From the Washington Monument to Madame Tussauds wax museum, it seems that human beings have the need to not only memorialize the dead, but display it prominently.
Another permanent exhibit of the Bowers Museum is the exhibit titled, “The First Californians”. This exhibit showcases various artifacts found throughout California that gives further insight into how native tribes lived. One section in particular showcased various “cog wheels” that have been found all along the California coast. The truly interesting aspect of such a discovery is the fact that the reason for the cog wheels’ existence is unknown. While they have been found grouped along the coast, modern researchers still have no clue as to their use other than the fact that these may be offerings to the sea in order to ensure the sea creatures will multiply in numbers. While this may seem like an outdated religious ceremony, the deep connection the First Californians had with their environment is something that is prevalent today. With the effects of climate control prevalent everywhere, many Americans are becoming more aware of the importance of environment. We may no longer worship sea gods, but we can take note of how deeply our ancestors understood our dependence to our environment and use that connection to fuel more environmentally conscious decisions.
The temporary exhibit I saw highlighted gemstone carving prevalent five thousand years ago. This exhibit was especially interesting because even though the textbook discussed stone carving, I was surprised to see that primitive humans didn’t limit themselves when it came to carving material. The items showcased were truly beautiful. They ranged from crystal skulls to goblets. This exhibit directly relates to biological anthropology because it provides evidence of tool progression. This practice hasn’t stopped either. Many modern art pieces are created out of gemstones such as fountains and vases.
In the BBC article, Sahar Zand wrote on the other interesting tradition the Sulawesi Troajan people participate in. The Troajans keep the bodies of the deceased inside their homes as they believe that the souls of the dead are still present in the house. They change their clothing, address them as if they’re still alive, and even receive phone calls and visitors for the deceased. After seeing the exhibit at the Bowers Museum, I can see the correlation between this modern practice and the ancient effigies. It seems that the need to honor the dead through display is still deeply rooted in the Sulawesi culture. The effigies have shrunken into wood-carved dolls to watch over the deceased instead of the life-sized sculpted guardians. It’s fascinating to see that certain traditions don’t disappear but instead transform as societies modernize.