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Explore Global Cultures

Discover North Carolina’s only museum dedicated to the study of global cultures. Explore stories of humanity, from ancient archaeological sites to the celebrations and struggles of today. Learn about people from around the world through their everyday objects, ceremonial artifacts, and visual arts.

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00am to 4:30pm. Admission is free.

Upcoming Events

woman in day of the dead makeup with flower headdress

Museum Closed for Winter Break

December 9 – January 1

Recent News Stories

Renowned Archaeologist Dr. Becca Peixotto to Speak at the MuseumSeptember 19, 2023
Museum Acquires New CollectionAugust 30, 2023
Lam Museum Collaborates with Terpsicorps Theatre of DanceJune 5, 2023

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Bedouin Wedding NecklaceDecember 1, 2023
Cherokee BasketNovember 1, 2023
Shipibo-Conibo Ceramic VesselOctober 2, 2023

Find a Craft Activity with Cultures Up Close

Pacific Islands: Paint a Tapa ClothMay 31, 2023
Ghana: Weave a Kente ClothFebruary 27, 2023
Native American Heritage Month: Make & Play the Bean GameNovember 22, 2022

Stay in Touch

Receive updates on exhibits and events from the Lam Museum

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Dec 1

Happy December! This month's #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Bedouin wedding necklace. The Bedouin are a nomadic people who live in the Middle East. This necklace is from Saudi Arabia, where the donor purchased it at a small marketplace outside the city of Jeddah. As seen here, silver is the preferred metal for Bedouin jewelry. Bedouin women in Saudi Arabia and Yemen wear this type of heavy necklace, known as labba, as one piece of the jewelry that forms an important part of her dowry. Traditionally, the bridegroom pays a dowry to the bride’s father, who then uses a portion of that money to purchase wedding jewelry for his daughter. The jewelry becomes her personal property that stays with her even in the event of a divorce, providing a source of financial stability if needed.

The necklace is made of a variety of silver pieces with filigree and repousse work linked together to create a mesh similar to chainmail. This necklace features four rows of tiny bells, a style that is especially common in central Saudi Arabia. The bells are designed to make a pleasing sound as the wearer moves.

This necklace is the subject of our 2023 Conservation Fund campaign. Before the necklace can be exhibited or used in teachings, it must be conserved. The string on the necklace is in danger of breaking and needs to be reinforced to stabilize the piece. Additionally, there are several small areas of corrosion that must be treated to keep it from spreading. Learn how you can contribute to this important project via the link in our bio.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Bedouin #SaudiArabia #jewelry
#silverjewelry

Nov 28

This #GivingTuesday, we hope that you will consider donating to the Lam Museum. Our membership program provides funding for exhibitions, public programs, collections care, and other special projects that make the Lam Museum a unique part of Wake Forest University and the greater community. Join the Lam Museum members today via the link in our bio.

Nov 21

The Museum will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday and we'll see you next week!

Nov 17

Last Intro to Museum Studies field trip to @wincupmuseum before they close 😢 Thanks for a great time, as always! ❤️

Nov 15

Did you know we have a new mini-exhibit in the lobby at @zsrlibrary? Our student workers selected some of their favorite objects from the collection to highlight. Check it out!

#lammuseum #zsrlibrary #wakethearts

Nov 6

In honor of #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth, our November #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Cherokee basket made by Emma Squirrel Taylor.
Basket weaving is an integral part of Cherokee culture with a tradition dating back almost 10,000 years. Baskets were historically used to harvest, store, and transport crops; catch fish; and even for games. They also served ceremonial purposes by protecting ritual tools and clothing while in storage. Baskets play a prominent role in Cherokee stories, such as Spider-Dwelling-In-The-Water who created a basket to bring fire to the people. The art of Cherokee basket weaving is passed down from mothers to daughters, forming a connection to traditional ways of life. Weaving patterns are similarly handed down, but each basket is unique.

This basket was made by Emma Squirrel Taylor (1920-2002), a master basket maker from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She produced baskets for more than fifty years. Taylor grew up in the Birdtown community of the Qualla Boundary and learned basket making at an early age by imitating her mother. Later, she had more formal training with master basket weaver Lottie Stamper. Taylor began selling her baskets for supplemental income while raising her eight children. She made a wide range of basket forms and won many awards for her work.

Taylor specialized in white oak baskets like this one, felling trees and preparing the wood herself, until her age prevented her from doing so. Taylor also prepared her own dyes from materials she found in the forest. The grey color on this basket is from butternut tree bark, and the medium brown color is from hickory bark. The splints were boiled with these materials for four to five hours to create the color. According to her daughter, Taylor did not start a basket with a specific design in mind but developed it as she placed each splint.

#lammuseum #Cherokee #basket #baskets #wakethearts

Nov 2

¡Feliz Día de Muertos! Ofrendas are a central part of celebrating Day of the Dead. Learn more about them and the many other ways Day of the Dead is observed in our exhibit “Life after Death: Celebrating Day of the Dead.”

#lammuseum #wakethearts #diadelosmuertos
#diademuertos #DayOfTheDead

Nov 1

¡Feliz Día de Muertos! 💀 In some places, most notably the island of Janitzio, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, the night of November 1 is dedicated to an all-night vigil in the cemetery waiting to welcome back the souls of the dead. Learn more about this ritual and the many other ways Day of the Dead is observed in our exhibit “Life after Death: Celebrating Day of the Dead.” Don't worry if you can't make it this week, it's on display until December 8!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #diadelosmuertos #diademuertos #DayOfTheDead #thingstodoinwsnc #free

Oct 27

Look for us tomorrow at the Ghoul Moon Festival in West Salem! We'll be there until 7pm with Day of the Dead masks to decorate. Hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #wsnc #thingstodoinwsnc

Oct 25

Tonight!! This lecture is going to be great. We hope to see you there!

Oct 23

WFU students, join us post-Project Pumpkin for pan de muerto and sugar skull decorating tomorrow!

Oct 13

ICYMI, earlier this semester, the Museum announced its partnership with the University of North Carolina Wilmington to acquire a significant portion of their Museum of World Cultures collection. We are now in the process of accessioning and cataloging the nearly 300 objects that have found a new home at the Lam! You can learn more via the News link in our bio.

#lammuseum #newcollection #worldcultures

Oct 11

Save the date for a fascinating talk by Dr. Mathew Sandoval about recent transformations in how Day of the Dead is celebrated.

Thanks to @spanishwfu @wfuanthro Latin American & Latino Studies, and American Ethnic Studies for helping us bring Dr. Sandoval to WFU!

#lammuseum #DayoftheDead #díadelosmuertos #diadelosmuertos #diademuertos #díademuertos #mexico #wakethearts

Oct 9

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to celebrate the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years and honor their culture, history, and contributions. The Lam Museum celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day each year. For 2023, we will be celebrating on October 14, and we hope you will join us for a hands-on workshop with Cherokee/Saura/Arawak artist Erika Reynolds. Registration closes on Wednesday at 5pm, so sign up today! You can find the registration through the Events Calendar link in our bio.

#lammuseum #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousPeoplesDay2023

Oct 5

We’re not making a big deal of it, but this academic year marks our 60th anniversary! 🎉 The Museum of Man was founded by Dr. E. Pendleton Banks in 1963. His vision was to create a space where cultural objects collected by anthropology professors collected could be conserved and used in teaching. Our collection and mission have broadened greatly. We’ve had 3 names and 5 locations. But we still provide unique learning experiences for WFU students in addition to serving the greater community.

#lammuseum #tbt
@wfuniversity @wfuanthro

Oct 2

$For #LatinxHeritageMonth, our October #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Shipibo-Conibo ceramic vessel from the Peruvian Amazon. The Shipibo-Conibo people live along the Ucayali River, a tributary of the Upper Amazon in Peru. They are famous for their polychrome earthenware pottery, like this piece, which they have been producing for more than 1200 years. Shipibo women produce the largest and thinnest coil-built ceramic vessels of any Indigenous group in the Americas. This piece is a small liquid storage vessel known as chomo, one of several common forms of Shipibo ceramics. Shipibo pottery is made exclusively by women. They build their ceramics using the coil method. After they have created the basic shape, the women scrape off the excess material and polish the piece. These steps result in the characteristic thinness of Shipibo pottery. After the construction phase, the pieces are decorated with slip to create a white or red background. Women then use small brushes, often made with their own hair, to paint the designs. The ceramics are fired by placing each piece in a metal pot and covering it with ashes. The metal pot is then placed in the middle of a fire. After firing, the pieces are treated with resin to seal them and create the shiny finish seen here. Shipibo pottery is covered with intricate geometric designs that reflect their cosmology. The Shipibo believe that in the distant past,the designs, known as kené, covered everything in the world. But that ideal world fractured, and the patterns now only appear on select art objects,including their pottery. The design used by each woman is unique, inspired by her dreams and visions. Through the use of ayahuasca, a powerful hallucinogen, male shamans can also visualize the patterns, which they used in healing sessions. However, men do not traditionally create physical representations of the designs. #lammuseum #peru #upperamazon #shipibo #pottery #wakethearts$

Sep 29

We learned so much and had an amazing time with Dr. Becca Peixotto last night!
If you have an iPhone, you can even download an app that will let you explore the chamber where Homo naledi was found! Search for "Dinaledi Chamber Perot Museum."

#lammuseum #humanevolution #homonaledi

Sep 28

We hope to see you tonight!!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #archaeology #evolution

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