Home - Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology

Skip to main content

Lam Museum exhibit galleries

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.
Find the Museum on the Wake Forest campus.

Featured Exhibits

exhibit of Aboriginal Australian objects

Return to Sender? Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Repatriation
Through August 15, 2026

archery exhibit

Archery: Hunting, Warfare and Identity
Through June 20, 2026

See All Exhibits

Upcoming Events

Piedmont Environmental Alliance graphic

Booth at the Piedmont Earth Day Fair

Saturday, April 18, 10am-4pm

Closed for Memorial Day

May 23-25

Aboriginal Dot Painting Workshop

Sunday, June 14, 2-4pm

Recent News Stories

Paired Currency Exhibits to Open in MarchJanuary 29, 2026
New Exhibit Explores Aboriginal AustraliaJanuary 29, 2026
Lam Announces Archaeology in the Americas Lecture SeriesAugust 18, 2025

See All News Stories

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Roman Denarius CoinApril 1, 2026
Kina Shell NecklaceMarch 2, 2026
Maasai ShieldFebruary 2, 2026

See All Artifact of the Month

Find a Craft Activity with Cultures Up Close

See All Cultures Up Close

Stay in Touch

Receive updates on exhibits and events from the Lam Museum

lammuseum

872

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 17

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18127427968602390

We’re so excited to have a booth at the @peancorg Earth Day Fair tomorrow! Visit us to learn more about the earth-friendly resource of bark cloth, used by many cultures around the world, and make a bracelet.🌎

#wsnc #dtws #sustainability #environment #downtownwinstonsalem

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 13

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17944517762999596

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for our Archery Afternoon on Saturday! We had an amazing time and hope you did too!

#lammuseum #archery

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 8

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17904637908393707

We have so many fun things planned for Saturday afternoon! You can see archery and flintknapping demonstrations, shoot suction cup arrows, make a mini bow or blowgun to shoot q-tips, try your hand at the Arapaho hoop game with an arrow you’ve decorated, see if you can identify the many animals hunted by Indigenous people in North Carolina, and more. Best of all, it’s all free! We hope to see you then!

#lammuseum #archery #thingstodoinwsnc #freeevent

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 7

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17899643481263300

We hope to see you this Friday at 5pm for a talk by Dr. Seth Grooms about his Lumbee River Archaeology Project!
Generously brought to us by @wfuanthro.
#lammuseum #archaeology #lumbee

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 3

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18099174313945409

The Museum will be closed tomorrow for Easter Weekend. We look forward to seeing you next week!

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Apr 1

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18132271741553614

No April Fools here, just a very cool #ArtifactOfTheMonth! For April, we're featuring a Roman denarius coin on loan to the Museum for our current exhibit "Pocket Change: A Story of Coins through Time."

The Roman Republic first adopted coinage to trade and pay mercenaries around the time of the First Punic War (264-241 BCE). During the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), Rome adopted a system that would endure for centuries, based on the silver denarius and the bronze as. A denarius, like this one, was worth about a day’s labor for a common worker, and the as was initially worth 1/10, later 1/16, of a denarius.

After the Republic fell and the Roman Empire formed in 27 BCE, coinage turned out to be a convenient mode of establishing power. Anyone who wanted to be emperor needed coins in their name. However, the Romans didn’t just feature emperors on their coins, they included the imperial family too. This coin features Sabina, the wife of the emperor Hadrian, who reigned from 117 to 138 CE. This coin from between 133 and 135 CE shows her distinctive hairstyle and features Juno, queen of the gods, on the reverse. Roman coin artistry reached a peak during this era as demonstrated by Sabina’s regal, realistic portrait, which remains recognizable even on worn-down examples like this one.

Roman coins circulated widely throughout their extensive empire. Their ubiquity set a standard for coin designs still recognizable today: flat, thin coins, usually with portraits on the obverse (front) and a design representing some important symbol or event on the reverse.

This coin is on exhibit through March 6, 2027. It is on loan to the Lam Museum from the curator, Jason Zhang (’26), who provided the research for this post.

#coins #romancoin #coincollecting

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 31

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17882601378483774

We are very excited to be hosting Archery Afternoon at the Lam on Saturday, April 11, in conjunction with our exhibit "Archery: Hunting, Warfare, and Identity." We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #archery #flintknapping #thingstodoinwsnc #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 25

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18214320562316078

Free cookies and lemonade tomorrow! All that and a wonderful talk at Dr. Taylor Callaway's Lunch and Learn at noon. We'll hope you'll join us then!

#lammuseum #lunchandlearn #archaeology #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 23

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18120035140542410

The exhibit "Saddle Rugs and Tibetan Culture" closes this Saturday, March 28. Don't miss your chance to see these stunning rugs in person!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Tibet #tibetanculture #saddlerug

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 20

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18261656011294586

Tonight!! We hope to see you here for what promises to be a fascinating talk.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #AboriginalAustralia

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 18

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18047296793717329

In addition to a great lecture this Friday, we also have a Lunch & Learn coming up next Thursday, March 26! We hope you'll join us to hear about Native American feasts and fish in Woodland period Tidewater Virginia and North Carolina. Free drinks and cookies!

#lammuseum #archaeology #tidewaterva #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 17

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18099535687934594

We are so excited to present "Shelling Out: Traditional Currency from the Collection" and "Pocket Change: A Story of Coins through Time." Both exhibits will be on display through March 6, 2027.
#lammuseum #currency #thingstodoinwsnc #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 12

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18080303672611699

Mark your calendars for next week's lecture by @wfuniversity alum Asia Parker!

#lammuseum #AboriginalAustralia #AboriginalCulture #repatriation

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Mar 2

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18107505910765749

Our March #ArtifactOfTheMonth gives you a sneak peek at our upcoming exhibit, "Shelling Out: Traditional Currency from the Collection," opening March 17. This kina shell necklace from Papua New Guinea will be one of nearly 40 objects in the exhibit!

The necklace comes from the Engan peoples living in Kond Village in the Kandep District of Enga Province in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Based on information given to the collector, it is likely more than 140 years old. The term kina refers to the large crescent-shaped shell pendant that forms the central portion of the necklace.

Kina shells are a type of money that has been exchanged in Papua New Guinea for centuries. Pendants like this one are carved from large oyster shells and then traded from the coast into the highlands. Historically, people acquired this type of kina shell pendant by skillfully trading other commodities for it, such as pigs, textiles, or nassa shells harvested from snails. Wearing, or even just possessing, such jewelry signaled personal achievement. A wealthy individual could acquire multiple necklaces and use them to enrich his entire extended family.

In Enga culture, kina shells were given away as part of a tee, an elaborate system of competitive gifting in which participants build partnerships by giving away expensive things. They could also be used in other ceremonial exchanges, such as paying bride prices or settling blood feuds. Kina shells are sometimes stained red, as this one is, when they have been used in a ceremony or celebration.

After colonization, kina became a standardized currency exchangeable for Australian shillings. Today, the official currency of Papua New Guinea is the Kina, which takes its name from the kina shell.

Research assistance for this post was provided by Lake Barrett (‘28) and Johnny Gasparro (‘29).

#lammuseum #papuanewguinea #kinashell

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Feb 19

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17853749952590574

Unfortunately, Dr. Grooms is ill and will not be able to give his lecture tomorrow. We are working to find a new date so that he can share his research with you! Stay tuned for more info.

#lammuseum

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Feb 17

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17877346299494373

Happy #ChineseNewYear! Also known as #LunarNewYear or #SpringFestival, the #YearOfTheHorse starts today. 🐴 You can learn all about the celebration via the link in our story or looking for teacher resources on our website.

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Feb 16

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17865302250576747

We're partnering with the Lewisville Branch Library to present a talk for #BlackHistoryMonth. Tomorrow evening at 6pm, our Academic Director, Dr. Andrew Gurstelle, will present "Cowrie Shells and the African Diaspora" at the Mary Alice Warren Community Center in Lewisville. We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #cowrieshell #freeevent

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Feb 13

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18107179984773371

Mark your calendars for next Friday at 5pm! Dr. Seth Grooms will present "The Lumbee River Archaeology Project" discussing his archaeological work with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. We hope to see you here!
This event is sponsored by @wfuanthro

#lammuseum #archaeology #lumbee #lumbeetribe

Follow on Instagram