Home - Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology

Skip to main content

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 gallery

Fragments of Changsha: Medieval China in Miniature
Through November 22, 2025

Day of the Dead exhibit

Life after Death: Celebrating Day of the Dead
Through December 12, 2025

See All Exhibits

Upcoming Events

carved stone heads in a cave

Curriculum-Based School Programs Available

September 2 – December 5

Curanderismo 101

Thursday, October 30, 6pm

The Upper New Archaeological Project: Uncovering Deep Histories of Appalachian Resilience

Thursday, November 13, 6pm

Recent News Stories

Lam Announces Archaeology in the Americas Lecture SeriesAugust 18, 2025
Registration Open For Summer WorkshopsMay 27, 2025
Lam Collection on DisplayMay 22, 2025

See All News Stories

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Peruvian Siqlla MaskOctober 1, 2025
Jarai SculpturesSeptember 3, 2025
Shoowa Prestige ClothAugust 1, 2025

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

829

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 23

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18535242133003612

Our next talk is only a week away! Please join us as we learn about curanderismo with Yaya McBride next Thursday evening.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #curanderismo #curandera

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 21

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17857028421538867

Don't miss the second talk in our Archaeology in the Americas Lecture Series! Join us tomorrow at 6pm for "The Living Landscape of the Ancient Maya" with archaeologist Dr. Brent Woodfill. We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #archaeology #ancientmaya #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 15

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18066641147077641

We hope you'll join us next Wednesday as we learn about ancient Maya worldviews with archaeologist Dr. Brent Woodfill!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #maya #ancientmaya #archaeology #freeevent

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 10

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17890455957352038

Wondering what to do with the kids when they're out of school on Monday? Bring them over to the Lam Museum for Lumbee storytelling and crafts as we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day! And, it's free!!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Lumbee #storytelling #thingstodoinwsnc #freeevent

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 9

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18117498991521499

Have plans on Saturday evening? Bring the kids and come see us at the city's Treat Trail at Bolton Park. Our booth will be celebrating both Día de Muertos and Indigenous Peoples Day with language learning activities and, of course, plenty of candy!

#lammuseum #thingstodoinwsnc

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 6

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18079572050084432

Make plans to celebrate #IndigenousPeoplesDay next Monday at the Museum! We'll have Lumbee storytelling at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm, along with craft activities. We hope to see you then!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Lumbee #storytelling #free #thingstodoinwsnc

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Oct 1

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18044300606377619

In honor of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month, our October #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Siqlla mask from the Cusco region of the Peruvian Andes. It was used in the Danza Siqlla, also called Danza Wayra or Danza de los Doctorcitos. This dance takes place throughout the Department of Cusco, as well as in Bolivia, during the annual Festival of the Virgin of Carmen (also called Mamacha Carmen) on July 16. It is one of many masked dances performed during the celebration.

The dance ridicules arrogant and corrupt lawyers, politicians, and other judicial authorities by calling them doctorcitos (little professors). It mocks their arbitrary and abusive use of the law to mistreat the indigenous population. Wayra is the Quechua word for “wind,” likely referencing the lies or “hot air” of the lawyers. Siqlla has no equivalent word in English.

The plot of the masquerade focuses on the trial of an indigenous man called the maqta. Musicians play accordion, flute, violin, drums, and cymbals to accompany the dance. The prosecutor is the main character, with other dancers representing additional lawyers, a mayor, and the police. The authority characters wear this type of paper mâché mask with a long, exaggerated nose and dress in colonial European suits, coats, capes, and top hats. They carry books and a whip, which they tap together to complement the beat of the music. There are no standard steps to the dance.

This mask was donated to the Lam Museum by Dr. Tim Wallace, a professor of anthropology at North Carolina State University.

#latinxheritagemonth #hispanicheritagemonth
#Peru #mask #siqlla

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 23

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18072906296275014

Planning a trip to Disney World soon? Don't forget to stop in the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot to visit some of our objects on loan! We recently switched the camel saddle to feature another one and added new objects to the loan, including a neck pouch, food bowl, and kohl applicator.

#lammuseum #epcot #Morocco #DisneyWorld

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 17

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18363784711152890

In case you didn't get to see it in person, our exhibit "Poems Made to Wear: Traditional Colors in East Asia" is now available as a virtual exhibit! Check it out via the link in our bio.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #virtualexhibit #eastasia #China #Japan

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 15

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18133906420452351

See you at 5pm!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #archaeology #free #peru #chavindehuantar

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 9

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18094271767666897

Today's the day! "Life after Death: Celebrating Day of the Dead" is now open and will be on exhibit through December 12. We hope you'll visit us and learn about the many ways Day of the Dead is celebrated. As always, admission is free!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #dayofthedead #díadelosmuertos #díademuertos #Mexico #folkart #diadelosmuertosart #diadelosmuertosaltar

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 8

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18079037128941949

Mark your calendar for next Monday's lecture about archaeology at a temple complex site in Peru. We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #archaeology #peru #chavindehuantar #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 4

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18124226332485698

This semester, we're excited to host a free Archaeology in the Americas Lecture Series! We hope you'll join us ⛏️

#lammuseum #archaeology #free

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Sep 3

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18077193875070272

It's time for our September #ArtifactOfTheMonth! This month, we've chosen a pair of Jarai sculptures from Vietnam.

The Jarai (also spelled Jorai, Jrai, or Giarai) people are an ethnic group indigenous to the central highlands of #Vietnam. Today, there are fewer than 350,000 #Jarai living in their homeland. They were allied with the United States during the Vietnam War, and during the post-war period, many were resettled in the US, particularly here in North Carolina.

This style of Jarai sculpture is traditionally connected to funerary practices. Jarai tombs are small house-like buildings that also contain offerings and the deceased’s belongings. The burial ceremony can be very elaborate and expensive. However, several years after the death and burial, the Jarai hold a final ceremony, known as po thi, adorning and then abandoning the gravesite. This ceremony, often several days long, marks a permanent farewell to the deceased and releases their spirit into the afterlife. This type of sculpture would be part of a group placed around a tomb on wooden pillars at that time as a final gift to the deceased and to serve as guardians. Jarai funerary sculptures can take many forms, including human figures mourning, engaging in sexual acts, or performing daily activities, monsters, and animals.

During the post-war period, artists began to create this style of sculpture for more secular decorative purposes removed from their funerary context. These sculptures came to the Lam Museum from the Museum of World Cultures at UNC-Wilmington. Unfortunately, not all of the artifacts in this collection have clear origins, so we cannot say for certain whether these sculptures come from a funerary context or not. These sculptures are on display in "Museum of World Cultures: Highlights from the UNC-Wilmington Collection" through February 14, 2026.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #sculpture #woodcarvings

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Aug 29

Open post by lammuseum with ID 17959751444971454

The Museum will be closed this weekend for Labor Day. We hope you have a great holiday!

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Aug 26

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18054543518398956

WFU classes started yesterday, and we are all ready for an awesome fall semester! We hope we'll see you exploring our exhibits or at one of our fall events, which are all free!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #fall #thingstodoinwsnc #free #archaeology

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Aug 25

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18041388803666972

New exhibit alert! "Saddle Rugs & Tibetan Culture" is now on exhibit in our staff hallway. We hope you'll come check it out!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #saddlerug #Tibet

View Instagram post by lammuseum

Aug 20

Open post by lammuseum with ID 18097965139536411

We are very excited to be the new home for this amazing collection of netsuke! These astonishingly detailed miniature sculptures from Japan were used to secure pouches or containers to one’s kimono sash. We don’t have plans to exhibit them immediately, but once they have been fully accessioned, each of the more than 80 pieces will be available to view on our online collections database.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Japan #netsuke

Follow on Instagram