Explore the vast range of titles available.

A leading anthropologist \"explores the fraught project of repatriating Native American sacred objects in this moving and thoughtful work\" ( Publishers Weekly). Who own the objects that connect us to history? And who has the right to decide, particularly when the objects are sacred or, in the case of skeletal remains, human? As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated questions like these firsthand. In Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits, he examines how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists—and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. Colwell shares a personal account of this process, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history.

The hectic front of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science hides an unseen back of the museum that is also bustling. Less than 1 percent of the museum's collections are on display at any given time, and the Department of Anthropology alone cares for more than 50,000 objects from every corner of the globe not normally available to the public. This lavishly illustrated book presents and celebrates the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's exceptional anthropology collections for the first time. The book presents 123 full-color images to highlight the museum's cultural treasures. Selected for their individual beauty, historic value, and cultural meaning, these objects connect different places, times, and people. From the mammoth hunters of the Plains to the first American pioneer settlers to the flourishing Hispanic and Asian diasporas in downtown Denver, the Rocky Mountain region has been home to a breathtaking array of cultures. Many objects tell this story of the Rocky Mountains' fascinating and complex past, whereas others serve to bring enigmatic corners of the globe to modern-day Denver. Crossroads of Cultureserves as a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum's anthropology collections. All the royalties from this publication will benefit the collections of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's Department of Anthropology.

Navajo Textilesprovides a nuanced account the Navajo weavings in the Crane Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science-one of the largest collections of Navajo textiles in the world. Bringing together the work of anthropologists and indigenous artists, the book explores the Navajo rug trade in the mid-nineteenth century and changes in the Navajo textile market while highlighting the museum's important, though still relatively unknown, collection of Navajo textiles. In this unique collaboration among anthropologists, museums, and Navajo weavers, the authors provide a narrative of the acquisition of the Crane Collection and a history of Navajo weaving. Personal reflections and insights from foremost Navajo weavers D. Y. Begay and Lynda Teller Pete are also featured, and more than one hundred stunning full-color photographs of the textiles in the collection are accompanied by technical information about the materials and techniques used in their creation. An introduction by Ann Lane Hedlund documents the growing collaboration between Navajo weavers and museums in Navajo textile research. The legacy of Navajo weaving is complex and intertwined with the history of the Diné themselves.Navajo Textilesmakes the history and practice of Navajo weaving accessible to an audience of scholars and laypeople both within and outside the Diné community.

The hectic front of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science hides an unseen back of the museum that is also bustling. Less than 1 percent of the museum's collections are on display at any given time, and the Department of Anthropology alone cares for more than 50,000 objects from every corner of the globe not normally available to the public. This lavishly illustrated book presents and celebrates the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's exceptional anthropology collections for the first time. The book presents 123 full-color images to highlight the museum's cultural treasures. Selected for their individual beauty, historic value, and cultural meaning, these objects connect different places, times, and people. From the mammoth hunters of the Plains to the first American pioneer settlers to the flourishing Hispanic and Asian diasporas in downtown Denver, the Rocky Mountain region has been home to a breathtaking array of cultures. Many objects tell this story of the Rocky Mountains' fascinating and complex past, whereas others serve to bring enigmatic corners of the globe to modern-day Denver. Crossroads of Culture serves as a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum's anthropology collections. All the royalties from this publication will benefit the collections of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's Department of Anthropology.

The best-selling field guide that \"sets new standards\" (New Scientist) and \"makes all other field guides for mammals of the United States. . . and Canada obsolete\" (Journal of Mammalogy) is now even better. Covering 20 species recognized since 2002 and including 13 new color plates, this fully revised edition ofMammals of North Americaillustrates all 462 known mammal species in the United States and Canada--each in beautiful color and accurate detail. With a more up-to-date species list than any other guide, improved facing-page descriptions, easier-to-read distribution maps, updated common and scientific names, and track and scat illustrations, this slim, light, and easy-to-use volume is the must-have source for identifying North American mammals. Roland Kays and Don Wilson have scoured the technical literature to pull out the key differences between similar species, and illustrated these whenever possible, making the guide useful to amateur naturalists and professional zoologists alike. Casual animal watchers will appreciate the overview of mammal diversity and the tips on identifying animals they can spy in their binoculars, while scientists will appreciate the exacting detail needed to distinguish similar species, including illustrations of shrew teeth, bat toes, and whale dorsal fins. The best-illustrated and easiest-to-use field guide to North American mammalsBeautiful and accurate color illustrations of all 462 mammals found in the United States and Canada--including 20 species recognized since 2002112 color plates--including 13 new onesKey identification information--fully revised--on facing pagesThe most current taxonomy/species listFully revised, easy-to-read range mapsIllustrations of tracks, scat, and whale and dolphin dive sequences