Through expeditions, purchases, exchanges, and gifts, the Museum’s anthropology collections have grown to more than 1.5 million objects. Only a small fraction of these items are on display at any given time; most are behind the scenes, under study and care by Museum staff. Artifacts include contemporary, historical, and archaeological pieces that span the globe. Geographic strengths lie in the Americas, East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa. Exploring the collections, a visitor may find an Egyptian funerary boat, a Chinese cricket cage, an Australian Aboriginal bark painting, or a Maya pot--each a key to human lifeways and creative visions that lend us perspective on our own.