About the museum

The history of the museum “Archaeology, ethnography and ecology of Siberia” begins in 1970-s when Pr. A. I. Martynov (head of the Chair of Archaeology) and Pr. T. N. Gaguina (head of the Chair of Zoology) initiated the creation of zoology and archaeology museums. They succeeded in their work. In 1980 the museums were open. The materials presented in the museums have been collected by teachers and students of Archaeology and Zoology faculties during 30 years.

Since 1997 the museums merged. Today the museum is a big University unit with a library, photography collection, archive, restoration and taxidermy workshops, repositories, lecture-rooms.

The museum repositories numbers more than 130 000 units. Besides South Siberia archaeology and ethnography materials, there are copies of petroglyphes from Altay, Khakassia, Tuva, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, osteological, paleontological, zoological, entomological and ornithological collections.       

School children, students, post-graduate students, scientists and leading specialists of the whole world can work with the collections of our museum.  The museum repositories and expositions are used for special and practical courses of prehistory, ethnography, museum management studies, and ecology.

There have been established the museum Council of main specialists of corresponding branches of science leaded by the First pro-rector Doctor of pedagogical sciences B. P. Nevzorov. There, students have archaeological and museum practice. The museum employees take an active part in creation of scientific works, methodic recommendations, in developing of the program “Museum – school – common educative space” for using the regional component in school programs of history, geography, biology and ecology. The museum organizes scientific works presentations and exhibitions.

The versatile museum activity was noted during exhibitions of different levels for several times. The museum was awarded with three “Gold medals” of Kuznetsk and Siberian exhibitions, the diploma on the first museum Biennale in Krasnoyarsk.  The museum is a member of the international association “Open Museum”, inter-regional “Siberian Association of Prehistoric Art Researchers”, and is the main museum of the regional scientific and methodical Council of High Schools museums. 

 The Rectorate guided by d. h. s, Pr. Yu. A. Zakharov always supports the museum. During all these years the museum works in close contact with the Department of culture of Administration of Kemerovo region and State museums of the region.  

The museum exposition consists of two big departments: archaeology and ethnography of South Siberia; nature and ecology of Siberia. The travel in time starts from the Stone Age and goes through all following history periods. The wonderful world of an ancient man is opening in the materials collected during the researches of workers of the Chair of Archaeology of Kemerovo State University.

In the South Siberia ethnography department visitors can see traditional way of living of South Siberia peoples at the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries, their rituals and religions. Visitors can enter a Khakassian yurt, visit a Shorts hunter, participate in a tribal praying for mountain spirit Tag Taiykh.

The second department presents a panorama of natural zones of Kuzbass, Siberia, Far East, Kazakhstan, Central Asia. All materials are presented in dioramas, show-cases, and bio-groups. Here one can see the ”Master of Siberian Tayga” – bear, roe, Amour tiger, wood-grouses, “king” animal – ermines, hyena, porcupine, lama. The long-lasting friendship with the Alma-Aty zoo let us to acquire a stuffed chimpanzee for our collection of exotic animals. The present ecological situation makes an influence on the life of every inhabitant of the Earth. The exposition of this department makes thinking about ecological problems and their resolving; it turns out that every interested person can participate in the problems solution.