Museum of Anthropology of Naples

The Anthropology Museum of Naples , established in 1881 following the intervention of Francesco De Sanctis, Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Italy, was configured for a long time as a set of collections sometimes exhibited, more often archived, collections acquired or made up of specimens of the researches of Giustiniano Nicolucci , eminent anthropologist and first director of the Museum.

Between 1890 and 1921, the Museum of Anthropology acquired notoriety, thanks also to the efforts of Abele De Blasio and Vincenzo Giuffrida Ruggeri , the latter successor of Nicolucci to the chair of Anthropology. From the 1930s to the 1990s, the Museum went through a very difficult period due to the loss of the Anthropology chair and the vicissitudes of the World War which resulted in damage to the rooms where the exhibits were kept, recovered by the illustrious biologist Mario Galgano.

At the end of the 1990s, thanks to historical surveys and the recovery of the collections, the anthropological heritage was exhibited in the halls of the Collegio Massimo dei Gesuiti and the Museum of Anthropology fully regained its prestige and role.

The exhibition area of about 180 square meters is divided into two rooms equipped with large showcases.

The heritage of the Museum consists of over 26,000 exhibits that tell human biodiversity, the biological and cultural evolution of man : here are the casts of the skulls of the hominids such as the infant skull of Australopithecus africanus and the skull cap of Homo erectus pekinensis made in 1936, together with archaeological and archaeological artefacts such as Paleolithic double-sideds, Neolithic polished stone axes, Metall Age pottery, leather shields from Africa, ceremonial shafts and objects of the indigenous peoples of Palawan Island ( Philippines) and little Andaman . Of important value are the four South American human mummies from the pre-Columbian era.

In the section of human osteological finds , the skulls affected by morphological anomalies and traumas belonging to the Craniological Collection of Giustiniano Nicolucci and the skulls from the excavations of Pompeii in 79 AD are very suggestive.

Noteworthy is the "exploded" skull and the findings of tattooed human skin deriving from Abele De Blasio's research.