Prehistoric Museum

The Prehistoric Museum’s archaeological collections contain over one million artifacts, with an emphasis on artifacts associated with the Fremont Archaeological Culture. These farming communities were found across most of what is now Utah from around 400-1300 AD. The museum also stewards artifacts from the Paleoindian period through the historic and ethnographic period. The collection consists of a mix of stone, ceramic, and organic material classes. Perishable materials are well represented due to the incredible preservation environment of the northern Colorado Plateau. Highlights include:

• Clarence P. Pilling Figurines
  one of two known sets of unfired figurines
• Ephraim P. and Dorothy Hickman Pectol Collection
  an early 20th century collection from along the Fremont River
• Gordon Creek Hide
  a painted elk hide from the 16th century
• Dawson Paleonindian Site
  the largest known ice-age cultural site in Utah
• Polar Mesa Cave
  a rockshelter near Moab that was heavily looted in the1980-90s

The Prehistoric Museum's paleontological collections contain over 9000 cataloged specimens, with a focus on Mesozoic fossils from eastern, central, and southern Utah. These specimens have been of international significance, drawing researchers to Price from across the US and the world to access the unique fossils from this region. Some noteworthy specimens in the Prehistoric Museum collections include holotypes such as:

• Utahraptor ostrommaysi
• Gastonia burgei
• Eolambia caroljonesa
• Nedcolbertia justinhoffmanni
• Animantarx ramaljonesi
• Peloroplites cedrimontanus
• Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum
• Geminiraptor suarezarum
• Pustularichnus rebeccahuntfosterae

Other highlights of the collections include vertebrate fossils from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, tracks from Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation, vertebrate and plant fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Neslen Formation, microvertebrates from the Cretaceous-Paleocene North Horn Formation, and the Huntington mammoth, a high elevation Mammuthus columbi.

The paleontological collections at the Prehistoric Museum are available for study by qualified researchers from academic institutions, museums, and other organizations. Inquiries about access to collections, consumptive analysis, and specimen loans should be directed to: