[2] Museum staff investigate archaeological sites of past occupiers of North America to discover how people lived, what they ate, what they wore and how they created their art.

[3][4][5][6] An early and significant director of the museum, Emil W. Haury, conducted numerous archaeological excavations in the Southwest and taught students and others about his methods and discoveries.

A list of current and upcoming exhibits can be found here: https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits In addition to engaging university students through classroom, laboratory, and field instruction, ASM offers a full calendar of public programs celebrating the ancient indigenous and enduring Native cultures of the region, sharing its expertise and collections with visitors of all ages through exhibits, school programs, lectures, hands-on activities, workshops, and travel tours.

The OER Library holds over 8,000 sources of information, including secondary works, reference materials, indexes to major archival collections, maps, ephemera, and guides to paleography and translation.

The library holds over 100,000 monographs and journals, many of which are rare titles, including original research data and manuscripts, archaeological reports on southwest-based field work, grey literature, and ephemera.

The archive includes manuscripts, original research data, maps, correspondence, field notes, scrapbooks, diaries, drawings, oral histories, and sound recordings.

ASM is home to the world’s largest collection of Southwest Indian pottery housed in a state-of-the-art vault so as to protect its 20,000 vessels from the damage suffered in the past.