Bonner Altamerika-Sammlung (BASA)

In Bonn, the BASA-Museum (Bonner Amerikas-Sammlung) serves as the archaeological-ethnological teaching and study collection of the Department of Pre-Columbian Studies and Ethnology at the Universität Bonn. It is located at Oxfordstraße 15 and provides spaces for exhibitions, lectures and teaching; rotating special exhibitions are aimed at both students and the interested public.

The collection was founded in 1948, the same year as the Seminar für Völkerkunde, and has been used in teaching and research ever since — with brief interruptions. From the 1950s the holdings grew through collecting by staff, doctoral candidates, visiting scholars and citizens of the city of Bonn. Expansions took place through donations, loans and targeted purchases up to the 1980s; selected donations of larger and smaller collections continue to be added today. The BASA-Museum is a co-signatory of the Heidelberger Stellungnahme zu Dekolonisierung, Provenienzforschung und Restitution.

The holdings comprise more than 10,000 objects of Pre-Columbian origin and from contemporary indigenous cultures of the Americas; parts of the collection are visible in an open-storage display. A smaller proportion of the collection originates from other world regions. The ethnographic holdings of the 20th century predominantly derive from the South American lowland regions, especially Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador, as well as from the Andean highlands. Archaeological objects come primarily from the Andean region and from Mesoamerica, with a particular focus on the Maya areas.

In addition, the collection includes research corpora of former chairs and staff, comprising objects as well as extensive research documentation, slides, photographs, maps, texts, administrative records and correspondence. The BASA-Museum’s database currently contains just under 1,000 entries and is continually supplemented by staff, interns and students; the online catalogue is publicly accessible.