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Anthropological Museum

Madhab Chandra Goswami Anthropological (MCGA) Museum, Gauhati University

About the Museum

One of the oldest museums in Northeast India, the Madhab Chandra Goswami Anthropological (MCGA) Museum at Gauhati University turned 70 this year. Established in 1948, it is home to a rich collection of ethnographic and archaeological materials, currently located in the Department of Anthropology at GU.

The museum preserves ornaments, textiles, masks, wood items, iron objects, musical instruments, earthenware, and headgear from different tribes and indigenous groups of the Northeast.

It also comprises prehistoric and historic stone tools and pottery, with nearly 10,000 stone artifacts and 1,200 ethnographic artifacts — all original and many now extinct elsewhere. This rare collection is maintained in excellent condition.

Artifact Preservation

The department offers a museum methods course, teaching preservation techniques for wooden, stone, iron, and bone artifacts. Students are actively engaged in conservation, compensating for technical staff shortages.

Despite the region’s challenging climate, the faculty boasts a flawless record of artifact conservation since 1948. Their teamwork and meticulous care have received appreciation from across India and beyond.

“I am greatly impressed by the rich and the valuable ethnographic collection contained in the departmental museum. If space were available it could easily fill two or three large halls and could become the nucleus of an ethnographic museum for the whole of Northeast India. Within the limitations imposed by the available space, it is carefully reported and displayed by the department of Anthropology. The responsible members of the staff can be congratulated having to assemble this excellent collection.”– C. Von-Furer-Haimendorf

Gallery

Madhab Chandra Goswami Anthropological (MCGA) Museum Gauhati University

Madhab Chandra Goswami Anthropological (MCGA) Museum Gauhati University

Emphasis on meticulous preservation of artifacts

Emphasis on meticulous preservation of artifacts

Curators of the Museum

  • Shri P.D. Saikia (1958–1959)
  • Dr. P.C. Saikia (1959–1970)
  • Dr. H.C. Sarma (1970–1973)
  • Dr. B. Choudhury (1976–1981)
  • Dr. S.K. Roy (1984–2009)
  • Dr. A.A. Ashraf (2010–2011)
  • Dr. B.K. Borah (2011–Present)