Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology

Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu is home to the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology. Extensive displays are designed to tell the amazing story of twelve thousand years of successive habitation of the Gallina-Chama-Rio Grande drainage by peoples of different ethnic makeup and cultures. The museum also displays contemporary work by Indian, Spanish and Anglo artists and artisans who carry on the traditions of the peoples that have inhabited this area.

The museum is named for the late Dr. Florence Hawley Ellis, long-time professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Dr. Ellis initiated and led Ghost Ranch archaeology excavations from 1971 until 1990. Excavations continue on two sites located on Ghost Ranch property under the leadership of Cheryl Muceus, Curator of the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology and Director of the Ghost Ranch Museums.  

Annually, approximately 2,000-3,000 school children visit the museum on field trips and have the opportunity to learn about local cultures by participating in related educational activities such as traditional tinworking, sand painting, and straw-inlay work, as well as having the chance to hike to archaeological sites found on Ghost Ranch.