MoAW presents
Spotlight:
PALEO: The Story of Life
4.6 Billion Years of Fossil History
Cro-Magnon
Humankind's Most Recent Ancestor
(currently on display)
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THE CENOZOIC ERA
from 65 million years ago to the present
A series of glaciations distinguishes the era that includes the present. By the time the dust settled on top of the last Cretaceous sediment, another era had dawned, the Cenozoic ("Recent Life"), giving rise to rapidly diversifying groups of mammals. No longer relying on their diminutive size for survival in a world dominated by giants, the mammals immediately assumed the roles of chief competitors for supremacy over the newly abundant territory left by the passing of the dinosaurs, producing such giants of their own as the great wooly mammoths of the Ice Age.
As the early mammals diversified throughout the Paleocene ("Ancient Recent") and the subsequent Eocene ("Recent Dawn") epochs, from 64 to 36 million years ago, many of the modern mammal groups began to appear in the fossil record. Of these early mammals, several became extinct as rainforests retreated from the frost during the Oligocene ("Few Recent"), which ended 26 million years ago. The Miocene ("Less Recent"), which followed, lasted until 6 million years ago. Along with the appearance of large, new mountain ranges, the spreading of grasslands during this period gave rise to a vast radiation of grazing animals.
As the climate became colder throughout the Pliocene ("More Recent"), from 6 to 1.6 million years ago, numerous mammals became extinct while modern plants and animals appeared, including early humankind. During the Pleistocene ("Most Recent") epoch, from 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago, vast continental glaciers spread and receded as over half of the giant mammals became extinct following the appearance of modern humans.
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Cro-Magnon Man
Order Primates
Family Hominidae
Homo sapiens sapiens
Middle Pleistocene, France
First appearing in Africa, this subspecies of wandering hunter-gatherers eventually colonized every continent except Antarctica. Interbreeding with archaic local populations throughout the world may have produced the variety of races known today. Collectively known as Cro-Magnon Man (named for fossil remains found at Cro-Magnon in southern France), this race of early Homo sapiens sapiens of 40,000 to 10,000 years ago were fully modern members of our own subspecies. Surviving the harsh climates of the Ice Age, these Late Stone Age hunters were the ancestors of present-day European Caucasoids (whites). With sophisticated and often elaborately decorated implements fashioned from stone and bone, Cro-Magnon culture appears to stress hunting, as evidenced by their artful paintings, engravings, and sculptures of such big game animals as reindeer, oxen, and horses. Advanced weapons and hunting methods enabled these people to double the hurling range of their spears in hunting big game and to introduce freshwater fish to their diets. Nourished by the availability of vast herds of wild game, the explosive growth of their population succeeded even in the severe arctic climate. Dated at 30,000 years and known as Cro-Magnon I, this classic skull of an elderly individual was recovered from Les Eyzies. Musee de l’Homme.
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Cro-Magnon Artifacts
Spearpoint
Ornamental bear claws
Fishhooks
Engraved reindeer antler
Carved reindeer antler
Mammoth carved in bone
Bulls carved in bone
Wild horse of Vogelherd
Small Venus
Late Pleistocene, Western Europe
The harpoons, spear-throwers, needles pierced with an “eye”, fishhooks, and handles invented by Cro-Magnons led the way not only to mankind’s taming of the environment but also to the artful recording of his abstract perception of it. American Museum of Natural History.
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Venus of Willendorf
Late Pleistocene, Austria
Found in 1908 in the Danube Valley, Austria, and dated at about 40,000 years, this ancient and meticulously detailed limestone carving was probably used as a fertility fetish by Cro-Magnons. The careful styling of its hair attests to the age of this ancient practice. The tapering of the legs, with their missing feet, implies that it once stood in a specially carved out base, presumably a primitive altar. Vienna Natural History Museum.
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The Hall of Bulls
Lascaux, France
By 19,000 to 15,000 years ago, lifelike representations of game painted on cave walls began to appear, such as “The Hall of Bulls” at Lascaux cave in France. Reindeer carved on a spear-thrower made of antler, as well as horses engraved on a perforated antler (presumably used for straightening wooden spears) may have been thought to invoke the seasonal return of migratory prey, while carved figurines with exaggerated female features, known as Venuses, suggest the development of symbolic expressions of fertility. Nearly 40,000 years old, this small and elegant carving of a wild horse was discovered in the cave of Vogelherd in Wurttemberg, Germany.
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On Display In Association With PALEO: The Story of Life
STARSCAPE:
A Journey To The
Beginning of Time
This spectacular collection of 33 space photographs combines breathtaking digitalized images from the historic Mariner, Viking, Hubble, and Voyager probes with stunning photographs from the Apollo lunar missions, and ground-based observatories. Gathered from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the Hansen Planetarium, this awesome display of cosmic spectacles is a journey to the early days of the cosmos.
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MoAW's mission is to educate a diverse audience about the history of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life using fossils and artifacts from a variety of cultures and time periods; to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts, colleges, and universities while establishing museum diversity for the Coachella Valley.
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
The last admission is taken one hour before closing.
Admission:
$15.00 Adults
$12.00 Students, Seniors, & Military
$ 3.00 Discount available for Coachella Valley Residents
$10.00 Group Rate for 10 or more individuals.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, MoAW is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association, the American Alliance of Museums, and the California Association of Museums.
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Members Perks
The newest perk of membership: Free admission to over 1,200 museums nationwide through the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM) Plus, discounts at their museum shops and restaurants (if given to their members). Local museums include the Palm Springs Art Museum and Cabot's Pueblo Museum, several museums in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, throughout California, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, plus Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. This is available to all members at the Donor Level ($125.00) or higher. Current members who qualify will be receiving new membership cards with the NARM logo to be used at participating museums.
Current members who would like to upgrade their membership to take advantage of this new benefit please give us a call, (442) 268-5004.
Click below for more information and to join.
THANK YOU
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Cathedral City
Historical Society
presents
Then and Now
A 40th-year anniversary exhibition of the history of Cathedral City
A comprehensive photographic and artifact-rich timeline of the history of Cathedral City will greet you upon entering the lobby of the Museum of Ancient Wonders. This is an exhibition of recollections of the people and places that created Cathedral City's early history and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its burgeoning progress, from the past to the present, THEN AND NOW is a loving tribute to the City of Cathedral City.
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PALEO: The Story of Life
4.6 billion years of fossil history
Drawn from the world’s foremost fossil collections, the unprecedented treasury of fossil casts known as PALEO: The Story of Life brings together into one exhibition some of the most exciting finds in the history of paleontology from over a century of worldwide excavations, exhibited in geological, chronological order.
From 2.5 billion-year-old single cellular cyanobacteria responsible for the oxygenation of the atmosphere to the first multicellular life of 700 million years ago, PALEO spans 4.6 billion years in scope. From the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous dinosaurs to mammals and prehistoric humans, this internationally acclaimed, comprehensive collection dramatically illustrates the awesome story of prehistoric life on Earth.
Displaying casts of rare fossils from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, this prestigious collection includes skeletons, skulls, claws, and eggs gathered from such revered museums as the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, The Royal Ontario Museum, the Carnegie Museum, and the National Museums of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, as well as many others.
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ALL UNDER HEAVEN
Treasures of the East
Earth, Temple,
and the Afterlife
A Very Special Gift From
Marlene and Bruce Kanter,
Heather James Fine Art
Michael H. Healy
50 original antiquities spanning millennia of ancient Asian Cultures from mysterious funerary objects and life-size protective temple guardians to decorative terracotta sculptures of beasts of burden created for the tombs of the deceased, a tapestry of silk and gold thread, a rare lacquered cosmetic box and vessel, bronze statues from China, Japan, and Indonesia reflects a celebration of everlasting happiness, enduring remembrance, and eternal life.
MoAW premieres these dazzling artifacts of antiquity displayed for the first time together in one exhibition All Under Heaven: Earth, Temple, and the Afterlife.
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LUCY:
The Story of Human Origins
(Courtesy of the Institute of Human Origins and the National Museum of Ethiopia,
Addis Ababa)
On view exclusively at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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