The home of one of the nation’s largest collections of Native American artifacts, the Robert S. Peabody museum operates with the mission of teaching a greater understanding of the science of archaeology, and working to preserve and better understand Native American cultures; the collection features items from cultures in the American Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, Mexico, and the Arctic, which range in temporality from the time of the Paleo-Indian cultures of twelve thousand five hundred years ago, to the cultures and remnants of cultures that can be found in the present day.