Biological Anthropology Collection includes an extensive assembly of osteological remains, representing some 12,000 individuals from over 50 countries, as well as a smaller set of Old World non-human primate skeletal material, consisting mainly of macaques, mandrills, gorillas, and chimps. The collection also consists of a number of Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifacts, mostly but not exclusively from sites in France. It represents also fossil hominid casts, including first generation casts of the Lower and Upper Cave hominids of Zhoukoudian, People's Republic of China, which were donated by Dr. Franz Weidenreich in the 1940's.
Over 15,500 objects are available online (description only, images are not available).

The Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902) was the most important American anthropological expedition of its time. Conceived and directed by anthropologist Franz Boas, the expedition was financed by Museum president Morris K. Jesup. Original accession records and associated material from the Jesup Expedition are accessible online and can be searched by addressee/sender name, donor name, accession number, year, and document type.

Between 1901 and 1904, Berthold Laufer, one of the most distinguished sinologists of his generation, led an expedition to China where he made a comprehensive ethnographic collection and conducted research on the history and culture of a people that had not yet experienced the industrial transformation. Original documents from that period are accessible online and can be searched by addressee/sender name, accession number and document type.