Maxwell Museum unveils new fermentation exhibit

On Saturday, March 8, the University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology uncorked its newest exhibit. The exhibit, titled “Entangled Cultures: How Humans and Microbes Co-create through Fermentation,” explores how microbes and the process of fermentation have influenced and interacted with humans throughout history.

The exhibit, consisting of about 20 items, presents how fermentation — a technique used to extend the shelf life and improve the nutritional value of foods — likely spurred human ancestors' development of larger brains, smaller digestive systems and expansion into new environments.

Human interactions with microbes — microorganisms essential for fermentation — are given little attention by anthropology despite their potential major contributions to human evolution, according to Toni Gentilli, archaeologist and Maxwell Museum curator of exhibits.

Gentilli selected artifacts drawn from the Maxwell Museum’s collection and designed the exhibit.

“Many of these items were donated to us through researchers, former faculty members, community members, so they kind of come to us in a hodge-podge manner,” Gentilli said.

The exhibit features artifacts related to early uses of fermentation, such as beer and wine production, found across the globe.

Gentilli hopes the exhibit can change how people view microbes and encourage them to develop their own experiences and relationships with fermentation.

“Coming off the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, there's a lot of obvious fear that people have developed over microbes,” Gentilli said.

The exhibit highlights many of the more positive applications of microbes, such as in food production, finding environmentally friendly alternatives to things like livestock production, and developing medical technology.

Microbes are also utilized in food and drinks such as kimchi, bread and kombucha, which were featured at the exhibit opening.

At the event, local businesses including MiYoung’s Farm, New Mexico Ferments, New Mexico Cheese Guild, Urbanmama505 Kombucha and Dobro Bread, served food and drinks created through fermentation.

Dobro Bread produces a large variety of bread, from baguettes to pretzel rolls, according to owner Tam Saimons.

Saimons discussed how cool fermentation — a process where bread is fermented overnight in a refrigerator — affects the production of bread.

“It has a chance to develop a lot of depth of flavor and sort of that additional microbial action that gives it the nice taste and the texture and stuff like that,” Saimons said.

Gentilli first became interested in fermentation after studying ethnobotany — how people and cultures study plants — she said.

“There is this beautiful relationship between human culture, human cultural diversity and biological diversity,” Gentilli said.

The exhibit will be fermenting for over a year, closing on March 14, 2026.

Nate Bernard is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14

Jaden McKelvey-Francis is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @jadenmckelvey

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