The NMC Institute of Archaeology shoulders an important duty of the NMC on archaeological excavation and scholarly research. It currently has a team of 32 professionals, including 7 research fellows, 7 associate fellows, and 7 doctors, with 4 research branches that cover ethnicity and border archaeology, field archaeology, scientific archaeology, and environmental archaeology, as well as a public archaeology office.

Having entered the new era, the NMC archaeologists, through in-depth archaeological activities, diversify the sources of the NMC’s collections, enrich categories of archaeological excavation, and provide representative physical evidence to present and interpret in a three-dimensional way the unity in diversity of the Chinese culture.

They also consolidate and enhance the primary role of field archaeology in the NMC’s work, serve the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, based on serving the country and the NMC’s overall development situation and centered on ethnicity and border archaeology, as well as expand the research scope, enhance the force of scientific archaeology, strengthen environmental archaeology research, and promote multidisciplinary collaboration as well as internal and external cooperative research.