A significant work of art is acquired by the Anthropology Collection at Cornell
Something has been quietly simmering within the psyche of Cornell University for decades. In his 1972 Newsweek review, “The Fabulous Llhuroscians”, Charles Michener described the Civilization of Llhuros as “…an archaeological magical mystery tour, the like of which has never been offered before.”
by Linda Fisher
For those of us at Norman Daly Art, the past decade has been consumed by the complex task of organizing and envisioning a future for the fictional ancient civilization known as “Llhuros”. Llhuros is a riddle in and of itself and contemplating its future has also been riddled with paradox.
Should we yield to the principle of impermanence, allowing the 150 artifacts to continue decaying beyond the condition in which they were first ‘discovered’—accepting that many might eventually disappear altogether? Or, as we finally decided, to intervene, restoring several key objects—such as the thirty-seven foot temple wall—in order to slow decay in deference to future exhibition and study. Other works, such as a recently fractured marble plaque, have been deliberately exhibited as broken.
The long quest for a home for the collection has now come to fruition with the 2026 gift of Norman Daly’s Civilization of Llhuros by Daly’s son, David, to Cornell University—specifically the Cornell Anthropology Collection.
Cornell and Llhuros Go Way Back
Around 1960, after several decades of a career as a painter, Norman Daly (1911–2008), then an art professor at Cornell, turned to three-dimensional work, concentrating on assemblages and a series of carved marble bas-reliefs. This led to the creation of “Llhuros” which, as Daly’s Cornell Chronicle obituary stated, was “…recognized as the foundation of ‘archaeological art.’”
In a 1972 review in The New Republic, critic and Professor of Art at Cornell, Kenneth Evett, wrote:
“Daly has invented a mythic civilization, complete with artifacts, remains of sculpture and painting, ritual, poetry, music, games, ornithology and a group of international scholars who are experts in the field of Llhuroscian studies.”
In her 2023 publication, Sting in the Tale: Art, Hoax, and Provocation, artist-writer and Professor Emerita of Digital Media at the UC Irvine, Antoinette LaFarge, wrote of Daly:
“He found himself reflecting on how impossible it was for viewers to understand artwork unless it was placed in context. He saw this explanatory function as an essentially anthropological rather than an aesthetic activity, and this led him to the idea of acting as a kind of creative anthropologist. He would fabricate and interpret an invented civilization, and the large gaps in the archaeological ‘record’ would allow viewers a space in which to put their own imaginations to work.”
Creative Anthropology
“The first experts that I consulted were anthropologists,” Daly explained in a 1971 interview with A.D. White Museum Director Thomas Leavitt (1930-2010), “and they were a great help to me.”
In his essay “Look for the Red Layer…” from the original exhibition catalog, Robert Ascher, Professor of Anthropology/Archaeology at Cornell (1931-2014) wrote:
“Now we anthropologists take a trip of sorts, and we make up early civilizations from their debris. Norman Daly’s civilization is manufactured largely from the debris of our civilization; it is then reset in terms of anthropological constructs of early civilizations. The civilization which is Daly’s alone is an interesting place to be. …there is no resemblance whatsoever between any civilization, past or present.”
In the fall term of 1967, Ascher introduced “Llhuros” (first called ‘Llhuria’) in his course “Creative Anthropology”. “Ascher’s class involvement was a very unusual and perhaps unprecedented situation for the production of art.” reflects David Daly.
Ascher and the students trooped across the arts quadrangle from McGraw Hall to Daly’s studio in Franklin Hall (now Tjaden) to view an early presentation of Llhuroscian objects and engage in discussion with Daly—a key experience for the students. Their 19 term papers—some with hand-drawn illustrations—along with a copy of a pop quiz, are now housed with Daly’s papers in the Cornell University Archives.
The Travels of Llhuros
Following its January 1972 premiere at the A.D. White Museum at Cornell, The Civilization of Llhuros embarked on six more U.S. exhibitions—Akron, Indianapolis, Binghamton, Rochester, Albany and Philadelphia. These were followed in 1974 by a major exhibition in Cologne where Llhuros was installed at the Römisch-Germanisches (Archaeological) Museum as part of the concurrent international exhibition Projekt ’74.
In his 1974 review in The New Republic of the Cologne exhibition, critic and Cornell Professor of Art, Kenneth Evett, noted:
“Daly’s exhibition was carefully calculated to exploit the juxtaposition of the museum’s authentic Roman archaeological remains and the fake antiquities of his own imaginary civilization.”
And in her essay “The Rediscovered Time” from the Projekt ’74 exhibition catalog, German art critic Evelyn Weiss proclaimed Daly:
“…the most original artist…among those working with archaeological, anthropological, and ethnographic subjects.”
Six years later, Daly’s fictitious archaeologists ‘identified’ seven new Llhuroscian objects for group exhibitions at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia (1981) and at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (1983–84).
In the nearly 20 years from 1984 until 2004, the collection remained in shipping crates when about 40 objects were removed for a retrospective exhibition of Daly’s work at the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell, curated by Andrea Inselmann.
In 2017, 13 years later, French curator and art critic Nicolas Bourriaud requested 20 Llhuroscian objects for a four-artist exhibition at La Panacée, Montpellier, France. Again in 2019, Bourriaud, who was curating the 16th Istanbul Biennial (“The Seventh Continent”), requested the entirety of Llhuros—except for the very largest pieces—to serve as a featured exhibition at the renowned Pera Museum.
The Llhuros Symposium, organized in 2022 by Beauvais Lyons, Chancellor’s Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a long-time friend of Norman Daly, brought together an international team which included six Cornell-related artists, scholars and students for a discussion of the work.
Llhuros in the Classroom
Beginning in 2014, 44 years after Robert Ascher and his students explored Llhuros, Cornell students were once again confronted with remnants of the fictional civilization.
The Rise and Fall of ‘Civilization‘
Adam Smith, the Henry Scarborough Professor of Social Science at Cornell, writes in his faculty statement:
“Our social worlds, from the ancient past to the modern present, are forged upon a dense thicket of objects, from the spaces and places we move through to the plethora of things that orbit around us. Yet rarely do we pause to understand how this material world has shaped our political procedures and values.”
Cornell University, as part of a Cornell University course The Rise and Fall of ‘Civilization‘, Smith’s students were confronted with truly unfamiliar objects and asked to provide basic descriptive information and preliminary interpretive suggestions. Whether they initially suspected a ruse or not, the students learned at the conclusion of their work that these objects were part of The Civilization of Llhuros.
“Archaeology is one of those fields that is just simply so fun to do that it’s kind of intoxicating,” said Smith, “One thing I love about this course is it reflects the sense of enjoyment that comes with the archaeological enterprise.”
The University Archivist Steps In
Norman Daly’s papers, photos, audio, film and video materials were given to the Cornell University Archives in 2022 by David Daly. “As an archivist, and someone who’s in charge of preserving the legacy of Cornell faculty,” University Archivist, Evan Earle, explained, “I saw right away that this was a collection that would be wonderful to have.” He sent out a campus-wide note announcing the acquisition and inviting collaboration. It caught the immediate attention of Poppy McLeod, the Kenneth J. Bissett ’89 Senior Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell.
Artifacts and Human Communication
McLeod’s graduate communication seminar was reading The Material Life of Human Beings: Artifacts, Behavior, and Communication by archaeologist Michael Brian Schiffer who wrote:
“All human experience and communication need to take into account the materiality of human life. It therefore requires an archaeological perspective.”
The first formal connection between the Daly papers and students took place at the Archives, led by McLeod and the Research and Instruction Librarian, Emily Beran. Students browsed documents and photographs from archival boxes, and were also treated to a mini-exhibition of eight Llhuroscian objects that had just returned from the conservator.
The introduction to Llhuros sparked lively conversations among McLeod’s students about artifacts and the ways human communication is always mediated and assisted by material objects. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it before,” said Ph.D. student (at the time) Maggie Foster, “and I can’t imagine anything quite like it again.”
The Anthropology Collaboratory
The Collaboratory, which opened in May 2025, has gathered Cornell’s anthropology collections and laboratories together in one place, with the goal of making them more easily accessible to faculty, researchers and students—and is a quick indoor walk to the Archives where Daly’s papers are held. It was Evan Earle who urged Anthropology to acquire the entire Llhuros collection of artifacts—the smallest, the size of a matchbox, the largest a 9 x 37 foot section of wall.
“This is some of the most amazing and happy news I’ve heard in a while,” exclaimed Earle. “I almost don’t believe this has finally happened!”
Announcing the acquisition of Llhuros, Alison Rittershaus, lecturer and curator of the Anthropology Collections said:
“Llhuros is not only a wonderful set of artworks but also offers opportunities for deep learning and exploration in multiple directions, from revealing the ways that archaeologists and anthropologists interpret other cultures to offering deep engagement with the properties of found materials and their multiple layers of history and meaning. I am so excited to continue teaching with The Civilization of Llhuros and to encourage new encounters with Norman Daly’s work.”
With a new generation of scholars, researchers, and students, the future looks bright—at Cornell and beyond—for further mischief and exploration of the complicated, profound, and ever-provocative creation known as The Civilization of Llhuros.
The Cornell Anthropology Collections (located in the basement of Olin Library) is open Mondays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the term. The collections are also available by appointment on a first-come, first-served basis by contacting curator Alison Rittershaus at akr73@cornell.edu.
NORMAN DALY ART
David Daly
Linda Fisher
legacy@normandalyart.org
