Mixing types of artifacts is a good way to make the display feel complete. These artifacts were not used and stored all one and they do not have to be displayed alone. It is great to have a single artifact display, but if you want to have a multiple artifact display you may want to display artifacts that were naturally around the artifact.
Mixing artifacts is a great way to display them, but displaying them with other Native American cultures may detract from one another. Different cultures lived different ways. They created artifacts that best fit their lifestyle. An example of this is it would detract from a Shoshone bowl if it were displayed right nest to a Basketmaker bowl. The Shoshone were hunters and moved around. Their pottery making was not as refined because the need was not as great. On the other hand their ability to create artifacts for their hunting was very refined and they had great workmanship in their stone work. The Basketmaker were farmers who stayed in the same area. They had great need to have pottery to store their crops. They did not spend as much time hunting so their hunting objects were not as great as their pottery skills.
When designing a multi-artifact display mixing artifact types will not be as big a question as mixing culture. If you mix cultures keep comparable cultures together. This will keep from detracting one culture from another.
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