Equatorial forests are often considered as inhospitable for humans and their ancestors as well as for archaeological research. Though that perception is changing, the archaeological record in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains scanty. A reassessment and especially georeferencing of old museum collections offers an interesting option despite a number of caveats. Collections accumulated during the colonial era consist primarily of chance finds of flaked and polished stone implements and to a lesser extent of ceramics. At the time these were considered as too recent for assessing the past. Pottery nevertheless has since proven to be fundamental for reconstructing 2500 years of occupation in the Inner Congo basin where lithic artifacts are rare. In the eastern part of the forest in DR Congo stone artifacts predominate among the change finds as well as in excavated assemblages. The current state of affairs provides an incentive to continue river bound surveys and to initiate field work in collaboration with forestry projects focusing on the impact of human activities on the ecosystem.