While many Japanese scholars of archival science have shown an interest in government archives, corporate archives, and special collections in libraries, few studies have focused on the research resources in university archives. This study explores the significance of archival function in university museums as one organization of university from the archival science perspective. In particular, this study focuses on the archival function in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California, Berkeley, known as the MVZ Archives. First, the outline and background of the MVZ Archives are described, focusing on the MVZ concept prescribed by Joseph Grinnell, who was the first director of the MVZ. Second, the archival function of the MVZ is discussed from the viewpoint of archival science, with three aspects of the MVZ Archives: recordness, standards, and appraisal. The study results led to the following conclusions: (1) Grinnell embedded the archival function in museum activities in 1908, when the MVZ was established, and (2) the heterogeneous complexes of records, consisting of the specimens, field notes, and other items in the MVZ Archives, provide the infrastructure to create traditional scientific products (articles or books). Therefore, it was ascertained that the MVZ Archives contain archival characteristics continuing since its inception.